All of these habits are taken from the amazing book “Atomic Habits”, so please go and read/listen to that book after you finish this article.
1. The 2 Minute Rule.
This one is about Creating habits that stick.
Even if you don’t feel like it go and train/run for at least 2 minutes. It’s sounds silly but it’s better to do 2 minutes every day than 1 hour once a fortnight.
More often than not you will end up training more than 2 minutes… and if you stop after 2 minutes you are still creating the habit of training.
After a while you will change your identity to somebody who goes to the gym/run and a habit will be created.
2. Start Small to Make Your Habit Easy
The mistake people make is going too big!
They go from 0 to “I’m going to train everyday this month”.
Manage you expectations and start small. e.g. train 3 times a week this month. This way its a lot easier to manage.
3. Marginal gains
Aim to be 1% better than last time.
A 1% growth every day can make you 37 times better in an year.
Like mentioned in the last point don’t aim to go to big or its not sustainable. Small steps for huge gains.
4. Build a Habit Stack
A habit stack is where you stack a new habit to an existing one.
Existing habits you might consider:
- When you get out of bed
- boiling the kettle for a tea/coffee
- Brushing your teeth
- Take a shower/bath
- Get dressed for the day; Get undressed for the evening
- Eat breakfast/lunch/dinner
e.g. every time I brush my teeth I will do 20 push ups
e.g. every time the kettle is boiling I will do stretch’s for my hamstrings.
5. Make Your Habit Attractive
Starting new habit can be demolishing as the rewards don’t come instantly. You could go to the gym for a month without seeing any results for example.
This is why you should Reward yourself immediately for doing your new habit.
Can be anything e.g. Have a bubble baths after you go to the gym.
e.g. Have your favorite coffee after every run.
Alternatively, have limits on when you can do activities for rewards.
e.g. While I workout I get to scroll Instagram.
6. Make Habit Success Easy
You aren’t lazy, humans are just hardwired to not waste energy. Our bodies don’t want to waste energy which makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint incase we need it for immediate danger.
Make things easy for yourself.
e.g. set out your gym cloths the night before.
e.g. pre cook healthy meals at the start of the week
7. Track your habits.
Sounds simple but helps keep you motivated and on task.
Track you habits in a journal or even in the notes on your phone.
It doesn’t have to be daily, can be 3x a week or even weekly. By doing this is makes it more rewarding and you can see the progress as it comes