How to develop and plan time for habits to sustain our lives
INTRODUCTION
In the last article we discussed how to develop a mindset that sustains habits. Now we will discuss actionable steps on how to execute your habits. Many of us get stuck on the first step of building habits, and that, is getting started. I once again credit much of this information to author of Atomic Habits, James Clear.
HOW TO START HABITS
You probably felt super motivated when you were planning that dream habit of yours, only to realize your stumped, how can I even start? James Clear utilizes a technique called implementation intentions, which I have discussed briefly in my previous articles. This method requires you to specify your habit formation, distilling it down to answering 3 essential questions: When, where and how? This helps create a cue for you to get started. When the external environment matches your intention, you are triggered to do your habit.
Let's use an example, meditation(which I highly recommend and still have trouble doing everyday). Using implementation intentions, it should look like: Every day, at 7pm(WHEN), at my bedroom, on the floor(WHERE), I am going to lay a mat, sit down and take deep breaths with closed eyes(HOW). You do not have to waste time figuring out what to do since you've settled them already. This makes it much easier to start, take it from me. Try to stack WHEN you do this habit with another habit that you already do consistently. This is known as habit stacking. For example, instead of saying 7pm, you could say after my tea break, I'll start meditating.
HOW TO CONSISTENTLY STICK TO HABITS
The key to ensuring habits continue is a good response. The outcome of any habit must satisfy you and give joy. That is what attracts you to continue the habit. So give some time to explore your passion and experience what drives you to your potential. Try to surround yourself with people that give off the same vibe as you, because humans are known to imitate those around themselves to have a sense of security. The people around you can make or break you.
The next idea is to start small, but do it continuously. Continuing from the meditation example, you could say," Today I'll start off with just 5 minutes of meditation,". Are you asking, "Is that even going to be useful, come on,". My answer to you is yes. A crucial reason why many of us fall out of new habits is that we start big, with great aspirations and hence take massive actions to act out our habits. After a few days, we just find out it is to intrusive into our daily routine, and hence quit it altogether. Idiot.
CONSISTENCY AND MOTIVATION
Your goal is to repeat the process again and again and again so that every day, even when you don't feel like it, you will do the habit. Doing it ESPECIALLY when you do not feel like it is the secret to sustaining habits. Start small, and see how it fits into your current life. This will give you ample time to slowly change your life so that your habits and current routines work hand in hand. Use the two minute rule for guidance. Then progressively increase. Standardize, then optimize, as James Clear says.
Use a habit tracker if needed. Smartphones are excellent automatic trackers that decrease the effort you need to input to track. Fitbit watches track your daily steps, and smartphones check your screen time on each app and can restrict them etc. Using a physical calendar and marking off each day for a habit done is also advisable. You want to have a measure of the level of consistency you have been achieving, and this transforms into motivation for you to continue your habit.
CONCLUSION
In summary, use implementation actions to specify your cues and help you to start. Make sure the habit is satisfactory enough for you to continue doing it. Surround yourself with people of your vibe. Do the habits consistently, especially when you do not feel like it, since it reinforces your new identity. Start small and stay consistent, and track your habits for motivation. Please leave any opinions you have about this article below, or any improvements you would like to see on Student's Spot. Help a buddy out by subscribing, and sharing this to those who need this, if you think this is helpful.
Signing out,
Arshath.
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