Lingering New Years Resolutions? Tips That Lead to Better Habit-Making
by Megan Arimanda
“Be the designer of your world, not merely the consumer of it.”
- James Clear, author of #1 New York Times bestseller
Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results
Why is it so hard to make new habits and keep those New Year’s resolutions?
Starting a New Year’s resolution is exciting! Whether the goal is to start a good habit or break a bad one, we tend to start strong. But when that initial motivation and willpower wears off, it’s natural to fall back into old routines. If this sounds familiar to you, you’re not alone. Most people tend to give up on their resolution within one to six weeks of starting, even when the same resolution is repeated year after year. Some of the common reasons for giving up include lack of time, planning, motivation, and tracking progress. Common messages around us say that persistence and consistency are key, but what if we could make easy small changes to our environment to help us form new habits that align with our goals?
James Clear, author of Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results, created a science-based framework that can make it easier to simplify and stick to new habits. He breaks down the process of habit-making into four simple steps:
Cue - You experience something that reminds you of a habit (You smell a cookie shop as you go on a walk to the park)
Craving- You begin to crave what you are reminded of ( You crave a cookie)
Response- You act out the habit ( You buy a cookie and eat it)
Reward - You satisfy your craving and the cue becomes associated with the cue. (Buying a cookie becomes associated with going on a walk to the park)
To get a better understanding of how these steps rule our decision-making (or lack of), check out this table from James Clear’s website.
Tip #1: Start With Cues- “Make It Obvious” or “Make It Invisible”
Habits are essentially cues that shift our attention and lead to a set routine. For example, picking up the remote is the cue to the routine of watching TV for the next 3 or so hours. Likewise, putting on your workout clothes can be the cue to the routine of getting some exercise. Simplifying and mastering these “good” cues is key to building new routines. It shifts us from only focusing on the end goal as this can be a big jump from your old routine.
The best way to jumpstart good habit-making is to make cues obvious. Or, for bad habits, make cues invisible. For example, if we want to work out more often, we can place our workout clothes on our nightstand or place our gym bag on the front door handle. If we want to read more, we can replace the TV remote on our nightstand with a book.
Tip #2: Give Your Habits a Home
“A stable environment where everything has a place and purpose,
is a place where habits can easily form.” - James Clear
Over time, we associate certain habits with certain locations. A good rule of thumb is “one space, one use.” For example, it is much more difficult to focus on working if done in bed or on the couch because these are spaces we already associate with relaxing. Whether you rearrange your whole home or create a new corner in your room, the goal is to have a designated place for activities like work, meditation, and exercise. By redesigning our space to align with good habits and work against bad habits, we can increase the chances of associating certain places and items with our new, good habits.
Tip #3: Reduce Friction and Effort
The more we have to think about doing something, the less likely we are to actually do it, and vice versa. Therefore, we should make habits as convenient as possible. For example, if you want to start exercising in the morning, but you need to figure out what to wear, pack your bag, find clean socks, and decide what exercise to do - that is a lot of steps before the actual habit takes place. Instead, choosing clothes, packing your bag the night, and planning your exercise before reduces the steps and effort needed. Some other ways we can use this ideology to benefit our habit-making is to meal prep healthy foods in advance or resetting a space after we use it.
Remember that change is a process; be patient and kind to yourself along the way.
Interested in learning more practical strategies that can help you form good habits and achieve your goals? Check out James Clear’s bestselling book, Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results, here. And if you love minimizing physical clutter like us, consider checking your local library or digital/audiobook versions!
If your resolution is to start your decluttering journey, check out this article on our blog:
10 Steps to Jump-Start your Decluttering Journey:
If you’d like help decluttering in person in the DFW area book a complimentary consultation call here or check out our services here.