When embarking on the work of making lasting changes in the habits of your life, it’s hard to overstate the power of starting small and keeping focus.
If there’s only one habit I’m focusing on this month, it’s far easier to make sure that one thing gets done day in and day out, than if there are a half-dozen habits I’m trying to work on. Especially if that one thing is something that is small enough that it doesn’t take extreme effort to do.
For instance, if exercise is my focus right now, and I want to get into the habit of doing so, rather than setting a goal of trying to run thirty minutes, 4x/week, I start out small and make a commitment to walking or jogging 5 minutes a day. Something that is small enough that I could do it even on days when I won’t really feel like it. The goal is building consistency, day in and day out, rather that trying to do too much too soon. Over time, this routine will become a habit, and I can gradually increase the details of what I do as it becomes increasingly more ingrained into the pattern of my life.
When I wake up, if there’s only one habit I’m focused on this month, it’s far easier on those rough days where there is little motivation, to make sure that this one thing gets done, especially if it’s something that’s relatively easy to do. However, if I’m having a rough day, and I’m trying to focus on establishing six different habits, or trying to meet unrealistic goals at the start, eventually something is going to fall through the cracks. And once this starts to happen, the likelihood of establishing these habits also becomes less likely.
Focusing on one habit at a time, although slower in the beginning, actually produces better results in the long run.