Take Control of Your Day with Habits
There are many different ways we can approach habit-formation. It looks different for everyone, but there are a few things that can help us form habits and help our day run smoother. This enables us to be in more control of our time and our actions during the day.
In my previous blog post, I mentioned the difference between habits and routines. Habits are formed more easily when we integrate them into an existing routine. Therefore, my argument is that one way to start taking control of your day is to find a routine that works for you!
From there, it is all about building habits that will have a positive impact on how we go through the day. But how can we get habits to stick?
I will give credit to both BJ Fogg, PhD, author of Tiny Habits and James Clear, author of Atomic Habits for helping me understand more about habit formation. Here are some small nuggets of information that I took away from reading these two books.
The Three S Approach
If we want a behavior to turn into a habit, it needs to be simple, specific, and small (to start).
It doesn’t help if a desired habit is too complicated. We really have to simplify what we want at the beginning stages of habit-formation so that we know we can achieve a certain behavior without a problem. If it isn’t easy to do, we probably won’t even start doing it.
For the same reason, we need to be specific so that we are clear on what we are doing, when we are doing it, and how it is going to get done. Over time, repeated behaviors can become habits. Eventually the behavior becomes automatic - so the less complicated the better!
It is also important to only focus on ONE small action or behavior at a time. If we try to bite off more than we can chew, we generally won’t follow through with forming a habit. The good news is that after one small behavior becomes a habit, more habits can be built on it.
Think of raindrops and how it takes a series of several small, simple drops to form a puddle. They fall one at a time. Each drop may not seem like a lot, but the drops add up!
Continuously Celebrate
As we are forming habits, we have to recognize when we have successfully carried out a specific behavior we want to change. This is an important step in habit formation.
Why? Because it tells our brains that we succeeded. If we succeed at something, don’t we feel good? It helps boost our confidence and makes us want to do it again - just like something we begin to crave.
The idea is that we have to celebrate our small successes while trying to build habits. The small things will turn into bigger things! That is what keeps us moving in the right direction.
In conclusion, habit formation is something we can control. Inserting desired habits into our daily routine allows us to do things without even thinking about them. With one less thing to think about, we can take more control over other things we want to do during the day that take more brain power.
In time, good habits will create better habits. Just know that there is no set of magic steps or methodologies that will work for everyone in forming habits and getting them to stick. We are all different and we have to find what works for us as individuals.
What are your thoughts about habit formation? Email me at dani@danichoicoaching.com. I would love to hear from you!
I help individuals create routines so they can save time and energy during the day. It isn’t about how strict a routine is, it is about what works and what doesn’t work for an individual. Routines give us the foundation to build healthy habits when it comes to managing time and priorities. Click here to learn more about my services.
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