Returning to Good Habits
Hello! I know it has been a while since I have posted. I could easily explain this by blaming work, travel, holidays, having a toddler, or enduring a hectic semester. But, honestly, I have just been slightly avoiding this because it is easy for me to let those other pieces of my life come first. Similarly, you might have this same feeling if you haven’t been going to class consistently, avoiding emails, pretending your laundry isn’t getting out of control, that the gym doesn't exist, or have been pushing off other good habits.
While I know it can be easy to keep avoiding something on your to-do list, I can also tell you that, based on my current feeling of relief, you will feel the same way even if you just take one small step towards returning to your good habit.
So, you may be wondering what strategies can help you reestablish a good habit. I’ll share some of my favorite techniques for getting back on track, even if it’s been a long time since you last consistently followed them.
1) The Rip-Off-The-Band-Aid Approach
If you are someone who can change your mindset, make a decision, and stick to it, then the rip-off-the-band-aid approach might be the best strategy for you. This strategy requires you to dive in 100% committed again. Basically, you change your mind and decide to return to your habit, and you are consistent with that without hiccups since your mindset is now different.
An example would be getting back into your regular gym routine. If you apply the rip-off the band-aid approach, you would one day just decide that enough is enough and would consistently go to the gym.
Personally, I think this strategy is the rarest way to reestablish a habit. This strategy may only apply if you have been inconsistent for an extended time and have strong feelings that force you to flip the switch back to your good habit.
2) Accountability Buddy
Some individuals benefit from having a partner who can help them stay accountable. My suggestion is to be thoughtful with whoever you select. To do this, you would share the habit you are focused on with your accountability buddy, and then they would partner with you to help you be successful.
For instance, you may want to finish your homework in the library because you are more focused when working in that setting. You could make a library study schedule with a friend when your free time overlaps, and you both can complete coursework together.
The accountability buddy strategy can be especially helpful for those who are neurodivergent and need some body-doubling support to stay focused on a task.
3) Incremental Goals
Another strategy to implement is to set incremental goals for yourself. Incremental goals are a slower and steadier way of returning to a good habit. To set incremental goals, you should determine an easy-to-achieve goal that is related to the good habits you are looking to re-establish. Then, after accomplishing that, you set another micro-goal that contributes to the larger good habit. This can be the same incremental goal but in a shorter time frame or a next step towards your habit.
For instance, instead of returning to writing two articles per month again, I could set a goal of writing, editing, and publishing one article during winter break (about 8 weeks between semesters). Then, after accomplishing this smaller goal, I should increase my rate to something like one article in the first six weeks of the spring semester. This example uses a shorter time frame when setting incremental goals.
If you struggle to check your email, you could set a timer to check your school email for 10 minutes every other day as your first incremental goal. Then, you could set another goal to check your email 2 times per day for 10 minutes each time, and so on. This form of incremental goals is the step method.
4) The Don’t-Break-the-Chain Method
The don’t break the chain method is a great strategy if you are someone who likes to visually see a goal or gamify your life. To implement this strategy, you need a monthly wall calendar. The calendar can be one you purchase online or a simple template you print from the internet. Choose a daily goal. Then, when you complete the goal, use a marker to check off the day you completed it on your calendar. Then, over time, you will see that you have nine checks in a row; when you see this pattern, you will want to continue it and may feel guilty about skipping day 10.
I had a student start with one simple daily goal: do homework for two hours per day. When he had gone a full month with checks for that initial goal, he decided to add a second goal for the next month of eating healthy and color-coded each goal. He told me that seeing all the green and blue checks consecutively helped encourage him not to break the chain of positive progress that was visible on his calendar.
5) Make it Fun
In order to continue with a good habit, make it fun for yourself! This may mean finding a workout class that you enjoy instead of running on a treadmill if your habit is to be consistent with physical activity. Or, if you need to study for a class consistently, you could make a study group or a Jeopardy-like game to play while you review content.
Depending on your preferences and your habits, you may want to partner with a friend to make it more fun. Or, if your positive habit is completing your work by 8:00 pm every night, when you do, you could treat yourself with a bubble bath, call a friend, or get a treat from a local coffee shop after 10 times of doing your habit consistently.
A now-graduated student of mine treated herself by going to local concerts and music festivals to reward her good work. The desire to attend these events and have a fun day off with friends helped her focus on her academic goals.
6) Remove Blockers
People often get off track with a habit because of something that may be in the way. So, your job is to remove blockers that are in the way of continuing your good habits.
For instance, you may struggle to attend your 8:00 am class. Your attendance issue may result from a tendency to stay up late doing homework after spending too much time on extracurriculars. In this case, you would want to limit or step away from your extracurriculars. This removes the main cause of going to bed late, which impacts your ability to wake up in the morning.
If you struggle to get to work on time because you are quietly trying to pack your bag and not wake your roommate, you could easily pack your bag for the day the night before while your roommate is still awake. Then, the reason for your delay in getting to work on time is removed.
One thing that is great about college is that you get a fresh start multiple times per year—you have semesters, trimesters, or quarters. My suggestion is to not let the fact that you have gotten off track with a positive habit persist into another semester. So, let each semester be a fresh start of either returning to positive habits or setting a more challenging goal to reach if you have been consistent with your good habits in the prior semester. And, if you want my advice on goal setting, go to this post.
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