Building Better Habits: Techniques for Success
Welcome to our habit help page, where we are dedicated to helping you build better habits and achieve your goals. We believe that small changes can have a big impact on your life, and by incorporating proven techniques from the book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear, we can guide you towards lasting positive change.
Technique 1: Make It Obvious
One of the key principles of building better habits is making them obvious. By increasing the visibility and clarity of your desired habits, you are more likely to follow through with them. We will show you how to create visual cues and reminders that will keep your habits at the forefront of your mind.
Specify the Habit: Clearly define the habit you want to establish. Be precise about what you want to achieve. For example, instead of saying “exercise more,” specify “go for a 30-minute run every morning.”
Identify the Cue: Determine a specific cue or trigger that will prompt you to perform the habit. This could be a time of day, a particular location, an event, or an existing routine. For instance, if you want to start reading more, you might decide to read for 20 minutes right after dinner.
Create the Implementation Intention: Formulate a statement that links the cue to the desired behavior. It should be structured as “When [cue], I will [habit].” This statement reinforces the association between the cue and the habit, making it more likely to occur. For example, “When I wake up in the morning, I will meditate for 10 minutes.”
Visualize the Action: Mentally rehearse the habit execution. Visualize yourself carrying out the habit when the cue occurs. This mental rehearsal helps solidify the connection between the cue and the habit, strengthening your commitment to follow through.
Write it Down: Document your implementation intention. Writing it down reinforces the commitment and serves as a tangible reminder of your intention. You can use a notebook, sticky notes, or digital tools to record your implementation intentions.
By employing Implementation Intentions, you make your habits more obvious by clearly defining when and where they will occur. This clarity reduces the cognitive load of decision-making and increases the likelihood of automatic behavior, ultimately making it easier to stick to your habits over time.
Technique 2: Make It Attractive
Building better habits should be enjoyable and rewarding. By making your habits attractive, you are more likely to stick with them in the long run. Our team will help you find ways to make your habits align with your values and passions, making them more appealing and sustainable.
Identify the Core Habit: Start by identifying a habit you want to establish or maintain. This should be a behavior that you might not naturally enjoy but is beneficial in the long run. For example, exercising regularly or studying.
Identify an Enjoyable Activity: Think of an activity that you naturally enjoy and find rewarding. This could be watching your favorite TV show, listening to music, or enjoying a delicious snack.
Bundle the Habits Together: Pair the enjoyable activity with the core habit you want to establish. This creates a habit bundle where you perform the less enjoyable habit immediately before or after the enjoyable activity. For example, you could only allow yourself to watch your favorite TV show while you’re on the treadmill or stationary bike.
Create a Cue: Establish a clear cue that triggers the habit bundle. This could be a specific time of day, a location, or an event. Make sure the cue is something that reliably occurs and can serve as a reminder for the habit bundle.
Commit to Consistency: Make a commitment to consistently follow through with the habit bundle whenever the cue occurs. Consistency is key to forming lasting habits, so strive to stick to the routine even when motivation is low.
Track Your Progress: Keep track of your habit bundling efforts to monitor your consistency and progress. This could involve using a habit tracking app, a journal, or a simple checklist.
By implementing habit bundling, you make the desired habit more attractive by associating it with a rewarding activity. This not only makes the habit more enjoyable but also increases motivation and the likelihood of sticking to it over time.
Technique 3: Make It Easy
One of the biggest obstacles to building better habits is the perceived difficulty. We understand that life can get busy and overwhelming, which is why we focus on making your habits as easy as possible to adopt and maintain.
Identify an Existing Habit: Start by identifying a habit that you already do consistently. This could be something simple like brushing your teeth, making coffee in the morning, or checking your email.
Pair the New Habit: Once you’ve identified the existing habit, decide on the new habit you want to adopt. Then, stack the new habit onto the existing one by performing them one after the other. For example, if you want to start meditating daily, you could decide to meditate for 5 minutes immediately after brushing your teeth in the morning.
Keep it Simple: Make sure the new habit is small and manageable, especially when you’re just starting out. Starting with a tiny habit increases the likelihood of success and reduces the barrier to entry. For example, if you want to start exercising, commit to doing just one push-up after you make your morning coffee.
Anchor the Habit: Use the existing habit as an anchor or cue for the new habit. This creates a clear trigger that reminds you to perform the new behavior. Over time, the existing habit becomes a reliable cue for the new habit, making it easier to remember and follow through.
Repeat Consistently: Consistency is key to forming a new habit. Make a commitment to repeat the habit stack every day, ideally at the same time and in the same context. The more consistently you perform the habit stack, the more automatic it becomes.
Track Your Progress: Keep track of your habit stacking efforts to monitor your consistency and progress. This could involve using a habit tracking app, a journal, or a simple checklist.
By implementing habit stacking, you make the desired habit easy to adopt by integrating it into your existing routine. This reduces the cognitive effort required to remember and perform the habit, making it more likely to stick over time.
Technique 4: Make It Satisficing
In the pursuit of perfection, many people get discouraged and give up on their habits. We advocate for the concept of satisficing, which means finding satisfaction in doing something well enough rather than striving for perfection.
Immediate Gratification: Incorporate elements into your habit that provide immediate satisfaction or reward. This could be something as simple as enjoying the feeling of accomplishment after completing the habit or indulging in a small treat as a reward.
Celebrate Progress: Acknowledge and celebrate your progress along the way. This could involve keeping track of your achievements, setting milestones, or rewarding yourself for reaching certain goals. Celebrating small wins reinforces positive behavior and makes the habit more satisfying.
Gamify the Habit: Turn the habit into a game by adding elements of competition, challenge, or fun. This could involve setting personal challenges, competing with friends or family, or using habit tracking apps that award points or badges for consistency.
Visualize Success: Imagine the positive outcomes and benefits of sticking to the habit. Visualize yourself achieving your goals and enjoying the rewards of your efforts. This creates a sense of anticipation and motivation that makes the habit more satisfying to perform.
Reflect on the Benefits: Take time to reflect on the positive impact the habit has on your life. Remind yourself of the reasons why you started the habit in the first place and the benefits it brings. This reinforces your motivation and makes the habit more rewarding to continue.
Adjust as Needed: Pay attention to what aspects of the habit are most satisfying and adjust your approach accordingly. If certain elements are particularly rewarding, try to incorporate them more prominently into your routine. Likewise, if certain aspects are not as satisfying, consider tweaking or changing them to make the habit more enjoyable.
By incorporating immediate rewards and making the habit inherently satisfying, you increase the likelihood of sticking to it over the long term. This creates a positive feedback loop where performing the habit becomes its own reward, making it easier to maintain as part of your daily routine.
Mindfulness in Daily Life
In addition to the techniques from “Atomic Habits,” we also incorporate the practice of mindfulness in daily life. Mindfulness involves being fully present and aware in the present moment, without judgment. By integrating mindfulness techniques into your daily routine, you can enhance your awareness and focus as you build positive habits.
Our team will introduce you to mindfulness practices such as meditation, deep breathing exercises, and mindful eating. These techniques can help you cultivate a greater sense of self-awareness and improve your ability to make conscious choices that align with your goals.
By combining the power of habit-building techniques with mindfulness in daily life, you will develop a holistic approach to personal growth and transformation. Our website is here to support you every step of the way, providing resources, guidance, and a community of like-minded individuals.
Start your journey towards building better habits today. Together, we can create positive change that lasts.
Final word
You have now completed the Building better habits course. we want to to know that we here at Jens Panum Improvement are super proud of you. If you have gone through this whole course and have actually take what you have learnt into heart, we are sure that you have improved in some way shape of form. If you want, you can always book a call with Jens Panum and receive tailored advice on how to improve in your specific situation.