Tracking has been show to work when it comes to forming new habits. If you're hoping to embed some good habits in the new year, here are some tips we picked up when we curated our box on the theme CHANGE.
Blank slates are powerful.
Habit-forming is hard, so make it as fun as possible.
Give your future self no way out.
Humans have evolved to be lazy. It's efficient!
Failure is inevitable.
These tips came from How to Change: the science of getting where you want to be by Katy Milkman
Buy Katy Milkman's book on Bookshop.org
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Healthy brain habits
Subscribers who received our very first Drift + Focus Book Box will remember that Kimberly Wilson's How to Build a Healthy Brain included a checklist of small changes that have a big impact on your long-term brain health.
Why not try some? They included:
- Get 30 minutes of natural light in the morning or at lunchtime
- Floss at least once daily
- Check your bank balance once a week
- Sing a power ballad in the shower
- Do two minutes of slow controlled breathing every day
- Read uninterrupted for 20 minutes a day - we fully endorse this message!
You can download the full list from Kimberley's website.
Buy Kimberley Wilson's book on Bookshop.org
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How to use a habit tracker
Firstly, break your goals down as much as you can.
Doing something, no matter how small, activates your neural networks and builds confidence. Repetition rewires the brain and turns actions into habits.
Be realistic about how much you can change at any one time.
Pick a few small changes that really align with how you're feeling and double down on those. Once they're embedded you can add some more.
Include a cue beside the action to remind you when to do it.
For example "floss before brushing" - makes it more likely to get done.
Think about when you're going to do the new thing.
If you're only planning to do something once or twice a week, decide in advance which days you'll be doing it and block out the others. Making a mental commitment helps to reduce the brain chatter that might see you talk yourself out of it.
At the end of each week, reflect on how it's gone.
Adjust your goals if you felt resistance to some changes and reset for the coming week.
Get your own habit tracker + pencil £10 (free postage within the UK)
We still have a few of the exclusive habit trackers we produced for our subscribers in their CHANGE box. They come with a pencil (with a quality rubber on the end in case you change your mind) hand-stamped by the small team at Pencil-Me-In in the north of Scotland.