Building long term sustainable habits
New Years resolutions are great...
…if you want to gaslight yourself. Let's be honest: Does anybody stick to them for more than two months??? For these fancy formulated new year promises to acutally stay, they need to become habits! Just like your daily morning routine happens subconsciously. Imagine you'd need to actively think about brushing your teeth and all that. If your resolution is to be more active in the morning, it doesn't really help to think about it for too much - you should just do it (subconsciously)!
Obviously, the elephant in the room is: How to develop these habits?
More importantly, how to stick to them?
Lucky you, we have some tips for that!
First of all, you need to be clear about what habits you want to establish. Getting up earlier? Being more active? Eating healthier? Have a look at some more inspiration for you to find your bad good habits for 2023.
What are good habits?
Habits are only good, if you know why they work. So before you start copying TikTok routines - think about if they actually make sense for you.
Also, trying to change your life overnight unfortunately doesn't work in most cases.
Here are some examples for good habits:
1. Prioritizing good sleep!
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Going to bed 30 minutes earlier than usual sounds like a no-brainer but it should be on everyone's list of habits.
2. Making your bed after getting up
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You probably heard this advice about a hundred times already. It's still pretty relevant though. If you need a motivational boost in the morning - what's better than a little feeling of success? Your mornings are going to be more productive than ever!
3. Being active in the morning
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Sounds like torment to you? Break your expectations down into small steps. As soon as you have found your rhythm, becoming a morning person is easier than you thought! Even a short workout can boost your energy levels extremely - especially in the morning.
4. Nuts > Crisps
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You probably know where this is going. After countless hours of studying (or binge-watching Netflix), your brain wants a snack. How about you take some nuts instead of chips next time. At least you don't feel like you've been in a food-coma after you ate the entire bag.
5. Getting up from your desk once in a while
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Every smart-watch owner knows the notification after you sat for too long. "Stand up and move a little for a minute." - There's a reason that exists. So why not get up and walk around for a bit every once in a while to refill your energy levels a little. Obviously, you should only do it if the siuation is right, lol.
6. Cleaning up a bit after leaving your room
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WIth that you actively combat the messiness of your room and you'll experience the little success feeling again just like in tip 2.
7. Taking three breaks a day to socialize
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Study says... (
). Just kidding. For real though, high performing people actually take three breaks per day to socialize and talk to others. Why don't you try that as well? Don't underestimate the power of taking breaks. Especially if you're able to plan your day flexibly!
Ideally you develop habits for yourself. Obviously, there are countless more, however every habit should always fit to you individually!
How to build habits?
Just like Rome wasn't build in a day, you want to start small with your habits.
Most routines will seem impossible at first. So it definitely helps to break down your goals. If you can't get up in the morning, for example, it might be wise to start with getting up 10 minutes earlier everyday and steadily increasing that number. You'll realize how much progress you'll make daily. With that, the will to keep up this streak will kick in and suddenly you've built a new habit. Getting up one hour earlier and running for 30 minutes can then feel a lot easier than you think.
Also, when it comes to sport, the principle of splitting your goals can be extremely helpful. Instead of running 20 minutes in one go, splitting it up into two seperate 10 minute runs can be extremely helpful.
There will always be days when you feel too tired or too stressed out to stick to your habits. Who cares? It happens. What's more important is that you stick to them in the long run and get back into them as fast as possible. Skipping one day doesn't really affect your perseverance. As long as you don't avoid them for more than two days in a row, you should be fine.
Ready to rock 2023?!?
Just like always in life: The keys to success are patience and perseverance. You probably won't see the results immediately overnight - even if you have manifested them on the 31st of december. At the end of the day (or the year, lol), habits will always be just a matter of getting used to them. Even a yoga session in the morning can be part of your daily routine, as long as you stick to it.
