Let’s face it: Developing healthier habits can be an uphill battle. 

After a long day at work, the last thing we feel like doing is dragging ourselves to the gym or mustering up the courage to do a home workout. On top of this, food today is made convenient with easy on-the-go options. However, most of us know that we could be making better choices.

So, how can you create habits that stick? Here are two major tricks to try!

1. Habit Stacking

Habit stacking helps you rely on willpower and discipline you’ve already developed, meaning there’s very little extra work involved. Basically, habit stacking builds off your already existing habits. 

By attaching healthy habits to habits we already have, they are made that much easier, and we are less likely to procrastinate or avoid them. It also makes the idea of a new habit less overwhelming.

For example, you already brush your teeth every day. What if you added 10 squats or jumping jacks after each morning teeth brushing session? 

When using this technique, it’s best to start small, such as with the example above. It may also help to start by making two lists. What habits do you already have? Write them down in the first column. What habits do you wish to form? Write these down in the second column. From there, you can connect the dots, determining what new habits you can attach to your already existing habits. 

Some other examples include:

• Walking while taking a work call.
• Meditating after pouring your cup of coffee or tea.
• Building your gym routine into your commute home from work.
• Practicing gratitude before eating dinner.
• Drinking a glass of water first thing after your alarm goes off.

Inevitably, there are endless ways to do this! Discover what works for you and start building those healthy habits.

2. Temptation Bundling

If you tend to procrastinate working out or making healthy meals, this simple hack might provide the motivation you need. Temptation bundling involves pairing a pleasurable indulgence with a behaviour that has delayed rewards (like exercise or eating healthy). 

For example, you might only watch reality TV when you exercise. Or you might only listen to your favourite podcasts or audiobooks while doing household chores. It’s basically the pairing of something good with something you might be resistant to do (but really want or need to!).

Again, you can create your own temptation bundle by creating those two columns again. In one column, list the indulgences you love, and in another, list the habits you want to build, then try to connect them to one another. What would work well together?

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