6 Simple Strategies for Building Healthy Habits

If you’re trying to improve your health, it’s tempting to try and make big, sweeping changes to your daily routine. This might work for some people, but many fail because making huge changes is challenging and overwhelming. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy and defeatism; we might simply give up.

If this is you, try starting smaller with a simple, healthy habit, then build on it. Even very small changes can have a significant impact on your health if you stick to them. Here, we provide six simple strategies to help you toward success.

1. Habit stacking

Many of us have daily habits that are so ingrained we don’t even think about them. We can use this to our advantage when trying to build a new one.

Tying a new habit to an existing one is called habit stacking, and it makes it easier to stay on track with your new habit.

For instance, many of us start the day with a cup of tea or coffee. So, if you are trying to fit in more exercise, do some push-ups, sit-ups, or stretches while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil or the coffee machine to work its magic.

2. Use your environment to your advantage

If you’re trying to get a new habit under your belt, you need to use all of the tools at your disposal. Most of us have at least some control over our environment when we’re at home.

So, if you’re trying to eat more healthily, make sure you have healthy snack options where you’ll see them.

For instance, keep fruit bowls and healthy snacks on kitchen surfaces, and prepackaged highly processed snacks hidden high up in a cupboard.

3. Try to reduce mental friction

When we’re trying to build a new habit, any perceived friction lowers the chance that you’ll actually do it. Wherever possible, make achieving your goals as simple as possible.

For example, if you want to work out more often, keep your gym clothes next to your bed.

4. Reward yourself!

Adopting new healthy habits can be hard. If you do well, you deserve a treat. By rewarding yourself when you achieve something, it helps associate the new habit with a warm psychological glow.

How you decide to reward yourself depends on what you like, of course. It might be visiting a friend, having a healthy snack that you love, a short walk, popping on your favorite tune and having a dance, or a relaxing bath — whatever works.

5. Keep track of your wins

Find a way to track your wins and reward yourself for significant milestones. Having something visual to show you how far you have come will help you stick with it.

Come up with milestones, like “10 press-ups every day for 2 weeks” or “No more than 30 minutes of social media per day for a month.” And think of a way to reward yourself at the end — have something to aim for.

6. Share your journey

We are social animals, and involving friends, family, and the community at large can provide vital motivation.

Tell people who are close to you what you are doing, or maybe join a group relevant to your new habit, like a walking group, gym, online community, or swimming club.

Summary

Whatever new habit you want to adopt, we hope this simple guide helps move you in the right direction. Your best bet is to make one small change at a time, but you can use all six of these techniques at once — the more you use, the more likely you are to succeed. Good luck!