Good Question: How Can A Person Develop Better Habits?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It's day two of the new year – so, when it comes to resolutions, so good, so far. One highly-cited study has shown three-quarters of people who make resolutions can keep it up for a week. Only 20 percent can make them last two years.
So, how can a person develop better habits? Good Question.
"The behaviors we have ingrained are the results of these little choices that we make day after day," says James Clear, author of "Transform Your Habits." "I think that the way to change those is not by trying to radically shift your identity overnight."
Clear says the best way to make a habit stick is to start small. One study shows it can take two to three months for a small change to stick and up to eight months for a big one.
Research has shown shifting a person's environment can encourage behavior change. For example, setting our gym clothes the night before, using smaller plates for eating or choosing a gym on the way home rather than five minutes out of the way.
Visual reminders also help. If a person wants to better balance their budget, Clear suggests putting the checkbook in a prominent place as a visual cue.
And, to maintain the change over the long run, Clear recommends what he calls "Normal Plus One." He says science shows people are most effective when they work on habits just beyond their level of ability – not too easy, not too hard.
For example, if a person normally walks for 15 minutes a day, try 16 minutes the next day.
"Small 1 percent improvements are not just nice to have, they're not just the cherry on top of our everyday performance," he says. "They actually can add up in very significant ways."