MY last column focused on what really requires attention to find our true purpose in life. There is another facet: when we find what is important, it needs to become a habit. Unfortunately, needing or even wanting to do something is often not enough; unless it is built into our routine, we won’t regularly accomplish it.

James Clear (in his book ‘Atomic Habits’, which I highly recommend everyone reads) said, “The quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits”.
People often ask me if they are depressed because they are not able to accomplish tasks that others seem to do with ease. Little, everyday things like brushing their teeth seem like a chore. While, yes, in some cases that can be a sign of depression, I first think it’s a lack of routine that results in a struggle.

Our attitudes and behaviours are also a reflection of our habits. If we have a habit of positive self-talk, we will have a positive attitude; if we have a habit of exercising, we will have a healthy lifestyle.

Small habits often go unnoticed, but I ask you to consider their long-term effects. The book
“Make your bed” by an ex-military officer spoke about how that small chore, which once felt draining, not only became enjoyable but completely changed his daily routine and drastically increased his motivation and productivity throughout the day.

We all know that sometimes, after a long day, the mere thought of going grocery shopping seems daunting, but if you have a routine of shopping every Wednesday, at the same time and in the same place, it becomes as regular and unaffecting as brushing your teeth. And that’s what we should try to accomplish- make life easier by developing habits out of the heavy and hated.

So, let’s make some habits!

The secret here is that habits are easier than motivation; it can effectively replace them. I would like to encourage everyone to practise the below as habits create complacency in our lives and do not allow for our full potential.

We can begin by using my four-step treatment process- as this isn’t something done overnight. It takes 21 days for tasks to become easier and 60 days before they are completely habitual, meaning an unconscious action or thought. So, the first habit should be patience.
The four steps are acknowledgement, planning, action and maintenance.

As always, awareness is first. What habits are bad for us, and which would we like to implement instead? Take some time to think about that.

We can also be more self-aware regarding motivation and productivity. In her book “Better than Before”, Gretchen Rubin highlights personality traits that can allow for better habits.
She asks, are you a lark (morning person) or an owl (night person)? If you are a lark, you wouldn’t want to plan the time of your new habit (e.g., exercising, studying) at night as you are not likely to achieve it. Similarly, if you are an owl, you probably don’t want to plan to begin your new habit in the morning when you are not naturally energetic or productive.
Further, are you a marathoner, sprinter, or procrastinator?
A marathoner works meaningfully, slowly, and steadily by growing energy from consistency; sprinters have and use quick bursts of energy and burn out quickly; procrastinators are currently not doing much at all. Which are you? Knowing this can determine how to set your daily habits. For example, if you are a marathoner, it’s best to set the long-term goal of losing a certain amount of weight in two years while making small lifestyle adjustments. If you are a sprinter, you should exercise the moment you wake up in the morning, as you may not have the energy and motivation as the day wears on. If you are a procrastinator – start small!

Most goals fail because they are too big to fit into a routine, resulting in feeling overwhelmed and discouraged.

Set small, maintainable goals- if it’s saving money, put aside $500 per week; you can increase it when able, but you are far more likely to be consistent and successful than setting a goal of saving $2,000 per week.

Be as specific with your goals as possible. Don’t just put ‘I want to achieve more tasks in my day’. Write down what specific task, how much time you want to dedicate to it, for how long, and what is the end goal- this strongly increases chances for success.

Replace unwanted habits with their direct opposite. For example, replace procrastination with a habit of taking action right away or replace negative self-talk with positive self-talk.

Plan to include keystone habits, which often increase the likelihood of success. These are habits that, when implemented, cause other good habits to fall in line. For example, if your goal is to lose weight, a keystone habit would be keeping a food journal, where you record everything that you ate or drank during the week, the time and place, and the emotion you were having at the time. This allows for visual accountability and identification of triggers, which will subsequently improve eating habits.
You can also plan to pair new habits with ones you already have to make them easier. For example, if you’d like to make flossing a part of your routine, it will be much easier if you do it every time you are brushing your teeth.

Plan to remove temptation. If you want to eat healthily, don’t keep unhealthy food in your home.
Act with consistency. For something to become a habit, it needs to be done daily, even for 10 minutes. It helps that the activity is as clear and specific to you as possible.
Some feel that maintenance means that the hard part is over, that we were able to make change, and that we just need to continue. While that is true to an extent, so many things can throw us off track. I find the most helpful thing to remember during this phase is that most of our desirable goals do not have immediate rewards. For example, if losing weight is your goal, exercise and healthy eating will be difficult for a few weeks, and the slow transformation can be de-motivating. However, when you pick up fast food, there is a perceived immediate reward. Just remember that almost anything good has non-immediate rewards as it is a permanent improvement. Chocolate eaten today strengthens the habit of eating chocolate, increasing the chances of chocolate being eaten tomorrow. The choices we make today determine our choices tomorrow.

Also, an obvious help is support for accountability. Find another person who has similar goals and help each other stay on track- you are not alone in your desire for improvement.
If we all take away one thing, I would like it to be that habits conserve energy. Once developed, they require little motivation to keep going.

If you have one bad day of procrastination, one bad meal, or one day of overdrinking, it’s not so bad. However, if you do this every day, the results are catastrophic. That could only be the same for good habits- done every day- The results will be tremendous!