Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, Charles Duhigg wrote the bible on habits. His book, The Power of Habit made popular the statistic that 40% of our daily activity is the result of repeated tendencies and practices. But Duhigg’s research did more than simply introduce us to habits as a concept—it empowered his global audience to build a life they’re proud of and inspired by. Since then, the internet has been obsessed with habit hacks. They’re crucial for professional success and personal fulfillment and key in building a life we love.
Today, we’re breaking down not only the most game-changing habit hacks but also sharing tips for how to consistently and sustainably incorporate them into your life.
image above from our interview with Sami Spalter, by Michelle Nash
Understanding Habits
During the summer, it’s easy to step away from our habits and instead embrace the season’s laid-back vibes. But with a clean slate on the horizon (hello, fall!), we’re beginning to crave a return to the healthy habits and daily practices that keep us feeling our best. This doesn’t look like perfection—instead, we can think of habits as a foundation. They’re the support beams that help us find joy every day and leave us feeling vibrant and energized.
What constitutes a habit? Though we often use them interchangeably, habits are different from the rituals and routines we fall into day after day. Nir Eyal, a behavioral design expert, explained to CNBC that habits are the behaviors we turn to subconsciously. In contrast, a routine is “a series of behaviors frequently repeated.” Sure, some routines can become habits, but the key distinction—and what makes habits so powerful—is that element of instinctual behavior.
This isn’t just about semantics. Instead, the difference between habits and routines sheds light on this truth: while it’s easy to practice a habit once it becomes a subconscious, repeated behavior, we have to anticipate the challenges in this transition period. Realistic expectations, a commitment to putting in effort, and an awareness of the inevitable discomfort that growth brings will set you up for long-term, habit-hacking success.
Read more: 5 Unhealthy Habits to Ditch ASAP
How to Do a Habit Audit
Before you dive into the habit hacks to incorporate into your life, it’s important to take stock of the habits—both positive and negative—you currently practice. A habit audit allows you to identify and evaluate how your current habits are impacting your life. From there, you can eliminate unhelpful habits, improve upon existing ones, and add in habit hacks that will ultimately support your best self.
1. Perform a Self-Assessment
Write down everything you do. Begin by writing out all of your activities during a typical day. Operative word: everything. No matter how big or small—this will help you see exactly how you’re spending your time.
Include weekly variations. Some activities will change depending on the week. Write down the activities that happen on specific days (e.g., workout classes, hobbies, etc.).
2. Categorize Your Habits
- Positive Habits. These are habits that support and positively contribute to your life. Examples can include movement, nutritious meals, meditation, journaling, reading, etc.
- Neutral Habits. These habits neither significantly help nor are detrimental to your goals. Examples can include moderate social media use, occasionally watching TV, etc.
- Unhelpful Habits. These habits detract from your life—this could include procrastination, compulsive phone use, unhealthy eating, excessive drinking, etc.
3. Analyze Habit Patterns
With this information written down, it’s time to assess the impact these current habits have on your life. Reflect on the following three questions:
- Time spent. How much time do you spend on each habit?
- Emotional impact. How do these habits make you feel? Reflect on each individually: does it energize or drain you?
- Alignment with goals. Do each of your habits support your short- and long-term goals, or do they push you further away from achieving them?
4. Identify Patterns
- Triggers. What prompts a habit? It could be a certain time of day, how you may be feeling, or a particular setting.
- Patterns. Do you notice any consistent patterns in your habits? Example: Do you go to bed intending to read but always end up scrolling your phone?
5. Create a Plan
- Lay out a roadmap. Now that you have a clear idea of your current habits, decide which unhelpful habits you’ll eliminate first and which positive habits you’ll introduce instead.
- Set goals. As you’re modifying your habits, give yourself specific, measurable goals to work toward. This helps frame your efforts in an achievable, concrete way.
Building Good Habits
I get it: when you start implementing healthy habit hacks into your life, your motivation starts at an all-time high. However, that energy can quickly dwindle—and you don’t want to be left with only willpower to keep you going. That’s where discipline comes into play and clear guidelines to ensure you not only build these habits, but keep them going strong in the long-term.
- Start small. The power of micro-habits is deeply underrated. Oftentimes, when you start with these smaller habits, you’ll begin to make incremental progress, building your confidence and making it easier to incorporate more healthy habit hacks along the way.
- Make a plan for how you’ll deal with setbacks. Challenges are inevitable—and you need to have a roadmap in place for how you’ll handle them when they crop up. What can you do to be kind to yourself, learn from the hiccup and come back to your habits even stronger than before?
- Consider habit stacking. This popular behavioral technique involves leveraging existing habits to build new ones. For example: Before getting out of bed, take a sip of water from the bottle on your nightstand. By taking advantage of the habits you already do regularly, you’re creating new opportunities for positive habits and skills to flourish.
15 Habit Hacks to Transform Your Life
1. Change your environment.
Does your apartment (with the shades drawn, laundry everywhere, and dishes in the sink) bring you down and trigger negative habits? Get out of your space and go somewhere that brings you joy—a coffee shop, bookstore, or on a simple outdoor walk.
2. Establish clear triggers.
Ever noticed how much easier it is to go for a walk when your shoes are already set out next to the door? Or how laying out your workout set next to the bed reminds you of your long-term goal of getting into shape? Set up your environment so that you’re reminded of the habits you’re building and to ease the burden of getting started.
3. Practice the two-minute rule.
Coined by Atomic Habits author James Clear, this rule states that no new habit should take you longer than two minutes. Example: Want to read more? Start by reading one page before bed every night. Make the habit as attractive as possible—and therefore, easy to follow, commit to, and continue.
4. Find an accountability partner.
When the motivation is gone, it’s easy to give up on your healthy habits. Enlist a friend who you check in with to ensure you’re staying on track. Better yet, get them involved! Start going to workout classes together, create a two-person book club, or commit to making your coffee at home.
5. Write your habits in the affirmative.
When writing down the behaviors you’d like to practice, focus on the doing vs. not doing. Instead of saying: Don’t eat junk food, try: Focus on how good prioritizing healthy foods makes you feel.
6. Find replacements.
Substitute healthier options for your negative habits. For example, swap your post-work wine with a non-alcoholic alternative.
7. Get clear on your why.
Understanding the root of our behaviors—what we truly want in carrying out our habits—allows us to find other ways to meet our needs. Example: Do you reach for your phone and scroll Instagram every time you feel lonely? Replace that with more meaningful human interaction by calling a friend or chatting with your partner.
8. Track your habits daily.
Using a habit tracker is another way to help yourself stay accountable and see your progress in real-time. Bonus: It’s so satisfying to check those boxes.
9. Consider the reward.
Ask: what does practicing this habit award me in the long term? By creating healthy habits that yield highly reinforcing rewards, it becomes easier to commit to over time.
10. Make it fun.
No matter how hard you try, habits are hard to keep if they’re not enjoyable. Think: Will it be easier to sit down and write if I have a cup of tea and music playing? Will I want to do this yoga flow more if I light a candle and spritz some essential oils? These are your habits—you get to design them however you’d like.
11. Remove obstacles.
Practicing new, healthy habits is all about making this process as easy on yourself as possible. Organize your environment in a way that’s conducive to positive habits and that makes bad habits harder. Example: Replace the ultra-processed snacks in your pantry with nutritious options.
12. Visualize success.
You know we’re big proponents of a vision board. By spending some time thinking of future you—and how good you’ll feel in consistently practicing these new habits—you’ll be reminded of what success feels like every step of the way.
13. Practice the power of “no.”
If something doesn’t align with your goals, have confidence in your ability and right to say no. For example, if you’re invited to go out with friends and you have an early workout in the morning, politely decline. Just be sure you’re still attending to your social and personal needs while staying committed to your habits. Remember: It’s all a (sometimes imperfect) balance.
14. Express self-compassion.
Building new habits is not easy. It involves changing many things about your life and will often bring up uncomfortable, challenging feelings. The best thing you can do is be kind and sympathetic with yourself. Beating yourself up is not only unproductive, but it can also lead to creating negative associations with that habit, possibly setting you back even further.
15. Reflect. Reflect. Reflect.
There’s much to be said for reflecting on how your habits make you feel. If you discover that your new habits no longer align with your goals, ask how you can modify or incorporate other habits that feel more relevant to the progress you’d like to see.
Making Your Habit Hacks Work in the Long Run
Your energy and commitment to your goals and healthy habits will ebb and flow—that’s inevitable. But you can ensure success by building in these strategies and habit hacks that will keep you focused. Lasting change doesn’t happen overnight, and while it can be frustrating at times to experience so much change, a shift from your previous life is a sign that you’re headed in the right direction.
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