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This post will detail 6 super simple hacks you can use when you want to build new habits. It will also have science-based information on how long it really takes for your to create them, but more importantly, how you can truly make them stick. By developing these efficient, yet effective strategies to implement new habits, you are bound to elevate and improve your life significantly!

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Would You like strategies to form new habits?

Last Updated on August 27, 2021 by ELLEASH

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission with every purchase you make through my links, and of course, at no additional cost to you. I do greatly appreciate it, as it helps me run my blog and post content that will help you in your daily life. Please read the full disclosure here. Oh, and just in case — I am NOT a mental health professional! What I write are my experiences, tips & personal advice. If you are in need of help, please don’t hesitate to contact a professional! Please read the full disclosure here concerning that point. Okay, that’s out of the way – READ ON!!

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How Can I Build New Habits & How Long Does It Really Take?

Hey hey my lovely entrepreneurs,

Are you ever wondering how you can be more productive in your work life?

What about wanting to lead a healthier lifestyle?

You know that going for that walk, run or even stretching a little more, can only be beneficial for your mind, body and soul, right?

This post is going to outline 6 super simple strategies for developing new habits and also guide you on how long it’s really going to take you to achieve that goal.

After reading this post, I am sure you are going to be super excited to start your new journey and finally lead the life you know is going to make you happy and left feeling super satisfied with your choices.

Creating new habits isn’t easy. We’ve all been there.

We usually have our infamous list of resolutions, that we take when slightly inebriated, and give up on a couple weeks into the month of January.

What if I told you that developing new habits can actually be done, but more importantly, keeping them can be achieved as well?!

I have six simple hacks that will make forming new habits a little easier.

The objective of these strategies are to guide your journey on the creation of new habits, until it just becomes second nature to you and you don’t need to think about them anymore.

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What Are The 6 Hacks To Building New Habits?

1. Consider adding Your new habit(s) to your ‘priority’ list of to-do’s

As I mentioned in this first post of the forming-new-habits series, starting a new habit is hard and we oftentimes get super lazy a few days in, and sometimes we just forget to actually do that new thing we were trying.

When I have a look at my planner in the evening, to prepare for the following day, I always add the new habit I’m trying to get a hang of on my ‘priority’ list of to-do’s.

My priority list is something I have started doing to be more productive, but also to avoid feeling super overwhelmed when glancing at what I actually have to do!

Knowing that whatever is on my priority list I cannot brush aside, having my new habit on it definitely helps in acquiring automatisms.

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2. Let Others Know About Your New Habit, So You Can’t Find Excuses

Don’t be shy about your new habits, especially when trying to create them.

By letting people know about them, you’re actually ensuring you won’t give up mid-stride.

If your family or friends are anything like mine, they will always call me out on my BS!

I may not enjoy that trait in them, but it’s that type of sincere-not-gonna-take-your-excuses attitude that we need when trying to build new habits.

Why not use social media platforms to actually tell your people that you’re trying something new and you want them to call you out on your laziness and you want them to help you stay on track.

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3. Align Your New Habit With An Older One

Starting to form new habit is hard AF, so whenever you can align your new habit, with an older one you’ve already got down to a tee!

For example, imagine you’re trying to drink more water during the day.

I know that personally, I am always wanting to drink more water throughout the day.

As one of my ingrained automatisms, the first thing I do in the morning is reach for my alarm to turn it off, so to help me on my new drink-more-water habit, I have one of my water bottles next to my alarm.

Straight after that, I jump in the shower, but just before I brush my teeth, whilst waiting for the water to warm up. Once I’ve rinsed my mouth, I’ll take another swig from my water bottle!

I’ll do the same after getting out.

As you can see, I am already associating my new habit creation to my morning routine.

Another example could be that you are trying to be more budget-conscious concerning your meals.

Why not incorporate making your lunches for work, when you do your dinner preparation, instead of going to the corner deli everyday?

Not only are you saving money, but you’re also eating better!

Boom! Double whammy!

If meal planning and food preparation is something you are interested in, check out this awesome printable, that I created for myself when I was starting out to get into meal planning and prepping!

Super easy to use, just print it out, or if you have a tablet, download it and write directly onto your tablet!

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4. Be Hard On Yourself When You Stumble

I know, it sounds hardcore, but you need some tough love when you stumble.

We all know that starting to form new habits can try our patience, so whenever we slip up or are feeling a little lazy, having that red card when we stumble is a good reminder that we need to make the effort to keep going!

Why not ensure the consequences are hard, so you have the right incentive to not fall back into your old ways?

Think about what you really enjoy doing, and when you feel yourself going back towards your bad habits, take away that pleasurable moment.

A fun idea to get you back on track would be to use something like a “swear jar”.

Instead of putting money every time you swear, you’d put money in the jar every time you slip back into your bad habit or forget to stick to the new one you have!

And don’t be skimp either! Put five dollars in the jar. By upping the challenge, you’ll quickly get super motivated – or you’ll be broke! Lol!

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5. Find Yourself A Buddy and Encourage Each Other To Not Give Up!

No matter the period in the year, whenever you wish to start a new habit and really stick to it, one great hack to forming that new habit is to find yourself a buddy.

By having someone who wants the same or similar outcome, you can end up helping each other out and really encourage each other when forming these new automatisms.

Also, knowing that someone else is depending on you to show up, and vice versa, you are bound to feel much more supported in your quest to getting healthier and actually going for that evening walk.

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6. Get Social About Your New Habit

If one accountability buddy is efficient, a whole group is even more.

The great thing about living in such a connected world, your support group doesn’t even need to be local, you can get all the accompaniment you require online!

Use your social networks to help each other to not give up.

Why not give yourselves little 30 or even 60 days challenges to stick to your new habit?

Yes, 60 days (even more!)! I’ll get more into the time factor later.

Get a little competitive so you’re not the first one to give up and encourage each other to all keep going until you no longer have to think about establishing your new habit, because it has now become second nature!

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I hope these simple strategies are going to help you achieve your new habits and by using the ones you find helpful, you will reach that moment where it just becomes second nature to you and before you know it, you’ve got yourself a new habit!

There is one point that I haven’t really delved much into yet, and that is the time factor.

Because, how long does it really take to create a new habit?

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How Long Does It Really Take To Create A New Habit?

When you scroll the internet, you will have undoubtedly found a lot of posts that say it takes 21 days to create a new habit.

It’s short enough to be sexy, but long enough to be attractive and taken seriously.

Let’s talk a little bit about science. Because for us to keep seeing that number 21, it has to have come from somewhere.

It wasn’t just pulled out of nowhere, because 21 was a great number.

The plastic surgeon Maxwell Maltz, noticed patterns of 21 days after his patients had had surgery.

He also noticed that when he wanted to implement changes in his life, it took him about 21 days to start seeing them.

Cutting a long story short, after a best-selling book, Psycho-Cybernetics, following his famous quote that stated that it took “about 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to jell“, society just adopted those 21 days as a done deal, because they kind of omitted the about!

But what is the real answer?

How long does it really take to create a new habit?

In this study, that followed 96 people over a period of 12 weeks. Lally, who is a health psychology researcher at University College London, and her team decided to really find out how long it took people to create a new habit.

Again, cutting it short, Lally and her team discovered that on average it took 66 days to form a new habit and not 21, like we would all like it to be!

However, there are other factors that come into place on how long it takes you to change your behaviour and create new habits.

The time frame depends on your mindset and it depends on how big of a change it is from what you are doing now.

For example, imagine you want to reduce your coffee intake. If you start by cutting out the evening one and replacing it with a herbal tea, it’s not going to take you long to get into the habit of drinking your evening herbal tea.

However, if you decide to completely stop drinking that coffee all together, in one go, not only is it going to take much longer, you’re also going to have to tough it out and try even harder to not slip back into your old habit!

The time frame for changing your ways and getting into automatic habit-mode, really depends from person to person and even from one habit to another.

Nevertheless, here are my 5 must-know points to remember when you are wanting to create a new habit and actually really make it stick.

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what to remember when wanting to create new habits

It’s easier to make a new habit than get rid of an old one.
Be prepared to work a lot harder to give up checking your phone every 2 minutes or snacking late at night.
Whenever possible, try to replace an old habit with a new one.
By doing your new habit(s) at the same time and in the same type of environment, helps to form them faster.
Keep reminding yourself the reason you are wanting to change your ways of doing things. Put up sticky notes everywhere, or even images of your objective to keep you motivated!

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That’s it for this post, which detailed how you can build new habits and it also gave you a time frame on how long it really takes!

I hope you enjoyed it and that it gives you encouragement and motivation to never give up on creating and forming new habits – even when all you want to do is slide back into the comfort of your old habits.

My advice is DON’T!

You’ve totally go this. Keep at it, stay strong and enjoy the process.

If you didn’t check out the first post in this series, you can read it here.

Elle Ash xo

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Posts that may tickle your fancy on the blog:

How Can I Build New Habits and How Long Does It Really Take?

How Can I Build New Habits & How Long Does It Really Take?

What Are The 6 Hacks To Building New Habits?

1. Consider adding Your new habit(s) to your ‘priority’ list of to-do’s

2. Let Others Know About Your New Habit, So You Can’t Find Excuses