Make Good Habits Easy, and Bad Habits Hard

A written habit plan = a lot more success!

Download the Habit Worksheet (pdf)

A written plan for implementing a habit can increase the likelihood of forming it by 2 to almost 3 times, according to articles at Huffington Post & Asian Efficiency. We are more likely to take small steps down a path that is clear.

1. SMART Habits are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time based.

2. Small steps: outline the steps that need to be taken. B J Fogg advocates baby steps in his TED Talk, “Forget big change, Start with a Tiny Habit.” He also has created a helpful tool called the Behavior Wizard.

3. Motivation: focus on the benefits. The benefit of a goal must exceed the resources required to obtain it. – read more at my post on The Economy of Goals. Employ the strategies to overcome procrastination at Tip the Scales To Master Motivation: Visual Strategies to Overcome Procrastination.

4. Add Incentives: Incentives can be positive (like rewards) or negative. Behavioral economics shows how things like accountability and social sharing can shape behavior. Watch the Dan Ariely TED Talk on Self Control to learn about incentives, and more about behavioral economics at Can You be nudged into saving money? from pbs.org.

5. Address Obstacles: if possible, remove temptations to fail, or have a plan for dealing with them. Make good habits easy, and bad habits hard. To increase a positive habit, remove obstacles. Shawn Achors’ 20 second rule says that lowering the barriers to change by even 20 seconds dramatically increases chances of success. To increase a positive habit, make it easier. See the interview with Shawn Achor, New Harvard Research Reveals a Fun Way to Be More Successful at Barking Up the Wrong Tree. If you want to exercise first thing in the morning, set out everything you need. To decrease a negative habit, add obstacles. Google decreased the amount of M & Ms employees were eating, simply by making it slightly more difficult. If you want to watch less television, remove the batteries from the television remote.

6. Resources: obtain any tools needed.

7. Reminders: set a timer or automated reminders with one of many habit tracker apps that are available for smartphones and tablets. I like the Loop Habit Tracker for Android, Strides may be a good one for ios. James Clear (author of Atomic Habits) recently released Atom. The Blip Blip Android app is a gentle hourly reminder, and reminders can be set in Google Keep notes.

8. Timing: decide when will it be done and link triggers to daily routines. Trigger a new habit by connecting it with other routine activities according to the desired time or frequency. Morning meditation after breakfast is an example of a trigger. A more frequent habit can connect with something you do more often, like taking a deep breath each time you take a drink of water. Read more about habit stacking from James Clear. Since willpower is a limited resource, tackle a new habit early in the day before it is depleted. Exercise earlier in the day also gains feel-good benefits throughout the entire day.

9. Track data: How long it takes to establish a habit likely will vary depending on how difficult it is. One study showed on average, it took 66 days to form a new habit. Jerry Seinfeld’s Don’t Break the Chain Strategy is one well-known method for creating a habit. Each day that you do the task you have set for yourself, simply mark a calendar each day with a big red x. Then keep it going and don’t break the chain. Read more about Jerry Seinfeld’s Don’t Break the Chain Strategy from Entrepreneur magazine and a habit tracker guide from James Clear.

10. Review the results.

The words “resolution,” “habit,” and “goal” are sometimes used interchangeably, but there are differences. An understanding of what habits are is helpful before beginning to plan for behavior change.

Goals are an end toward which effort is directed. They add value in a life area, and they have a clear end-point.

Resolutions are a declaration of our firm decision to do or not to do something. A typical resolution is not very SMART.

Habits are acquired behavior patterns that are regularly followed (for good or ill.) They may be something you want to start (positive) or stop (negative). While creating or changing a habit can be a goal, they are something we want to continue indefinitely, so habits have no clear end point. Have a sustainable plan for a lower intensity after a habit has become well established, and move on to other things.

MORE PRINTABLE HABIT TRACKERS

• Printable Daily PlanIt Seinfeld Charts (pdf)
• A one page printable Habit Tracker from the Daily PlanIt or other habit trackers at the Household Notebook Pinterest Board.
• Goal Charts at Goal Master List can also track progress.

3 Steps of Habit Change from “The Power of Habits.”

Charles Duhigg shares a flowchart from his book “The Power of Habits,” at his website that outlines the 3 steps of habit change: Pick the cue, choose a reward, execute the routine. Learn more about the Science of Willpower at the Science of People.

Pairing and Personality Type

Gretchen Rubin, author of “Better Than Before,” describes how personality type can effect our approach to changing habits in Breaking Bad Habits from Parade Magazine. Take her quiz here. Pairing is a strategy that couples two activities, one that you need or want to do and one that you don’t particularly want to do.

See also: How to Build Good Habits at Sparring Mind, Habit Stacking from Farnam Street, 6 Best goal-tracking apps that will kick your butt from Today.com

Use visual strategies to overcome procrastination and get motivated. Learn more at the Science of Goals Infographic and What’s the Motivation? from the Daily PlanIt

Books and videos

• James Clear Atomic Habits – 1% Better Every Day video
• Dan Ariely Predictably Irrational TED How to change your behavior for the better
• Charles Duhigg Power of Habit TED The Power of Habit
• Roy Baumeister Willpower TED What makes us human?
• B.J. Fogg Tiny Habits TED Forget big change, Start with a Tiny Habit
• Wendy Wood Good Habits, Bad Habits – Big Think The Secret habits that control your life and Hit peak performance with the power of habit
• Gretchen Rubin Better Than Before – Her 99u talk on The Four Ways to Successfully Adopt New Habits.
• 21 best habit books at fourminutebooks.com and 25 of the best TED talks about habits at projecthotmess.com

More videos at the Habits & Motivation Youtube playlist

About dailyplanit

I seek to create order from the chaos of complex information. Join me at the Daily PlanIt to gain insights, inspiration, and information to increase skills for a better life. I unlock the power of teaching reading with phonics in the pursuit of literacy at www.phonicspow.com. In my spare time I explore books and movies, often choosing titles available on both screen and page.