6 Helpful Tips for Creating and Maintaining Good Habits, According to Research

Inside: Use these tips for creating and maintaining good habits to help you implement better habits in your life.

Good habits are the key to a happy, healthy life.

That might sound a bit dramatic – but it’s the truth. Not only do habits make routine actions feel almost automatic, minimizing the level of effort it takes to incorporate them through your day, but they often tie directly to your physical and mental well-being in a big way.

If you’re looking to make a change, evaluating your habits – or lack thereof – can be a great place to start. Chances are, you’ll find that you could benefit from incorporating some good habits into your daily routine.

But while it might be tempting to take that revelation and put it into practice by deciding that, as of today, you’ll kick off a laundry list of habits to better your life – that isn’t the most effective approach.

Fortunately, habits have been researched and studied extensively. People have dedicated their entire careers to uncovering the science behind them, uncovering how they work and how to make them stick.

And through this research, we’ve learned that there are some intentional steps you can take to create and maintain good habits over time. 

If you’re ready to make a change and incorporate some new habits into your life, here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind: 

6 Helpful Tips for Creating and Maintaining Good Habits

Want to implement good habits in your life? Use these helpful tips to create and maintain them.

Tip #1: Pace yourself.

Most of us don’t just want to incorporate one positive habit into our life – we’ve got a list of ways we can improve and can identify a number of habits that can help us achieve our goals.

But while you might be tempted to overhaul your life and try to form a bunch of new habits at once, that’s an easy way to set yourself up for failure. 

Instead, focus on one habit at a time. Ideally, the first habit you choose to focus on will be an easy one – something that only takes a few minutes to complete and doesn’t require any major changes.

After a week or two of success, you can consider adding another habit to your routine. Not only will this help you build the discipline you need to achieve your other goals, but you’ll also be able to build upon the momentum you’ve gained from your success to make those other habits even easier to adopt. 

Tip #2: Start with an easy win.

Another way to ensure you build that momentum for future success? Start with easy wins.

If you want to make exercise a habit, don’t commit to running three miles a day. Make a habit of walking every day – down the street, or around the block.

If you want to make healthy eating a habit, try focusing on a single meal each day instead of totally overhauling your diet overnight.

Want to start journaling? Dedicate five minutes a day to the task instead of forcing yourself to write multiple pages.

Creating small realistic goals will allow for easy wins that help set you up for success.

Tip #3: Know your goals.

Many people who try to incorporate good habits into their lives lose interest after a little while. An easy way to prevent that from happening? Stay focused on what your ultimate goals are.

Your goal isn’t just to take a multivitamin every morning. It’s to improve your nutrition, which can help you live a longer, healthier life.

The goal isn’t just to move more. It’s to benefit your physical fitness, another component critical to your health.

Your goal isn’t to simply write down some thoughts in a journal. It’s to promote your mental well-being, help you think more clearly, and document your life so you have something to look back on.

By keeping the bigger picture in mind as you focus on creating and maintaining good habits, you’ll have a much easier time staying on track. 

It’s not only important to have realistic goals, but also ones that truly resonate with you and that you care deeply about.

Tip #4: Incorporate your habits into an existing routine.

One of the most effective ways you can make new habits stick involves a process called habit stacking.

The idea is surprisingly simple – instead of trying to implement a new habit at a specific time or place, focus on pairing your new habit with something that already exists in your routine.

Easy actions to pair new habits with include brushing your teeth, drinking your morning coffee, or putting on your shoes – things you already do repeatedly without even thinking about them.

Pairing putting shoes next to my walking pad helped me to get more exercise. It’s a simple trick that can make a big difference.

By tying your new habits to these familiar actions, you’ll see a much higher rate of success than if you were to adopt your habits independently. 

Tip #5: Use a habit tracker to stay focused.

One of the best tools you can use to create and maintain good habits is a habit tracker. Being able to look at your progress and see how consistent you’ve been can be a great motivator and an easy way to keep whatever habit you’re trying to develop top of mind.

There are all kinds of habit trackers you can use. Some people prefer to put their habits front and center, checking off their progress on a calendar or whiteboard posted in their home.

Others prefer to track their habits digitally with a dedicated app that can even be programmed to send you reminders.

And some prefer an old-school pen-and-paper approach, dedicating a notebook or journal to tracking their habits. If that’s you, you can get the free habit tracker I created by signing up at the bottom of this post.

Whatever you choose to use, make sure it’s something visible and easy to manage. Consistency is key to helping you reach your goals.

Tip #6: Don’t be too hard on yourself. 

As nice as it would be, habits don’t form overnight. Instead, research has shown that it can take a few weeks, at minimum, for a new habit to stick – and up to a few months, depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.

If you get distracted and forget about your habit for a day (or a few), no need to panic. The best thing you can do is pick it right back up and practice a little self-compassion.

Being too hard on yourself won’t help you reach your goals. Instead, focus on what you can do to right the course and stay on top of your habits in the future. 

What are your biggest tips for creating and maintaining good habits? Leave a comment and let me know!

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