How To Effectively Form a New Habit

We all understand how hard it is to break a bad habit; stopping certain speaking mannerisms, not picking your nose in public, or quitting smoking (though that also has other factors at play). Some things become habits so easily and are almost impossible to stop. It stands to reason, then, that if we can take something we want to be doing and turn it into a habit, life would be so much easier. However, anyone who has tried to start up good habits will know how hard it can be. Is there really a fool-proof way to develop a good habit?

It has often been said that it takes 8 weeks to form a new habit, or three weeks, maybe six weeks or if you read somewhere else, any other number of weeks. Unfortunately, there is no fixed formula. The time it takes to form a habit depends a lot on what you are trying to do.

But don't despair! There are still key factors that if utilized properly will turn your good intention into a life long habit.

First of all, the difficulty of the habit has a major affect on the time it will take to stick. Remembering to floss after your brush your teeth isn't so hard, but trying to teach yourself to sit down and write your best selling novel for three hours a night might take a bit more time. This doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, but why not work in baby steps? Training yourself to sit down for half an hour after dinner is not nearly as daunting as three hours, and once you have that sorted, you can build up to a whole hour, then an hour and a half. Soon you might find you are writing all night!

Second, the more often you perform the desired action, the faster and stronger it will form as a habit. It has been found that this is especially important at the beginning. So when planning to introduce a new habit into your life, try to perform it everyday, even if later you might drop that back a bit. Also make sure that you pick the most advantageous time to start the new habit, as repeated failure can instill a negative attitude. For example, don't try starting your new diet just before your birthday when you know there will be cake and champagne for days in a row.

The final factor you should take into account is how much it clashes with your old habits. The more it clashes, the longer it will take or the less likely it will form at all. Therefore, when planning your habit forming behavior, try to minimize how much it conflicts with your current habits. Want to start going to the gym everyday? Well, get yourself off to a good start by not scheduling it at the same time as X-Factor if you just can't skip it (unless you go to a gym with a TV, and tell yourself you can only watch while jogging... that might work). Look at your daily routine and try to slip the new habit in somewhere it won't cause too many waves, and if you can, try piggy backing on another habit. Always sit down to watch Deal or No Deal? Keep your new language study textbooks next to the TV and when Deal finishes, German starts.

Keeping in mind these three factors will help you to maximize the effectiveness of your new habit. Spend a little time planning how to best implement it and within weeks you will be finding the habit harder and harder to break.