Adopt one new habit at a time

The first step to building new habits is to start small. Making small changes and building them up over time. If you have a bunch of habits you want to implement in your life, don’t go and try to stick to them all at the same time. Start with one and once that first habit is successfully built, move on to the next one.

Associate a habit you want to start doing with one you really enjoy

Let’s say you want to get into the habit of writing 10 pages a day for your dissertation but you just can’t seem to do it. My best advice is to associate that habit with one you already have and really enjoy. For example, write those ten pages while listening to a podcast.

If you want to exercise, for example, do it while watching Netflix or, better yet, reward yourself with that Netflix binge after you exercise so you’ll have something to look forward to.

Have strong why behind your habit

It’s more than proven that if you want to get into a certain habit just because you are much more likely to fail than if you were to have a strong reason why you want to build that habit.

Having a strong why behind your habit will motivate you and it’s much more likely for you to stick to it.

Adjust your environment to help you stick to better habits

Want to do yoga every morning? Have your yoga mat somewhere visible and easy to reach. Wanna write more? Have a pen and a notebook on your bedside table. These are just small changes you can implement that will keep you accountable and remind you to do that certain thing.

The saying ”out of sight, out of mind” works perfectly in this situation. If you’re not seeing that thing that will help you stick to that certain habit, I can guarantee you you’ll forget about it eventually. Whereas if you see that thing every day, you’ll be reminded to do that thing.