When you think about building new habits, you probably think about the New Year. After all, this is the time where we all take a good look at our lives and see things that we want to change. However, most people drop out early and don’t pursue their resolutions during the rest of the year.

 

So, how can you change this? How can you ensure that you build good habits on any occasion and not only think about them in when the New Year rolls around? Learn the best ways to stay productive on the go with good habits.

The Step-by-Step Process to Building Good Habits

Step #1: Define And Focus On Just One New Habit

Most of us have different habits that we want to change. However, if you try to change them all at the same time, you’re more likely to end up failing. With this in mind, it is a much better approach to simply focus on one new habit that you want to build.

The key to determining the first new habit you want to implement in your life is to think of something that you can do all the time and that fits your daily life. That could be a 15-minute walk every lunch break, swapping soda for flavored water, or going to bed 30 minus earlier.

Step #2: Make A Commitment:

One of the most important things that you need to do when you are building a new habit is simply commit to it. You can even tell your friends that you will do this or that for the rest of your life. If you don’t mean it, it won’t do you any good.  Besides, building a habit is more about doing than it is about telling. So, commit to your new habit for at least 30 days.

Step #3: Connect Your New Habit To An Established One:

Motivation rarely lasts. So, what you should do to help make a new habit stick is that you should anchor your new habit to an established one. Unless you do that, you will see your motivation decrease day after day. On the other hand, if you focus on continuing the habit without fail, it will come to a point where it is simply natural. Try pairing your desired action with a habit you already have to improve your motivation.

Tell yourself something like “after dropping kids off at school, I will take a walk around the building.”

Step #4: Take Baby Steps:

Even though you may be eager to build a new habit, the reality is that it will take you time for your brain to see this new habit as natural. So, the best thing you can do is to take baby steps. This way, you will be introducing the new habit in your life slowly but consistently. Just think of things such as waking up each morning 5 minutes earlier or eating one serving of vegetables each day. While these might seem to be very simple, this is exactly why they work.

Step #5: Dealing With Obstacles:

When you think of building a new habit, you are incredibly motivated. However, your motivation tends to start decreasing unless you keep focusing yourself on committing to this new habit every day.

The truth is that you will always end up dealing with obstacles and the best way to deal with them is to prevent them. Some of the most common obstacles include space, weather, time, pain, self-consciousness, and costs.

So, the best approach is to be prepared to deal with them when they come. Let’s say that you decided that your new habit will be to run outdoors every single day for 30 minutes. Everything is going well until the day it rains. Instead of skipping your run, you could plan that you will go to the gym instead.

Step #6: Reward Yourself:

When you want to make sure that you build a new habit, there is nothing better than rewarding yourself when you reach the target. Remember that you don’t need to break the bank to treat yourself. It can simply be doing something you love or going out with your loved one.

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