Tiny habits

Changing your life is tough, no matter how committed you are. You might plan to exercise for an hour daily, but without action, plans are meaningless. We often overestimate our willpower, leading to a gap between our goals and achievements. It's common to set lofty self-improvement goals, only to fail and feel guilty. But it's not your fault; most self-improvement methods are flawed. Repeating a failed strategy won't bring success.

Instead, recognize that even a small step forward is better than staying still. A tiny daily step moves you in the right direction and starts forming a lifelong habit. These small steps require little willpower but can have huge impacts. The mini-habit approach focuses on adding positive behaviors gradually. It might not break active bad habits like alcohol abuse, but it can counteract passive ones like laziness or procrastination by providing new ways to channel your energy positively.

A Simple Start to Fitness

Stephen Guise struggled with regular exercise. On December 28, 2012, he decided not to make a typical New Year's resolution to work out more, as he often failed to stick with it. He aimed for 30 minutes of exercise but couldn't even start. The thought of daily workouts to reach his fitness goals was overwhelming.

Realizing the barrier, he compromised with himself. He decided to do just one push-up a day. This small goal was so easy that he did it without much thought. After the first push-up, he did another, and then a few more. Then, he aimed for just one pull-up, did it, and continued with a few more. He kept setting easy goals and slightly exceeding them, eventually completing 20 minutes of exercise. This was the start of "The One Push-up Challenge."
Build  a Fitness Routine

Guise committed to a daily push-up and soon felt stronger. This habit quickly formed, and by June, he added gym visits to his routine. Over time, exercise became a regular part of his life, leading him to wonder why this approach worked when others hadn't. A mini habit is a tiny routine you start, so simple it seems almost silly, like doing just one push-up a day if you're aiming for 100. Since it's "too small to fail," it hardly needs any willpower, leading to success every day. This success makes you feel good and keeps you motivated, turning the mini habit into a regular part of your life without even thinking about it.

Duke University found that habits form about 45% of what we do. Habits are created by repeating actions, which builds pathways in the brain, making it easier to do something automatically. For instance, if you usually shower after waking up, your brain gets you into the shower without you needing to think about it. When a behavior turns into a habit, the pathway in your brain linked to it gets stronger.
Brain's Habit Formation and Energy Efficiency

The subconscious part of your brain called the basal ganglia, automates habits to make life easier. The conscious part, the prefrontal cortex, is in charge of making decisions and understanding long-term effects. It uses more energy than the habit-forming basal ganglia.

Contrary to what some think, the average time it takes to form a habit is 21 to 30 days, but studies show forming a new habit can take from 18 days to 254 days, but on average, it's about 66 days. You'll know a habit is formed when it feels easier like going to the gym becomes something you do without much thought instead of a chore.

The Link Between Motivation and Willpower

Motivation and willpower have an inverse relationship. When you're excited about something, you don't need much willpower to start. But as excitement fades or you face tasks you dislike, you need more willpower. If a goal requires a lot of willpower, you're less likely to stick with it.

Your motivation can vary with your emotions. If you're tired, sad, or hungry, your motivation decreases. The short-term benefits of choosing a healthy salad over a burger and fries might not always be motivating enough. Simply thinking about it won't keep you on track. Many self-improvement programs depend on motivation for continued effort. Separating motivation from action and using a bit of willpower instead can open new possibilities.

Manage willpower with tiny habits.
Research shows that people have a limited amount of willpower. The five main reasons for losing self-control, known as "ego depletion," are “effort, perceived difficulty, negative feelings, tiredness, and low blood sugar levels.”

Creating small habits can help you overcome these challenges. A mini habit is a task so simple that it takes very little willpower to do it. For example, doing one push-up, even when you're tired or hungry, is easy. When you have more energy, you can do more push-ups.

Mini Habits: Easy, Positive, and Energy-Saving.

The "perceived difficulty" of a mini habit is very low, making it easier to accomplish. Mini habits also reduce the feeling of difficulty. Negative feelings don't really apply to mini habits, as they only bring positive vibes into your life. Tiredness is the feeling you get when you think you can't do something. Thinking about a 30-minute workout can make you feel tired. Mini habits get rid of this tiredness.

Tasks that need a lot of mental energy, like making yourself exercise or avoiding chocolate, can drain your willpower and lower your blood sugar. Mini habits break goals into small steps, which help save your energy source, glucose.
A Plan with Eight Steps

The Eight steps in the mini habit program are:

1. “Choose your mini habits and habit plan” – List positive habits you want. Break them into tiny steps, like sorting one email or saying thank you daily. Test a mini habit for a week, then decide to focus on one (“Single Mini Plan”) or multiple (“Multiple Mini Plan”). The Single Mini Plan is better for a single goal, like fitness.
2. “Use the why drill on each mini habit” –  Ask yourself why you want each mini habit. Keep asking to understand your reasons. Ensure they match your values.
3. “Define your habit cues” – Habits can be “time-based” or activity-based. Choose a cue for each mini habit, like exercising at 9 am or before dinner. If specific cues are hard, use general ones, like doing the habit before bedtime.
4. “Create Your Reward Plan”- Some habits don't give immediate rewards. Set up mini rewards for your mini habits, like a 10-minute nap or watching a fun video after achieving your mini goal.
5. “Write Everything Down”- Writing makes things important. Track your success visually to feel accomplished. Use a calendar or apps like Habit Streak Plan to track your progress.
6. “Think Small”- The power of mini habits is in repetition. Each task requires little willpower, and repeating them forms a habit. Once a habit is established, you can build on it.
7. “Meet Your Schedule and Drop High Expectations”- While having confidence in your abilities is important, setting overly high expectations can hinder your progress. When you consistently surpass your initial "stupid small goal," your expectations naturally increase. However, it's essential to resist the temptation to raise the bar to match these heightened expectations. Instead, acknowledge your achievements and focus on maintaining consistency.
8. “Watch for Signs of Habit but be careful not to jump the gun” – You'll know a habit is forming when you feel less resistance, do it without much thought, and it becomes part of your identity, like "I'm a writer" or "I'm a cyclist."

“Eight Mini-Habit Rules”

To stay on track with the mini-habits program and succeed, follow these rules:

1. “Never Cheat”- Stick to your mini goal without pretending it's more. If your habit is one push-up a day, do just that. Extra reps are great but don't change the habit's size. Forming the habit is what counts.
2. “Appreciate All Progress”- Value every small win. Enjoy the process from the first step onwards.
3. “Reward yourself often, especially after a mini habit- Celebrate completing your mini habit, even if big results aren't immediate. Rewards reinforce good habits.
4. “Stay Level-Headed”- As habits become routine, they might feel less exciting. adopt this as a sign of success.
5. “If you feel strong resistance, back off and go smaller” – If a habit feels too hard, make it even smaller. It should be effortless, like eating one piece of fruit or even just a bite. Break down your mini-habit into the tiniest possible step.
6. “Remind yourself how easy this is”– High goals are common, but mini habits should be simple. Set tiny goals and celebrate each success. This builds confidence in your ability to maintain the habit.
7. “Never think a step is too small”–  Even the smallest habits are valuable. They're designed to work with your brain's natural patterns.
8. “Put extra energy and ambition toward bonus reps, not a bigger requirement”– Enjoy being an overachiever without increasing your habit's size. Relish the extra, not the minimum.