Building Habits: The Tinier the Better
In my last article, I talked about how having good habits builds up your chances of success. So how do you build habits? That’s what we’ll be talking about today. I’m pulling information from BJ Fogg’s book, Tiny Habits. I highly recommend you grab a copy to see how you can implement it for yourself if you want to read more about the research he did around this!
Ok, here are the basic steps to use Tiny Habits to build successful habits:
• Identify the habit you want to develop. What was the goal you wanted to achieve at the beginning of the year? Was it to exercise so you can lose weight and get healthier (habit = exercise)? Maybe it was saving more money so you could retire earlier or go on more vacations. (habit = save money)
• Break the habit down into small manageable steps. For example, if your goal is to exercise regularly, start with something as simple as doing one push-up every day. For saving money, maybe start with just $5 per month.
• Choose a trigger for the habit. A trigger is something that reminds you to perform the habit. It could be a specific time of day, a particular event, or a physical cue. BJ Fogg talks about doing push-ups every time he used the bathroom (trigger = using the bathroom). Perhaps to save money, you deposit what you want to save every time you get a paycheck. (trigger = receiving a paycheck)
• Celebrate your success every time you successfully complete your tiny habit. This could be as simple as saying “Yes!” or giving yourself a small high five.
• Increase the habit gradually. Once you’ve successfully completed your tiny habit for a few days, gradually increase the difficulty. For example, if you started with one push-up a day, you could increase it to two push-ups a day. For saving more money, it may take a couple of months, depending on how often you get paid, but you can increase from $5 to $10.
There are a couple of things I want to highlight from this prescribed format. The first is to start small. Too often, we set a huge goal and expect it to be completed from day 1. Starting with something that’s easy, or maybe even too easy, seems silly but is important for building up momentum. Keeping it easy gives you a quick win. The quick win gives you confidence in what you’re doing, making you more willing and capable of completing the bigger task.
Second, we need a trigger. I often hear people say, “I don’t get why I can’t just do (the thing they want to do)!” Here’s a reality to life—If you haven’t been doing it, you’re not going to start doing it without lots of reminders. Think about all the times' kids are reminded to put on coats or wash their hands before they eat. But guess what… isn’t that how they learned it? With all the reminders from their parents and teachers? Until they learned to remind themselves internally to the point it just became something they do? We need reminders too.
Finally, I want to emphasize the importance of celebration. I think, as adults, we’re not good at celebrating often enough. We celebrate holidays and birthdays and when we get our bonus or raise at work, but that’s not nearly often enough. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not very good at doing this. In fact, I’m working on having more fun and being playful in my own life, and part of that is celebrating more often. I want to catch myself when I do something good or recognize the best effort I’ve put into something and celebrate. A simple example is when I cook something or bake some bread that tastes good, I’ll say to myself, “You did good, Kev!” and give myself a high five. I make sure to do this in front of my wife, too, because my favorite part is when my wife rolls her eyes at me. So not only am I celebrating, but I get to have fun with my wife as well.
So. Break. It. Down. What’s your tiny habit? How can you make it so simple that success is inevitable? What’s a good cue or trigger to remind you to do that thing? How can you celebrate better and more often?
I’m very excited to hear your responses.
Coach Kev helps people achieve calm, clarity, and confidence in their life while starting small and building from there. Contact him at kevinkoocoaching@gmail.com, or follow on IG and YouTube @kevinkoocoaching
