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A few shows where we read articles to you, so that we're going to get right to it as we optimize your life. How to Change Every Part of Your Life with Tiny Habits by Kaylin Bruce of MoneyMiniblog.com I've always promoted the idea of starting small when creating new habits. We all know that we can't start a new workout routine by running 10 miles a day. That's obvious, but even if you aren't starting that big, you may be starting too big.
It's usually not starting way too big that messes us up. It's starting just a little bit bigger than we should have, just big enough to stop the habit after a few days, weeks, or months. And this is where tiny habits come in. B.J.
Fog PhD has started a habit revolution with tiny habits, and people are accomplishing amazing things by implementing them. I'm going to show you how they work and how you can start implementing tiny habits today, right now, actually. How habits work. You acquire habits through repetition.
There was a myth that it takes 21 days to form a new habit, which is probably true for some habits, but there wasn't much science to back that claim up. And my personal experience shows that not to be true. Studies now show that it takes closer to two months. And that's not the point here, though, because this is going to be so easy, you shouldn't have a problem doing it.
However, since it is so easy, you'll be able to do it for well over two months, even as you increase the habit. What's important is that you know you need to consistently, daily, repeat a new habit for it to stick. But this isn't as easy as it sounds. The first day usually goes well, and maybe the second, possibly the entire first week while you're still motivated by the newness of the habit.
But how long does it last if you start too big? Not long. Unless you're extremely self-disciplined, but even then, there's no reason to make it so hard on yourself. You risk losing the habit.
Habits are not created out of motivation. Motivation is always temporary. We're looking for a way to do our habits, whether we are motivated or not. Dr.
Fogg is found that way. To make a habit stick, start small and slowly increase your habits until you're where you want to be. Start with a tiny habit. Here's how they work.
How tiny habits work. BJ Fogg describes a tiny habit as a behavior you do at least once a day, a behavior that takes you less than 30 seconds, and a behavior that requires little effort. Part of the habit creation process is the reward. In the power of habit, Charles Dewitt explains that habits are made up of three primary parts, Q, routine, and reward.
You need something that cues you to start the habit, the trigger, then you do the habit, then you have to experiment with some type of reward. Since a tiny habit is tiny, the reward should be tiny as well, and it will still work. Dr. Fogg suggests that enthusiastically saying the word awesome after completing a tiny habit can be enough to help it stick.
A tiny habit only requires a tiny reward. Here's how Dr. Fogg puts it. The stronger you feel a positive emotion after your tiny habit, the faster it will become automatic in your life.
It's important to add each tiny habit after an existing habit. Your existing habit is the trigger. There are things you do every day, no matter what. These are things like eating, bodily functions, waking up, things you do that you don't even think about doing.
Here are some examples of tiny habits combined with existing behaviors. After I brush my teeth, I will floss one tooth. After I pour my morning coffee, I will text my mom. After I start the dishwasher, I will read one sentence from a book.
After I walk in my door from work, I will get out my workout clothes. After I sit down on the train, I will open my sketch notebook. After I hear any phone ring, I will exhale and relax for two seconds. After I put my head on the pillow, I'll think of one good thing for my day.
Or after I arrive home, I'll hang my keys up by the door. It's important to combine the habit with a previously established habit so you remember to do it every time. How a behavior works. Depending on the type of habit you're creating, you will approach it differently.
It's very important to know which type of behavior change you're going for. There are actually 15 ways a behavior can change. It all depends on if you've done the behavior before, how long you plan to do the behavior, and the type of behavior. Dr.
Fogg created a behavior wizard that guides you through a series of questions and then explains which one of the 15 types of your behavior falls into. Just look up, behavior wizard will come up. I highly suggest typing any habit you're working on into that wizard to learn more about that specific type of behavior change. If you're really interested in behavior change and want to implement some tiny habits, I suggest signing up for a five-day session with Dr.
Fogg. If it's free to sign up, it really just requires you to fill out some information and then track three tiny habits for a five-day period. You help yourself by learning more about tiny habits and you help others by contributing to Dr. Fogg's research and creating habits.
It actually reads all of the habits that people submit and he explains more about each one. I've completed a session, it was simple and fun, and he replies to your questions. He starts a new session each Monday that you can join, all you do is answer a few questions up front, choose a few tiny habits to implement to then respond to his emails for the five-day sessions. It's all about trial and error.
Just like budgeting, goal setting, and dieting, you have to keep at it until you get the hang of it. It doesn't take long to get the hang of tiny habits. They're super easy. Of course, if you keep the habit tiny forever, you'll continue to see tiny results.
The idea is to increase the habit over time. You're not looking for results in the beginning, you're just trying to create the habit. The results come later. After you use the bathroom, you may do two push-ups.
Next week, make it four. In 12 weeks, you'll be doing 24 push-ups every time you have to pee. If you implement the habit of drinking more water, you'll be doing well over 100 push-ups a day. I highly recommend looking up and watching Dr.
Fogg's video about tiny habits when you have a few minutes. They really can change your life, and you can use them in every area. You just listen to the post titled How to Change Every Part of Your Life with Tiny Habits by Caitlin Bruce of MoneyMiniblog.com. Thank you to Caitlin.
It might seem too basic or even ridiculous to floss only one tooth, but if that's something you struggle with, maybe that's the solution you need to build it into a habit. For me, I agree that 21 days to build a habit or two months, whatever that is, of doing something consistently, that that idea sort of misses a point and I'm not sure it really applies. Something I found in my own life is that our environment can play a huge role in that habit, even more so than time. As an example, if I'm traveling or really just not at home, for me personally, it's really difficult to maintain some specific habits, one that I built more recently was stretching before my nighttime shower.
But when something got in the way, either not staying at home or not feeling well, it kind of got lost in the mix. And I might have had that habit for six months, but it's easy to lose. Granted, I think it's easier to start back up again compared to if I had only done it for like a few days instead of six months. But environment does play a huge role.
For diet, keeping the healthy foods at eye level and within reach, and the junk food way up in a high cupboard or not in the house at all can make a big difference. So that's something I'd add, pay attention to your environment as a bonus. I think you can increase our odds of success. But I'll leave it there for today, hope you're having a great Friday if you're listening in real time, continue building those habits, and I'll see you tomorrow over the weekend, where your optimal life awaits.