Creating Routines Will Help Us Build Habits
Because so much of our daily actions are driven by repetition, it makes sense that establishing and maintaining healthy habits is an important goal.
How to Turn a Routine into a Habit
According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, the best way to form new habits is a dedicated commitment along with the understanding that your progress will be incremental. It states, “The first step towards creating long-term change involves building routines — not habits themselves.” It refers to the work of Nir Eyal, the author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life.
Eyal believes that because a habit is done with little or no thought, while a routine involves a series of behaviors that is intentionally repeated, a behavior has to be a regularly performed routine before it can become a habit. The article says, “The problem is that many of us try to skip the routine phase. ”
Forming a habit requires first sticking to a routine. To do that, make time in your schedule, expect and learn to cope with discomfort, and find ways to pre-commit to the task. To summarize the advice of Eyal, these are ways to succeed in ultimately changing your behavior for the better:
Define Your Intentions
Not all behaviors can become habits. Some require too much concentration, commitment and effort. Keeping a journal or playing an instrument cannot become habits because “they are not effortless behaviors that can be done without conscious thought.” His advice: Choose the behavior you want to turn into a habit wisely, and be realistic about your progress. That is where patience, self-discipline and commitment come in. Understanding the “why” will help you stay motivated.
Expect to Feel Uncomfortable
It takes effort to learn and do a new behavior, and experiencing discomfort is often part of the process. Eyal offers techniques to learn how to deal with this discomfort, such as thinking of a task not as something difficult but as part of a journey.
Be Prepared for Roadblocks
First, figure out what may be blocking you, such as fear of failure or lack of time. The article goes on to say, “Maybe a busy schedule has kept you from hitting the gym every day. To avoid this occurrence from happening in the future, block 30 to 60 uninterrupted minutes on your calendar right now. Maybe you’re just not feeling motivated enough lately. To keep yourself accountable, find an ally (or two) to share your goals with. This could be a trusted manager, peer, friend, partner, or family member.”
Make a Schedule (and Stick to It)
The article recommends doing something as simple as blocking out regular times on your schedule, and going slow! Eyal talks about “implementation intention,” which means planning what you are going to do and when you are going to do it.
Create “Microhabits”
Microhabits are defined as incremental adjustments that move you closer to your goals. They are like stepping stones to a final destination.
“Temptation Bundling”
This means trying to make obligatory tasks more enjoyable by taking an activity you don’t like to do and bundle it with something you enjoy doing. If you do something that gives you instant gratification along with an activity that you don’t enjoy but know is good for you, allowing yourself to only do them simultaneously, you’ll be amazed how much easier it becomes to do the very activity you don’t like. An example that comes to mind is channel surfing while riding a stationary bicycle.
Be Compassionate with Yourself
Be comfortable with the idea that change will happen slowly, with many ups and downs along the way. Don’t beat up on yourself if you have an occasional failure.
Do It Right
Don’t expect everything you strive for to become an effortless habit. And try to remember that certain behaviors can never become habits.