How to Create A Habit for Change

You’ve probably heard that a habit is formed in 21 days. In my case, that just isn’t true. I’ve always found that after 21 days of setting my intent and trying to form new routines, I either got bored or discovered an entirely new idea that shifted my focus away from what I worked so hard to achieve. 

For years, I thought that this meant that I just didn’t have the discipline and focus to stick to things. I felt like a failure. Regardless of how much I had gotten done during the day, I was constantly fixating on the things I hadn’t gotten done. 

I eventually realized that there was something all the self-help books, courses, and tips had in common that I just hadn’t noticed. All of them focused on “slow growth” instead of trying to form habits as quickly as possible. They all aimed at achieving small tasks every day that would eventually make a massive difference at the end of the month. 

So, that’s exactly what I set out to do. 

I wrote down everything – what I had done, what I wanted to still do, and what I had failed to achieve. I realized that I was actually getting so much more done than I had initially thought. I had been so focused on what I wasn’t doing, that I had completely missed out on all the “smaller” things I had been achieving every day. I had formed habits without even realizing it! 

Thanks to my endless note-taking, I quickly noticed habits and patterns that were keeping me from achieving my daily goals. I saw that I tend to lose steam in the late afternoons, which stopped me from dedicating an hour or two to independent studying. Instead, I would lay on the couch with my partner, watch Netflix, and constantly berate myself for being so “lazy”. 

Instead of feeling guilty, I thought of new ways to stay productive despite my mid-afternoon slump. I took note of the times that I felt most alert and motivated throughout the day. I changed how and what I had been dedicating my time to, and I categorized my tasks into “work”, “study”, and “exercise”.

I noticed that my productivity nosedived at night, which is why I started waking up earlier. I chipped away at larger tasks by breaking them up into 20-to-30-minute sessions, and soon I was accomplishing more than I ever had before. 

My new note-taking system revolutionized my life, but it quickly became boring. I switched things up by putting up a whiteboard and writing down my chores for the week on sticky notes to get a clear overview of what I needed to get done. Pulling off each sticky note as I complete each task might be exciting for now, but I’m already preparing myself to change my methods again in the future – and that, I believe, is the true secret to forming healthy and consistent habits. 

Be flexible with your methods. Even the most productive of people can stagnate without some change, so don’t feel guilty for trying new approaches. Allow yourself (and your goals) to change as you progress and you’ll never stop growing!