I use these 3 simple steps to maintain good habits
I’ve been trying out a new strategy for building habits, and it works incredibly well. This strategy is remarkably simple and is governed by three simple rules.
First, I’ll explain the three rules. Then I’ll explain how I use this strategy, and give you some more examples of how you can put these rules into practice.
3 Rules to actually keep good habits.
Here are the rules:
You must start with a version of the habit that is incredibly simple for you. It needs to be so simple that you can’t say no, and so easy that you don’t find it hard at all at first.
You need to increase your habit every day, but in an incredibly small way.
Even if you increase the habit, all repetitions must remain simple. The entire habit should be broken down into easier parts as needed.
Now let’s talk about what this looks like in real life. Below I show how I apply these three rules.
The push-up habit
The more push-ups I do, the leaner I get. For this reason, I recently decided to make push-ups a daily habit. I decided to apply the three rules described above to slowly and easily incorporate more push-ups into my routine.
The first day I did 10 push-ups, which only took about 15 seconds. (Rule 1.)
On the second day, I managed 11 push-ups. That was a small improvement. (Rule 2.)
I continued this pattern and did 1 more push-up each day. This morning I did 21 pushups, which was still easy to do and took less than 30 seconds. (Rule 3.)
Once I reach a higher number of push-ups, I break them down into smaller, easier sets. For example, to do 50 push-ups, I might do three sets: 20, 20, 10. The next day, I add another set and do 20, 20, 11.
Several things happen here.
First, because I started with a habit that was very easy to begin with, I am building the ability to do work. In other words:
I focus on volume first, which allows me to handle the intensity of a larger habit later. Second, my body can recover and grow because I’m only increasing by a small amount each day.
In contrast, if I had started with a more difficult or impressive habit, I would have compromised my ability to adapt as the habit progressed. Third, because I break the habit down into simple sentences, I reduce the mental load required to perform the habit.
In a sense, these simple sentences are just fun and require little motivation to perform. And most importantly, I focus on actually performing the habit rather than worrying about the outcome.
I’m developing the ability to be consistent, and that’s a skill that’s valuable in almost every area of life.
How can you apply this in real life?
Here are some more ways you can use this strategy to develop new habits. Meditation.
Want to meditate consistently and become more mindful?
Meditate for 60 seconds on the first day.
On the second day, meditate for 70 seconds. Continue this pattern until you reach a length of time that satisfies you or is too long to do all at once. For example, 10 minutes of meditation might be too much. When you reach that point, break your sessions into easier blocks.
For example, meditate for 5 minutes in the morning and then 5 minutes in the evening. Go for a walk.
Get a device that measures the number of steps you take per day (pedometer, FitBit, app on your phone, etc.).
Walk 1,000 steps the first day, which most people already do every day. On the second day, add 100 steps so you walk a total of 1,100 steps.
The extra 100 steps could be walking to the mailbox and back – that’s not that far. Continue this pattern until time no longer allows you to walk more each day. Let’s assume that this point is 10,000 steps per day.
At that point, break up your walking time into shorter jogs. Reading.
Would you like to read more books?
Read for one minute on the first day.
On the second day, read for two minutes. Continue this pattern until you reach a reading time that either satisfies you or is too long to read in one sitting. For example, if you read for more than 20 minutes at a time, that’s too long for you.
Dental floss. No habit of flossing?
Floss only one tooth on the first day. You are not allowed to floss two teeth.
On the second day, floss two teeth.
Continue this pattern. After a month, you will floss all your teeth every day.
Do small habits really make a difference?
I know that these small advances can seem almost meaningless, especially at first. But small habits can actually lead to incredible progress very quickly.
If you were to do the examples above for a month, here’s what would happen.
If you started with 10 push-ups and added one every day, you would do 775 push-ups in 30 days.
If you start with 1 minute of reading and add 1 minute each day, you would have read over 8 hours in 30 days (enough to finish a 400-page book each month).
If you start with 1,000 steps and walk 100 more steps each day, you would walk 77,500 steps (almost 39 miles) in 30 days.
Small, consistent progress adds up very quickly.
Try these three rules for yourself
These three rules for sticking to good habits are simple, but they work.
Here they are again:
You must start with a version of the habit that is incredibly easy for you. It needs to be so simple that you can’t say no, and so easy that you don’t find it hard at all at first.
You need to increase your habit every day, but in an incredibly small way.
Even after you increase the habit, all the sentences must remain simple. The entire habit should be broken down into easier parts as needed.
Give it a try and see what you think! As always, I am open to any feedback and criticism. Sharing with others helps us all grow and learn.
If you’re looking for more practical ideas for getting rid of bad habits and creating good ones, check out my book Atomic Habits, where I show you how small habit changes can lead to remarkable results.
Advice from Icehrm.com , the promising HR digital platform.
