Build Better Habits By Doing these 11 Things

What does it take to build better habits? Habits are formed through repetition and then becomes automatic. When you’re caught up on doing one thing, it’s hard to stop and start doing something better.

I use to be the type of person that would try to start something new overnight, cold turkey. And I quickly learned that’s the fastest way to fail at your goal. I would start a new diet every Monday, and it would last till Wednesday.

Going cold turkey on a new good habit you want to start won’t last, and you will end up feeling defeated in the end.

With building better habits you need to take baby steps. Start slowly and work your way up to being the best. It’s interesting how some people can say they are starting a new habit and can change their lives in an instance, and they succeed. And they make it look so easy. How can they do that, but not me?

Everyone isn’t the same, and everyone can’t follow the same routine one person is doing and get the same results. Not saying that it can’t happen at all, I’m just saying what works for someone else may not work for you. Or you may try it and give up by the third day. Find a routine that you know will be easier for you to stick to.

Building better habits need preparation, willpower, and patience.

Years ago, a plastic surgeon noticed a trend with his patients which blew up the 21-day habit-forming myth. We’ll discuss more on that info later.

It takes 21 to 66 days to build a habit (spoiler alert!).

What steps can you take starting today to build better habits?

How do you develop better habits?

• Be clear on precisely what you want.

Decide and be clear on exactly what you want to accomplish. Contemplate why you want to achieve this goal and what you will gain by starting this new habit. Be sure that this is something you want to begin.

Gain a clear vision of what you want to achieve in the end. Research more about it and find and read stories on how other people started building those same habits you want to start. Be sure you want to embark on this journey.

• Start small

Start small; this is something I always say. The quickest way to fail is by doing too much at once. People focus so much by worrying about the future and not the present. Focus on what you should be doing right now in the present.

Start with smaller goals that are less difficult to achieve, and you will see quick wins. This, in return, will keep you motivated and focused on what you want to accomplish overall in the end.

• Design your environment

Remove any triggers. Think about what can easily distract you, then remove it from your everyday environment.

Join forces with someone. It’s always more relaxed, more motivating, and comforting when you have someone in your corner that wants the same thing as you.

Declutter. If your surroundings are messy and cluttered, your mind will be too. You can’t work efficiently or effectively in a chaotic environment. Decluttering will release any brain fog you may have.

• Commit

Day one, take the time to make an action plan. Write out all the steps you’re going to take to build this better habit lifestyle. You need to know what direction you’re going in or else you’ll be lost. This is also a way to track your progress along the way. You need to see if you’re getting closer or further away from your goal.

Consistency is key. Write out your action plan, start a scheduled routine. Figure out what times and days work best for you. Going all-in can be good, but it can also backfire. A slow and steady pace works better for some people.

The biggest hurdle is starting, and you already have just by reading this post.

How many habits can you build at once?

• How many you can handle

Some habits are gonna take more time to build than others. This also means, it will depend on the person. Frustration can play a significant role in how many habits you build at once. 2-3 habits to start with, I believe, are reasonable and attainable. 6-7 may be pushing it. I know when I try to take on more things than I thought I could handle, I end up dropping them all and getting little to nothing accomplished.

• Size matters

Like I said earlier, start small. The bigger the steps you take to form your better habit, the harder it will be to take on building other habits at the same time. For example, say your better habit is drinking more water daily and incorporating it into your meals. A small step towards that would be starting to drink water with breakfast and at lunchtime. A sizable step would be to drink a gallon of water every day.

How long does it take to form a good habit?

In short, it takes on average 66 days to build a habit.

• Is the 21-day rule not true?

If you don’t know what the 21-day rule is, first thing is to let me make you aware. It was said by plastic surgeon Dr. Maxwell Maltz back in the 1960s that it takes a MINIMUM of 21 days to build a habit. As years went past, people took out the word MINIMUM and just started saying it takes 21 days to form a habit. Dr. Maltz only referenced that number. I am here to tell you that the 21-day rule is a myth.

On average, it takes 66 days to form a habit.

A European study also showed it could take anywhere from 18-254 days to form a habit and for it to become automatic. Ultimately, everyone is different, and some people can adapt to new behaviors faster than others. There is no one-size-fits-all.

How to break a bad habit?

• Substitute

For instance, say your bad habit is stress eating potato chips and candy. An alternative would be to have carrots and hummus around for the moments you know feel the most tension, for example, at work after your midday meeting.

Going cold turkey and just quitting a bad habit may not always work. You have this bad habit because it makes you feel good temporarily in some way, but it is not beneficial for you in the long run.

• Track your triggers and Remove

Track your triggers by writing down each time you feel a negative emotional change that makes you fall back into that bad habit. Most of the time, our bad habits easily form because we get so overwhelmed, and that habit is our quick fix to feeling slightly better. And this is only for a limited amount of time.

Once you track your triggers, try to find if there are any similarities. Look for if it’s always at a specific time of day, or the same person, or the same environment. If possible, try to change your surroundings and try to limit your interactions with that individual. Find the triggers and the trends and remove them.

Benefits of building better habits

• Become the person you want to be

A lot of people have an ideal image of themselves in their head. By building these habits you come closer to becoming that person you want to be every day.

• Lifetime advantages

In the long run, you will know how to create and build routines when you want to make changes in your life. It will now come more natural for you to adopt these changes because you’ve done it before and now know what you have to do to make these new habits happen again.

• Help others

Because you have done and succeeded at doing the leg-work, you can lead by example. Help family and friends who want to make changes in their life. Be their guide. Help them become their ideal person because you became yours.

Conclusion

To recap, building better habits doesn’t have to be hard. Be clear about what you want. The time it takes to build habits can vary from person to person.

You know yourself better than anyone else. Don’t take on trying to build more habits than you can handle. Make an action plan and stick to it. Take 1-2 steps from your action plan and implement them into your daily routines.

Commit to your new, better habit. Design your environment and remove any negative triggers. I repeat, building better habits do not have to be hard.

Let me know how you have started making changes in your life to become your ideal self. Shoot me an email or leave a comment.

Talk to you soon

Andie 🙂