Written by:  Lara Bleck, PT

How many times have you made a New Year’s resolution, but either never started or only succeeded for a short time? This is probably no surprise but according to U.S. News & World Report, 80 percent of New Year's resolutions fail by February.  Forming habits can be easy. So let’s talk about how we can set ourselves up for success!

Tiny Habits might be just what you need to succeed.  BJ Fogg, PhD, Behavior Specialist with Stanford University, established the Tiny Habits method when he wanted to develop the habit of flossing his teeth daily.  Easy behaviors don’t require motivation, and small changes over time lead to long-term behavior change.  BJ Fogg defines a Tiny Habit as a new behavior that you do at least once a day, that takes you less than 30 seconds to accomplish, and that requires little effort.  It must be a ridiculously easy behavior. And it must always be introduced right after an existing, established behavior.  This after behavior is called your anchor.   Here is how it works:

Tiny Habit recipe: “After I [anchor behavior], I will  [tiny behavior].”  

Step 1: Pick your tiny habit.  Your goal at this point is to establish a routine, not ‘run a marathon’. 

Step 2:  Select the right anchor.  The tiny behavior should fit naturally into your life, so selecting the right anchor is critical.  3 characteristics of a good anchor include:

1.      Same frequency as your tiny behavior

2.      Same location as your tiny behavior

3.      Same theme as your tiny behavior

Step 3:  Get Started!  Take a moment to celebrate each time you do the behavior.  It could be a simple fist pump, but allow yourself to feel successful each time.

Step 4:  Check and adjust your tiny habit.  Remember, making the behavior super simple and built into your routine will allow you to make it an automatic part of your life.  Something about your recipe may not work perfectly right away.  You might need a different anchor, or make the behavior even more tiny.  That is OK.  Have fun revising the recipe, and just keep going.

So here is my plan: I had 3 exercises I needed to start:  squats, planks and push-ups.  I first look for existing, established behaviors I could tie the new behaviors to.  The ones I picked are: drinking a glass of water (which I do 6 times a day), going to the restroom (4-5 times a day), and taking my dog out.

Next I matched up some exercises that I would like to do regularly with those established behaviors. Using Fogg’s formulation, here’s how that looks:

·        After I drink a glass of water, I will do 2 body-weight squats.

·        After I go the restroom, I will do a 5 second plank

·        After I take the dog out, I will do 4 push-ups.

Once the routine is established, I’ll focus on scaling up.

As a physical therapist it’s easy to preach motivation and get someone fired up in the moment.  Where the strategy falls short is over time.  Motivation is unreliable as it’s based on human emotions.  Mini habits are so effective because they: eliminate the need to rely on motivation, allow you to consistently perform your desired behavior with ease, and utilize a series of small wins to snowball success.

Are you ready to start 2020 on the right foot?

Source:  BJ Fogg at TED-xFremont

(December 5, 2012)

Forget big change, start with a tiny habit