On a ‘technical’ site like Digital Maestro, it may seem odd to talk about “3 Steps to Creating New Habits.” However, today starts the October 2019 Ultimate Blog Challenge where I will be blogging 31 times during October. So, creating a new habit is near and dear to me!
Forming habits occur all the time – even if we are not aware of them (these, typically become our bad habits). We all have times in our lives where we intentionally want to change our behavior for the better and create new habits for ourselves. This could be getting in the habit of eating healthier and drinking more water. Or it could be moving more and taking the dog for a daily walk. Or it could be work-related, or spiritual, or… There are so many areas in our lives that could be improved and made easier if we created new habits. In my case, my habit will be writing a blog post a day.
Getting into the habit of doing something is often easier said than done. We seem to acquire bad habits without any effort, but getting into a “good” habit can be a little more challenging.
Let’s break it down into a three step process that makes it easy to follow until we’ve internalized the new behavior and made it a true habit – something we do automatically without having to think about, like brushing our teeth.
Decide What You Want To Do
The first step is to decide what you want that new habit to be. Be as specific as possible. Don’t just tell yourself you want to exercise more. Instead, say something like “I will go for a 30-minute walk every single day,” or in my case, “I will write a blog post every day during the month of October.” Deciding what your new habit will be and committing to when and how you’re going to do it, is half the battle.
Remind Yourself To Get It Done
The next few days should be smooth sailing. You’re motivated and excited to get this done. Sticking to your new habit isn’t an issue. But a few days in you’ll notice that it’s easy to slip back into old habits.
Maybe it’s raining and you don’t really want to go out and walk. Or maybe your day just gets away from you. Or maybe it seems there are other “more important” things that have to get done that day. This is when it’s important to have a daily reminder. Set an alert on your phone or add the new habit to your daily to-do list for a while.
Make It Part Of Your Routine Until It Becomes A Habit
Which brings us to the last step. It takes some time before a new behavior becomes a true habit. Until then, a routine will work to your best advantage. Even before the new behavior becomes automatic, a routine will help you get it done without having to spend a lot of willpower or relying on daily reminders.
Make that daily walk part of your after-dinner routine, or change from grabbing a snack at the vending machine at work at 10:00 in the morning to packing a healthy snack. I plan on writing first thing in the morning (depending on my morning meetings that may be scheduled).
Congratulations! Decide to create the new habit, practice the routine until it’s second nature and you’ll be well on your way to forming a new good habit.
How do YOU create habits? Leave a comment below and share it with us!
Those are really strong points. I should try this out. Thanks for sharing this.
Sure thing, Shadrock! Let me know if you need help with that issues I pointed out on your site!
Be Well.
superb. felt like I have already formed a habit. convincing it is
Don’t stop then! Good job!
These are easy steps to follow Paul. I’m all about forming new habits myself and replacing the bad ones with good. Thanks for the reminder.
Good Habits always are better than Bad Habits 🙂 You are welcome.
Creating a new habit or replacing an old habit takes planning and focus. I am a morning person and find it better for me to tackle new habits at the beginning of the day. Thank you for breaking it down to the three steps.
Use whatever time is best for you to work on creating a new habit! Thanks, Andrea!
Getting into a new habit can be difficult. This post is great! I really benefited from the first step. Being specific in a goal is always a major difficulty for me. I set goals too broad and then get upset when said goal is not completed. I’m sure many others do this as well. Thank you for breaking habit creating down into simple achievable steps. This helps a ton.
SMART goals helps!
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Relevant
T – Time-Bound
Maybe be that is a post for another day!
The UBC is a great wa y to create a new habit Paul! I slacked off the past few months, so getting a new habit is definitely needed! WOO HOO the UBC is here!
Yes it is, Martha! SO nice to have you back!! You are consistent and have the habit of writing already!
Paul, these are three excellent reminders of creating good habits. That’s why I decided to take on the 31-day challenge. This information will help me get there.
Glad they help, Monique! I think they will help with the Ultimate Blog Challenge! Good luck!
This month, my goal is to blog every day! I am excited that I chose a theme (images of Western New York), and I am hoping that this project will help me establish the habit of regular blogging.
Awesome, Alice! Welcome back to the challenge!
Good advice! For me, it all comes down to self-discipline.
Creating new habits and changing bad habits both take discipline!
Thanks for the great advice. I will really need this to keep up with blogging this October.
October will be over before you know it! Don’t blink! LOL.