How do you build healthy habits? How can you make sure you stay motivated when adopting a new routine ? These are questions I often get when talking to clients, and while I had managed to build healthy habits for myself, I read James Clear’s book “Atomic Habits” that I thought was the perfect way to answer that question. He makes it very understandable and easy to take on new habits.
Read on to discover how to effortlessly embrace the habits that are good for you.
What is a Habit and Why Do You Need Them?
A habit is something that you do over and over again without really having to think about it. It can be something you have been doing for years, like brushing your teeth before you go to bed or having a cup of coffee first thing in the morning.
When you look at how your day is structured to see if you could lead a healthier life for example or be more productive, you might start observing what you’re already doing.
Is there anything that does not serve your goal, is there anything you can improve?
And here comes the big question: how do you build healthy habits? Or at least how do you build new ones so that you can get closer to your goals?
Many people think that motivation is the one element that you need and that should lead you to great success. An often times, this is also where many people fail because they lose the motivation.
Let me tell you, motivation is overrated. It will never be enough when you’re trying to change your life – even if not by much.
James Clear wrote a brilliant book on specifically how to go about it in “Atomic Habits”. One of his points that I resonated with is not how long it takes to build a habit, but how many times it takes.
Below is what caught my attention and what I’m sure can work for you too.
The Four Laws of Building Habits
According to James Clear, there are four stages in building new habits:
- Make it obvious;
- Make it attractive;
- Make it easy;
- Make it satisfying.
I’m going to take each one to explore in more details how that applies to you.
Make it obvious: the first step to start embracing a habit is to choose the date and time you’re going to do it. If you don’t know when you’re going to start, when it happens during your day, chances are, you’re going to forget about it and feel like it’s too complicated.
It’s not about self-control, we’re all creatures of habits after all. So if you aren’t used to doing something, it’s not going to come naturally.
Think about when you want to perform your task, and plan for it.
Make it attractive: if you’re trying to adopt a habit that you really don’t want to do, well guess what? You’re not going to do it ! As humans, we are constantly trying to go for the least difficult tasks, our brains are wired to go towards the easy path and resist change.
So let’s try and associate our new activity with a pleasurable outcome so our dopamine-craving bodies can align or agree to do the new activity.
The role of our surroundings like friends and family also play a massive role as well. We are likely to resemble the 5 people we spend the most time with. So choose your circle wisely.
Make it easy: how? Get rid of the obstacles. If you want to be successful at this, prepare the ground ahead of time so that when it’s time to perform the task, there is nothing that can stop you. When there is resistance, your brain and your body are going to run away in the opposite direction.
If you can, make sure the task you are willing to integrate in your routine is less than 2 minutes to start off with. Start small, and keep going.
And you can tie one habit to another that is already in place. Decide which ones, and because your brain is already wired to execute the first one, it will be easier to just add another one on top of it.
Make it satisfying: why not reward yourself when you’ve been able to accomplish something new, and keep it going? The idea of treating yourself to something you want can be the motivation we were mentioning earlier. If this is something you think about regularly, that might be the perfect “carrot” you need to push yourself.
Be sure to never miss twice. If you’ve “fallen off the wagon”, and your streak of completion is broken, get back up and start again. Don’t miss twice or it will be too easy to give up.
And one of my favourites, use a habit tracker. Mark down all the things that you’d like to do by the end of the day or the week, month, etc. and cross it off. Seeing the progress you are making can be truly encouraging.
Now, what if you want to build healthy habits, where do you start? How do you choose?
Practical Tips for Building Healthy Habits
First, you need to prioritise.
You’re not going to decide to start going to the gym 5 times a week and eat really healthy when you haven’t exercised in 3 years and mostly eat out or consume packaged meals.
Set up realistic goals for yourself. It’s not that you’re not capable of it, it’s just that if you want lasting change, you need to take it one step at time. Otherwise you might end up like a lot of people I know who give up after 10 days because they can’t take it.
What is the biggest priority for you right now? Is it sleeping better, eating more vegetables, let go of extra fat, exercise more, find peace in your chaotic and busy life?
Once you have the first one, decide to work on it for 15-20 days. Repeat it every day, religiously, until you don’t need to think about it anymore. Once you feel confident with it, you can consider introducing a new one, etc.
It is said that to adopt a new habit you need 21 days; honestly just see how you feel about it. Don’t take on too much at the beginning, don’t move too fast before adding a new habit to the still relatively recent other one that you’ve been integrating in your life.
Then find the best moment to get started. Is it in the morning, while commuting, or at the end of the day when the kids are sleeping?
How I Built Healthy Habits
One of the things I’m most proud of, is that I made the decision to exercise in the morning 4 years ago. I had skipped the gym once again after a long day at work, so I decided to change. My boyfriend was an active gym-goer and I thought his dedication was inspiring.
It changed a lot of things for me: I had no excuses in the morning, no resistance built up. I knew that in order to get up at 6am (gym, shower, commute, work), I had to sleep 8h otherwise I’d never get up, and my first excuse – being sleepy – would pop up.
It also meant that I had to be in bed by 10pm the previous evening. That included having my gym clothes ready, my work clothes already packed, my breakfast made, in the fridge. I was making it easy and obvious, I just had to follow the path I had prepared.
I was proud of myself. By the time I arrived at work, I had already accomplished so much when my colleagues were struggling to keep their eyes open, drinking their coffee. That was satisfying to me.
I’m not saying you should get up at 6am to go to the gym, you might not even have the possibility to do that. But what I’d like you to do, is to think about your first priority. See all the obstacles that can get in your way, the excuses. And then bombard them.
Repetition is Key for Building Healthy Habits
Over the year, I added other things to my morning routine, slowly but surely. My objective was always to keep at it long enough to find it effortless. Now if I miss a day, I’ll know I get back at it the next day because I like it, and I know the benefits it brings me. And it’s not a chore, it’s a privilege to be able to do them.
I hope you are already identifying your next move, how you will build your healthy habits, and this is the start to a new you.
I definitely recommend reading “Atomic Habits” in full, it is full of more tips and insightful stories.
Let me know in the comments what you can do next to progress towards healthier habits.
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