It can be frustrating when we want to build new positive habits but nothing seems to stick. There are two things that we need to do to maximize the chances of the habit sticking:
- Figure out a “minimum viable action” that will count as having done the habit for the day, for example if you want to read more, your MVA could be to read one page a day. If you stick to this for a few days it will become easier and easier to read more if you have the time and are in the mood. It is very difficult to justify not having time to read just one page.
- Figure out a trigger, something that you already do every day, and add the new habit immediately after that. It has to be after the existing thing, not before, because when we say we will do something before something else, it’s easier to not do it if we’re running late.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
— Will Durant
Photo by Bailey Zindel on Unsplash