Operationalizing: Building New Habits and Routines While Breaking Bad Ones
Habits dictate who you really are. Who we are as people aren’t determined by moments in our life, but rather a series of habits that exhibit who we truly are.
Although newly formed habits that set us in the right direction may make us feel good and productive, old habits that are sabotaging your performance and attention are equally important.
The most challenging part about breaking old habits is that you’re interrupting a clear and definitive pattern that your brain is used to. Although it might take some time to get you out of your comfort zone, starting with small goals helps you tremendously.
Breaking Old Habits:
Step 1: Identify your bad habits. Be aware of the things that are negatively affecting you, and write them down.
Step 2: Be conscious of your why? Why do you continue to return to this habit? Is the reward physical? Mental? Physcological? What kind of satisfaction are you looking for?
Step 3: Leave no room for bad habits
The most critical part is identifying the “why?” in step 2. What craving do you think your habit is satisfying?
Habits are often difficult to break because we subconsciously desire the reward given at the end, creating a cyclical nature. To break this, you must short-circuit this cycle. Here’s how:
Try substituting your reward with something else. Is the craving gone? If so, you have just identified what you’re really craving!
If your craving remains, keep experimenting until you find something new that satisfies the urge.
Forming New Habits:
Step 1: Identify current habits, rituals, and routines. What do you do every day? What do you wish to continue doing? Start asking yourself why you do the things you do.
Step 2: List new habits you wish to target
Step 3: Break these target habits into more feasible micro-habits. Make sure these are realistic and feasible goals that are easily measured and related to your ultimate goal. There’s nothing more frustrating than putting in time and effort without visible progress.
Step 4: Operationalize micro-habits by connecting them to:
- Existing habits, creating a system of habits, or ‘habit-stacking’
- Something you crave at the same time (temptation bundling)
- Something you enjoy doing before it (creating a motivation ritual)
- Groups of people where your habit is the norm (positive peer pressure and accountability)
- Physical environment and visual cues
The key step here is to establish a clear connection between your target habits and the things you already do in life. An easy trick is to use your current habits as reward for your target habits.
Step 5: Track your newly formed habits, and reward yourself! Research shows that you can adopt a new habit in 28 days, but you should try to continue for 66 days to really have it autonomous and embedded in your life.
Make sure you have a clear reward system as well, whether that would be making a purchase you wanted to, or simply doing a small activity that you find joy in.