How micro habits will help you make lasting changes

The start of every new season gives us a chance to organize our life in a new way, and maybe create good new habits too. But how can we maintain these new habits and make them a lasting change?

Begin by reflecting on what you want to change. Maybe you want to lose weight, stop a bad habit, or start exercising? Make it clear to yourself why it’s important to you. Then take as small steps as possible in that direction.

Think micro-habits. Instead of deciding to start meditating 30 minutes a day, decide to take two deep breaths each time you receive an email. After a while, it becomes a signal that you should do it, and sometimes when you sit and breathe, maybe it becomes a few minutes of meditation. Another micro-habit could be to put on your training shoes for a while every day, and see everything in addition, like walking around the house, as a bonus.

The finesse of micro-habits is to make it as easy as possible to get into the habit, that you can repeat it every day. It’s also important to link the habit to a clear signal in your everyday life to make it easier to keep it up.

Creating change using micro-habits is about shifting perspective from reaching a specific goal to instead focus on having a direction in your everyday life. Failure to achieve goals can create frustration and feelings of guilt and shame. But if you fail to live by your value or the direction you have chosen, it’s easier to quickly switch to the right course again.

Start by asking yourself what direction you want, what values you want to live by and what characterizes situations where you feel satisfied. To sustain lifestyle changes, you need to feel that what you are doing feels meaningful. Ask yourself why you want to make the change and for whom you are doing it.

Try not to multitask. It’s a myth that multitasking makes us more effective. Our brain can only focus on one thing at a time, and research shows that it can take several minutes to become focused again after an interruption.

I use micro-habits myself and when I for example work with people with a sedentary lifestyle to increase their activity level. One of my clients' complaints was, "I don’t have time to take an hour or 30 minutes to walk." My solution was to suggest several two-minute intervals that would equal 30 minutes throughout the day — just stand up, stretch, do a couple of exercises such as rotating your shoulders and doing a couple of squats. The result was successful. Once she became comfortable with this, I got her up to 10-minute intervals three times a day, of doing simple exercises and walking. Now she’s exercising and walking 30 minutes a day in one go and enjoying it, and this change took only a few months.

To make a lasting change, start wherever you are with micro-habits and stretch a tiny bit more each time. If you fall off the wagon or experience resistance, try to identify the cause or circumstances – who you were with, where you were, or your emotional state. The key is to get up and get back on the path again. You may go back and forward a few times because making a lasting change takes time. Your level of readiness to change will determine how successful you are, and how long it will take to make a lasting change.

I'm using a new micro habit to help me stay hydrated throughout the day. I tend to forget to drink enough water when I'm working, so I've set a timer to remind me. What will yours be?

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash