Refresh your routines – How to embed new habits for more wellbeing, flexibility, and productivity in 2021

It can be tempting to set resolutions to kick-start another year, but by the end of January most of those will have been broken and forgotten. This might be due to lack of understanding of how to form new habits. So, let’s look at the science: how are habits formed?

For the last six decades it’s been widely accepted that it takes 21 days to form a habit. However, this figure is based on a misinterpretation. In the 1950s, Dr Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon, observed that it takes “a minimum of about 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to jell*”. These words were captured in his book ‘Psycho-Cybernetics’, which sold over 30 million copies and have incorrectly influenced the self-improvement industry ever since.

More recently, scientific research has revealed that habit formation is a far more complex process. Habit formation depends on the desired behavior change, your personality, and your wider context. It’s now believed that it takes more than two months before a new habit becomes engrained – on average 66 days**. Phillippa Lally, a health psychology researcher at University College London, discovered it took anywhere between 18 and 254 days from starting a new habit to doing it automatically.

Key take away: Accept that creating new habits take time. Commit to the long run and be patient. “Failing” a few days or weeks doesn’t make it a failure – pick it up again and keep going.

"The reality is that our habits aren’t so much formed as they are in a constant state of formation" Jason Selk & Tom Bartow

Your pathway to embedding new habits moves forwards (though sometimes backwards!) through three phases:

1. The Honeymoon – The desire to make a specific change in your life or at work usually starts from inspiration. This can be sparked by reading a book, attending a conference, or listening to a podcast. During the honeymoon period your new habit feels easy to implement – no challenges or difficulties. It is, however, inevitable that every honeymoon period will come to an end.

2. The Fight Thru – This phase sets in when your inspiration begins to fade, motivation dwindles and reality hits. The struggle between sticking to your new habits and resisting the temptation of your old behaviours arises. This is perfectly natural. The key is to move through this phase by successfully ‘winning’ two or three ‘fight thru’s’.

‘Fight thru’s’ can be won by using these techniques:

3. Second Nature – When you’ve overcome the ‘Fight Thru’ it can be a huge relief to finally enter this phase. However, there are three common mistakes which can cause you to move backwards and regress. These are:  

Habits are time consuming and tricky to embed. However, the knowledge of these techniques combined with determination and perseverance mean you’re set for success.

Finally, it’s important to focus . So what’s one new habit you’ll try to create in 2021? Here are a few ideas:

Pick one, keep it simple, and most importantly - enjoy the journey.

References:
*Forbes: Habit Formation – The 21-day Myth: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonselk/2013/04/15/habit-formation-the-21-day-myth/?sh=7266023bdebc
**European Journal of Social Psychology: How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejsp.674

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The above text is from the Technopolis Wellness Talks "Refreshing your routines: Increasing work life productivity, flexibility and well-being for 2021" webinar which was organized on January 13, 2021.

Webinars are organized in cooperation with Hintsa Performance.

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