Here’s the Community Sixty-Six ultimate guide to making habits that stick!
1. Sweat the small stuff
Taking on too much all at once can feel overwhelming; we’ve all been there. Break down your overarching goals into small steps. You’ll start to see progress much more quickly and build confidence, which can help you stay motivated to deliver the end goal.
For example, if you want to make exercising for an hour a week a new habit, try breaking it down into 20-minute sessions throughout the week to start, building up to a full hour and more. Committing to 20 minutes three days a week to start can feel much easier to tackle and make creating your new habit more manageable.
2. Try Habit Stacking
What is Habit Stacking?
Habit stacking takes new habits you’re trying to form and pairs them with an existing practice to help them stick. Want to start a skincare routine and keep to it? Try pairing it with brushing your teeth - you brush your teeth every day and
immediately follow with your skincare routine. Over time, your skincare routine will become as much a habit as brushing your teeth. Easy!
3. Track, track, track.
Staying accountable to yourself is one of the best ways to make habits stick. By tracking your habits, you identify patterns and areas to improve and keep yourself motivated by seeing how much progress you’ve made.
How can I track my habits?
There are loads of tools, apps, and websites designed to help you track habits, but a pen and a notepad can work just as well. Write out your habits and time frame above and tick them off every time you’ve hit them.
4. Celebrate!
While you’re tracking your habits, it’s a great time to celebrate your successes. When setting out your habit tracker, add rewards at milestones along the way. Rewarding yourself for hitting milestones along the way is an excellent way to stay motivated and a good time to reflect on how far you’ve come.
5. Stay the distance
We all have off days, and that’s ok. It’s more than ok; it’s human. Don’t beat yourself up. If you’re not seeing progress or missed a few days, remember the end goal and why you’re doing what you’re doing. Results will come if you stay the distance.
“Successful people are simply those with successful habits.” – Brian Tracy
