Secret Strategy for Creating New Habits Nearly Instantaneously
Many of us have heard the much-quoted theory that it takes an average of 21 days to form a new habit. Depending on numerous factors including your personality and how big of a change you are proposing, other research has shown it could take substantially longer to solidify a new habit. As in many months of effort.
This can be a pretty depressing thought when you’re committed to creating a positive change in your life or business. The last thing I want to face in my already too-busy schedule is the thought of battling for weeks on end to turn that new change into a bona fide habit.
I have great news for you though! The authors of Switch propose a strategy that makes the formation of new habits virtually instantaneous. They call it “action triggers”. This is my take on the idea based on experiments in my own business and the businesses of my clients…
1. Choose the new habit you want to create. Be very specific in what actions you will take as part of that new habit. “Be more healthy” is not a new habit. “Take a 30-minute walk every morning” is clear and specific. You’ll know when you’re achieving success with that one. Also, make sure your new habit is something that has a compelling “why” behind it. If you don’t feel a strong emotional connection around your new habit, you’ve already lost the battle before you’ve even begun.
2. Identify a solidly rooted good habit that you already have. Select one that is so deep it comes as naturally as breathing to you. It is helpful if this habit is an actual action you take, and it also works better if it is compatible in terms of the same frequency as the habit you are desiring to create.
3. Piggyback the new habit with the existing one. Implement the new habit immediately before, after, or even simultaneous with the deeply rooted good habit you selected. To make this strategy for creating a new habit even more seamless, prepare any tools or systems you will need for the new habit in advance. Going back to that “30-minute walk” example, let’s say your plan is to slip the walk in between getting out of bed and your routine morning shower. Since there will inevitably be a moment of struggle each morning when you question whether that walk is really so necessary after all, head off some of the battle in advance by laying out your exercise clothes somewhere between your bed and the bathroom. Do this the night before so there are no excuses in the morning.
What you’ve just done with this strategy is eliminate a huge amount of the mental and emotional struggle involved with forming a new habit. You’ve created an anchor point and an “action trigger” that makes the new habit truly an almost overnight success.
I’ve been testing this strategy for a little while now, and I’ve got to tell you, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done in my business! If you decide to give it a try with a new habit in your life or business, let me know how it works out for you…
[...] By systems, I don’t simply mean buying the right computer programs to track all your critical business data. Systems could include things like tweaking your environment or forming habits to keep you on track. (One of my favorite “magic” solutions for creating new habits is piggy-backing, which I blogged about here.) [...]