50 Actionable Tips & Ideas for Getting Positive Habits to Stick
Welcome to my Habit Bible. You’re going to want to bookmark this…
This list has 50 well-researched ideas and pieces of actionable advice to help you start new habits and make sure they stick.
I’ve linked to articles that expand on these ideas — because I wanted this list to be as brief as possible.
Don’t forget to bookmark so you can come back to it later. It’s a long old read!
If it helps you even a tiny bit, you can repay me for free with a quick follow. This took ages to write — so it’d mean more than you think.
1. Anchor to Existing Habits.
This is known as habit stacking. If you already brush your teeth every day and you want to write in your journal more often, make a habit of writing in your journal right after you’ve brushed your teeth.
Anchor what you want to do, to what you do already. Read more about habit stacking here.
2. Use Streaks
I recently started the habit of learning a little bit of Spanish on Duolingo each day. Today marks my 40-day streak. I really don’t want to lose my streak, so I keep practicing!
Read more about how DuoLingo streaks build habits or check out the habit-forming app Streaks.
3. Write It Down
You should always commit your goals to writing — research shows you are 42% more likely to achieve them. Not bad, for about a minute’s work!
I also think you should write down what positive new habits you want to implement. Read this article about how writing things down can help.
4. Track Your Habits
I recently started a habit tracker spreadsheet and it has changed the game for me. I tick off the things I’ve done each day, which gives me a weird sense of satisfaction and makes me want to keep it up. Read more about starting a habit tracker.
5. Don’t Miss Twice
There are habits that I’m tracking which I don’t get done sometimes. Life gets in the way, you miss the gym, forget to make your bed, or whatever it may be.
Not to worry — studies show that missing any given day of a habit has no long-term effect on your ability to stick to it, as long as you get on track. So when I miss one, I commit completely to getting back on track the next day.
Like James Clear says: avoid the second mistake.
6. Have a Goal
It’s important to have an end goal in sight. I’ve always found that if I try and start going for a run each week because I think I should, I’m not unlikely to fall off the wagon. But when I’m training for a marathon, I have something to work towards and I’m more likely to keep it up.
I try and have a goal associated with each of my habits.
7. Visualize Your Goals
Writing your goals down is powerful (see tip #3) but you should visualize them as well. Visualizing yourself achieving your goals is a great motivator.
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion”— Muhammad Ali
8. But… Focus On The System — Not The Goal
Once you have your goals visualised, it’s absolutely crucial to understand this: You won’t achieve it today. Your long-term goal is the big picture, but your system is the thing that will inch you closer to that goal every day.
This isn’t contrary to the above. Goals are important — but systems are effective. Read more from James Clear on systems.
“The purpose of setting goals is to win the game. The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game.” — James Clear
9. Make Your Habits Time-Bound Not Outcome-Bound
Your goal might be to read 20 pages of a book each day. If you’re tired, grouchy or reading a particularly boring chapter, this could be frustrating and take ages.
It’s smarter to set a goal of reading for twenty minutes each day — and you’re less likely to fail that way, according to point five of this article.
10. Use Other People to Hold You Accountable
If you tell your co-workers that you are going to the gym every day, you’ll have extra motivation to do it — because you don’t want them to see you not showing up.
This NY Times Article is a good read on the subject of accountability partners.
11. Use A ‘Stick’ Instead of A ‘Carrot’
In this Diary of a CEO podcast episode, guest Dr. Lieberman tells of a friend who pledged to donate to a political cause she opposed if she didn’t do a certain habit.
You could tell a friend that you’ll give them £10 for every day you skip the gym. Both are good motivation.
12. Make It Visible
When you’re starting out and your new habits aren’t yet ingrained, it can be easy to just forget them on a certain day. A simple post-it note on the door could be the difference between doing it or not!
13. Understand ‘Reminder, Routine, Reward’
All habits can be understood as having three stages — Reminder, Routine, Reward. Once you know this, you can set a reminder (see tip #1 and tip #12) to cue your habit, and even reward yourself (tip #24) for completing your habit.
Read more about Reminder, Routine, Reward — also referred to as Cue, Routine, Reward — from this extract of Charles Duhigg’s book.
14. Improve Your Night Time Routine
If (like me) you’re not a morning person, a good night-time routine can help immensely. Examples from my life right now:
- I’ve packed my bag for the gym the night before, so I don’t need to faff in the morning to maintain my habit of going to the gym
- I’ve made my lunch the night before — also in my bag — my habit of eating better is now easier
This ties in nicely with tip #29, which is to remove friction.
15. Trust Your Routine
Some advice from one of my mentors. Maybe you feel a bit more tired than usual this morning, and think that you’ll go to the gym at lunchtime instead. Or you’re in a rush, so instead of journalling now like you usually do, you’ll do it later. Try and avoid this!
Have faith in your routine — it’s there for a reason.
16. Do It at the Same Time Every Day
This is similar to the last point, but still worth iterating. Your habit is more likely to stick if you do it at the same time every day.
You’ll begin to subconsciously expect to do your habit at a certain type of day. Section number eight of this article explains the point nicely.
17. Commit To 30 Days
If you really want to implement a new habit, you should be able to do it every day for a month, right?
Commit to doing something for only thirty days, and you might be surprised at what you can achieve. Here’s a relevant Ted Talk that’s worth watching.
18. Don’t Rely on the ‘21 Day Rule’ Wisdom
You might have seen or heard that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Take that with a pinch of salt!
New studies suggest that it can last between 66 and 254 days. Here’s a great Medium article on the subject.
19. Create A New Identity First
Here’s some more great advice from James Clear (author of Atomic Habits). He says it better — so I’m going to quote him directly.
“Your current behaviors are simply a reflection of your current identity. What you do now is a mirror image of the type of person you believe that you are (either consciously or subconsciously).
To change your behavior for good, you need to start believing new things about yourself. You need to build identity-based habits.” — James Clear
20. Start Small
It’s tempting to think that you can change your life in big sweeping motions. In reality, if you try and implement a huge new habit straight away, you’re setting yourself up to fail.
It’s better to start by running around the block every day thn it is to start by running a 10k.
“Make it so easy you can’t say no ”— Leo Babauta
21. One at a Time, please!
Similarly, a common reason for failing to maintain new habits can be that you are setting too many at once.
It’s preferable to put 100% of your mental or physical energy into one new habit than it is to put 20% of your energy into five new ones. Inspired by point one in this article.
22. Start with the One You Want the Most
As per the idea above, it’s better to put as much energy as you can into one new habit. To minimize friction, you should start with the habit that you are most likely to do. Remember (tip #20) that it’s best to smart small!
This isn’t about achieving goals — it’s about becoming a person who instils new habits successfully. You can build on it later.
23. Understand Keystone Habits.
The link between your habit and your goal isn’t always obvious. One of the habits Sir Alex Ferguson insisted on from his players was wearing blazers to all football matches. The act itself didn’t make them better footballers — but it did have an effect on their attitude.
Keystone habits aren’t directly related to goals, but they are where positive change begins. Read this article for more.
24. Reward Yourself for Wins
Instilling new habits isn’t easy. Rewarding yourself for changing a habit can be an effective way to encourage yourself — as well as a bit of fun.
This article is a really in-depth guide to using rewards to change your habits.
25. Be Constructive with Losses
I track my new habits and have had weeks where I’ve done a rubbish job of being consistent. Instead of beating yourself up about this, you can do something constructive — for example, trying to understand why you didn’t journal on that day, and how you can stop that happening again.
26. Prepare for Roadblocks
There’s a reason that you don’t already have the habits you want. Perhaps a busy schedule has stopped you from getting to the gym regularly.
Familiarize yourself with blockers now so that you can recognize them later on. This article has a great paragraph about it.
27. Do It Now — Optimize It Later
I spend a lot of time thinking about habits I’d like — but most of them don’t even get to the starting line.
It’s better to start now than it is to plan forever.
For example: it’s better to go to the gym today and have a go, then it is to spend all week planning the perfect gym routine, before losing interest.
28. Set Reminders
I used to wake up using Alarmy, an alarm clock app where I had to scan a barcode in my kitchen to turn it off. In my kitchen, I had a note reminding me of the morning routine I wanted to achieve.
Don’t let “I forgot” be your excuse.
29. Remove Friction
You should make it as easy as possible to do your own habits. If you want to get into the habit of sending birthday cards to your friends — buy a bunch of birthday cards so that they’re always on hand!
The section Environment Design, Part III in this blog offers a great explanation.
30. Pair It with Something You Love
Pairing is a term to describe what happens when one stimulus gets attached to another.
Love books but hate running? Try running with an audiobook to make your new habit more enjoyable. Referred to in this article as Temptation Bundling.
31. Use Role Models
You should surround yourself with people who inspire you. That could even be virtually. If you’re trying to forge fitness habits, follow people on Instagram or YouTube who can inspire you.
I follow David Goggins, and watch him when I can’t be bothered to go for a run…
32. Understand Your ‘Why?’
Most things are better when they are done for a reason. I’d guess that at least 50% of people wish they had a better morning routine.
Implementing a better morning routine so that you can get that promotion or start your own business will give you more motivation to continue than doing it for the sake of it.
33. Do It for Yourself
It can be easy to compare yourself to others — wanting to be a faster runner than a friend, for example. But remember — the best motivation comes from yourself.
34. Get Smart
If you truly want to forge better habits, reading this article could be the first step! After that, get smart with habit building by reading about it.
Two of the books (widely considered to be the best on the subject) are Atomic Habits by James Clear and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.
Buy them today, read them this week and become a better you!
35. Use Your Phone
Many of us spend too much time on our phone. Put that time to good use!
Check out this article with a list of great apps for building better habits.
36. Replace A Bad Habit
It’s common wisdom for those who are trying to quit smoking that you should replace your unwanted addiction with something healthier — like exercising.
This can apply elsewhere as well. I deleted Instagram and my email apps when I downloaded Duolingo so that whenever I pulled my phone out for a scroll, I ended up learning instead.
37. If You’re Struggling to Start — Do It for Five Minutes
I learned this from YouTuber Ali Abdaal.
If you’re struggling to get started, you can tell yourself that you’ll do something for five minutes — and if you’re not feeling it, you can stop. Here it is from the source.
38. Say Victory
One quirky tip is to say “Victory” or “Success” every time you do your habit. This small positive reinforcement verbalizes your achievement and gives you closure on the task.
I noticed a variation of this from my favorite language-learning app Duolingo — each time you extend your streak you are shown a congratulations page and have to click a button that says “I’m committed” to move on.
39. Say Victory by Midday
This isn’t a habits idea per se — but it’s a really nice idea that ties in with the above. For more successful days, declare victory by midday. Read this compelling article to find out more about winning the day, every day.
40. Use A Good Cue
Here’s an example of a great cue: Have 20 or 30 books on reserve at the library at any one time. This tees you up to read more.
41. Buy Smaller Plates
If you want to eat less food, you should buy smaller plates. According to one study, reducing your plate size from 12-inch to 10-inch would mean you ate 22% less food over the course of a year.
Think of inventive ways to encourage your new habits — and read more about plate sizes here.
42. Understand Your Spaces
For me, space is incredibly important. I can’t work from home, so if I’m trying to encourage positive work-based habits, I first have to be in an environment where I’m feeling productive — like my co-working space.
Better spaces = better chance of success.
43. Prime Your Environment
In a similar vein, priming your environment to alleviate friction gives you a better chance of success.
Want to draw more? Put your pencils, pens, notebooks, and drawing tools on top of your desk, within easy reach.
Want to know more about this? Here’s an article from James Clear.
44. Control Your Environment
Priming your environment can improve your chance of enforcing positive habits. Similarly (as shown in this blog, under Changing habits: 5 mistakes to avoid) you should control your environment to reduce negative patterns.
Per the article: “If you’re still going to grab fast food with co-workers after a bad day, you probably won’t stop stress eating and adopt intuitive eating.”
45. How Do You Eat an Elephant?
I’ll tell you how — one bite at a time. Understand that your goal is an elephant and a habit is just one bite.
If you do one small action every day, you’ll achieve your goal.
46. Understand Your Timeline — Greatness Doesn’t Take a Week
Inspired by the above, and also by idea #8 in this list. Habits are about your system, and about gradually working towards a goal. You should have a goal with a set timeline, and work out how many times you’ll need to carry out your habit to get there.
The goal might be “get 100 Medium followers by next month” — and the habit might be “write an article every day.”
47. Gain Momentum
Two things that I have never really read about — but realized from my own experience — are spaces (idea #42) and momentum.
When I’ve been doing something regularly, like going to the gym, I find it easier to do the next day. In general, if I’m showing up, working hard, and getting things done, it’s because I’ve been doing that for a little while. I have momentum.
48. Understand When You’re Losing Momentum
Following on from the previous point, when you don’t have momentum it’s harder to be motivated. Miss a couple of days of gym and I’m less likely to go today (see point number #5 of the list).
If you lose momentum, you should be aware of it and try to diagnose why it’s happened — so you can get back on the horse, and try to avoid falling off again.
49. Be Gentle with Yourself
Improvement is a journey, rather than a destination. At least 99% of us who try to implement a new habit will skip it at some point.
It’s easy to be annoyed with yourself when this happens — but more productive to forgive yourself and make up for it next time.
50. Start!
If you’ve read this far, then first things first — thanks!
Secondly, you’re clearly committed to learning about implementing and maintaining new habits.
Going from zero to one is the most difficult bit. Doing your habit for the first time is half the battle.
You’re in the driving seat of your life. Good habits come from you and you only.
Only you can get started. So, start!
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