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We’re now two- and a-bit months in to 2023 and what started as a year full of hope and new habits may now be getting old. Habits are often so easy to think up but so hard to put in place and even harder to keep. We’ve probably all read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear in the hopes of changing our lives for the better. According to research, it takes a minimum of thirty days to create a habit and make it stick. But with some habits, these thirty days can feel like years. So, with around ten months left of the year to go, here are some ways you can stick to your habits to ensure that 2023 is the best one yet!
1. Create a reward chart
Yes, like a five-year-old. One idea that helps some people stick to a new habit is to create a reward chart. It is a way to cross off each day and reward themselves for having completed their new habit. It may sound a bit silly and childish, but a reward chart is a visual representation of your progress, and it can therefore help you to keep going every day. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be a sticker chart, though. You could reward yourself with one hour of Netflix or a chocolate bar for a snack, for example. Just like with young children, the act of positively celebrating yourself every day for doing something good can be a major source of motivation and can help boost your confidence and self-esteem.
2. Share your habit with a friend
Who doesn’t love some external encouragement? If you’re finding it difficult to implement your new habits, try sharing your goal with a friend or family member. Sometimes, by simply verbalising our goal to someone else, it helps us to keep going as we are being held accountable by an external factor. Whilst it’s often better to hold yourself accountable and to start a new habit for yourself and not for anyone else, when times get tough, it is nice to have someone cheering you on. You could try sharing your Google calendar schedule with that person, for example, so that they can follow your habit and keep you on track, or you could make plans to cycle to work every day with a colleague rather than driving, so that you feel more obliged to do it.
When other people are aware of the new things that you are trying to put in place, they can also be there to celebrate your milestones with you which can be another great source of motivation to keep going.
3. Plan things in advance
Have you ever thought about working out the following morning but ended up waking up and staying in bed because you couldn’t be bothered? I feel like most of us have. In order to combat this, it can be a game-changer to plan things out in advance. So, if you’re hoping to work out in the morning, lay out your workout clothes on a chair, put together your playlist or find your workout video, and have your breakfast prepped the night before. This means that you don’t have to make any decisions in the morning when you get up, therefore making the task of working out much easier. Having the visual cue of seeing your clothes on your chair, for example, is also a reminder for your brain to stick to your plan of working out.
If you make the conditions as easy and as comfortable as possible for your brain, then you are more likely to follow through with your new habits because it won’t feel like a chore. For each of your habits, see how much you can prepare the night before, or an hour or so before, to give you the best chances of creating a new routine for yourself.
4. Start with small habits
If big habits, such as exercising for an hour every day or getting up at 5am, are too difficult for you, then start with smaller habits. Making big changes straight away and expecting yourself to be able to stick to it is not realistic whatsoever. Your body has been conditioned to function a certain way and so any change to this way of functioning will require time to be assimilated. This means that you physically cannot adapt immediately to new, drastic changes in habits, and it also means that when you do try, your body will find every way possible to force you to go back to your old ways.
In order to combat this, try exercising for ten minutes every day or getting up thirty minutes earlier. These changes, whilst still being changes, will be small enough to create a difference whilst not causing a massive rejection from your brain and body, meaning that you will be able to make them habits more easily. Once you can do these small things for thirty days, then you can try exercising for, say, twenty minutes, or getting up forty-five minutes earlier. Soon enough, you’ll be hitting your original habit goals with no problems!
5. Have a reason why
It’s almost impossible to start a new habit without having a reason for starting it! Take the time to really think about why you want to make this change. Maybe you want more time for yourself, or you want to get more of your daily tasks done quicker. This reason why, whether big or small, will be the motivating factor behind your new habit and will help you continue making changes even on the days when you least want to. It is good to write down your reasons for starting a new habit, or changing an old one, and it can also be helpful to stick them up somewhere around the house. Being able to see the goals you are working towards every day can be a real boost of inspiration and can help you to keep pushing forwards.
Overall, starting a new, positive habit is such a great thing to do and can bring about major changes to your life. But we would be lying if we said that it was easy! Finding some small tricks and tips can really help in motivating yourself to keep going even when the going gets tough. With the rest of the year ahead, it would be a shame to give up on those plans now! Have a go at some of these tips and let us know if they make a difference to your everyday routines.
As always, leave a comment with any tips that you have tried and tested when it comes to habit building.
Check out my other post about my own personal goals for 2023 here.