How to Implement Lasting Habits Into Your Life
Implementing new habits is something most people struggle with - whether we are neurodivergent or neurotypical. Good routines can immensely simplify our lives and help us reach our goals more easily. Whether we want to eat more healthfully, run more frequently in nature, get up earlier or start projects sooner so that we have enough time to complete them before the deadline, it takes some effort to change our routine and get used to new ways of doing things.
Yet, what does it take to create lasting change? What do we need to do to make our motivation last, our habits permanent, and our routines enjoyable? If we want to change our habits, how would we go about doing so?
One reason why habits do not stick longer than a few weeks is usually the way we implement them. Let’s say you haven’t worked out in a while, and you suddenly decide you need to run five times a week in order to get into shape. Or even better – you can barely run a mile, but you decide to sign up for a marathon four months from now because … why not?
We have all been there – it is easy to do nothing for a while and then go all in – only to burn out quickly and return to our old habits.
The same holds true if we want to change our study routine. You decide that you need to bring up your grades FAST or work on your writing skills or become more proficient in a language – and everything needs to happen ASAP. You put a schedule together and ambitiously pencil in an hour a day of additional study time – even though your gut is telling you that an hour might be a bit much. Day 1 goes well, day 2 is a bit of a struggle, on day 3 you only manage half an hour, and on day 4 you skip studying entirely because you want to meet a friend instead. And before you know it you have abandoned your plans in their entirety.
When we want to create lasting change, it is important that we do things SLOWLY - especially when we already have problems with time management or completing tasks. As we all know, it takes a while to establish new habits – according to research, on average 66 days - but for many of us it takes much longer until we feel comfortable with our new routine.
For example, if you want to improve your language skills in French, you might want to start with five new words a day. Five new words a day doesn’t sound like much, but the effect is cumulative – on day three you have to review ten words to make sure you remember them correctly, plus memorize five new ones. In order to make things stick you have to consistently go back to old materials and that in and of itself takes some time. It is easier – and more efficient in the long run – to start slowly and do just a little every day – but keep doing it without fail. Change doesn’t happen overnight – and it is much better to be consistent with a little than start with a lot but stop after a few days or weeks.
Not following through with your plans can have a negative impact on your self-esteem. If you consistently make plans that you cannot keep, you lose faith in your ability to change, and it becomes harder and harder to convince yourself that there is hope. That’s when our self-confidence takes a hit and we feel like we cannot trust ourselves anymore. In addition, it is much easier to find excuses if your plans are too ambitious. If your plans are unrealistic, you feel that you have good reasons to stop since you were aiming for the sky.
Overall, you will feel much more motivated when you set realistic goals - and, of course, what realistic means various from person to person. Remember that sense of accomplishment when you followed through and met your goals? – that’s what we are aiming for. So, if you decide to sit down to come up with ambitious plans, keep the above in mind: Slow down, set small goals, and reward yourself for tiny improvements. Do a little for a while until it becomes an established habit - no matter how long it will take - and then implement something else. There is no shame in starting small – as long as you stick with it you will be surprised how quickly you will accomplish your goal and have fun along the way!
Need additional help with goal setting or establishing a routine? Reach out anytime and sign up for a free discovery session. I am here to support you on your journey.
