Organizing Tips

What Does it Take to Make Something a Habit?

Like most, you probably started off the year with focus on resolutions and goals. The success of these ultimately rely on making something a habit. Whether you want to change your diet, get more exercise or increase your productivity at work the following tips can help you to implement your new actions and make them routine.

Start Small

It is essential not to be overly ambitious. While goals should encourage you to aim higher, reaching for a target that is too far off for your capabilities is frustrating. The first trick to turning your new action into a habit is to ensure that it is small enough to start immediately while still offering a challenge. If you try to do too much too soon the change can be overwhelming and you may fail before you ever really begin.

Be Consistent

Consistency is extremely important in turning something into a habit. Experts generally agree that a habit can be formed in approximately 21 days if it is done once daily. This is because routine is comforting and although it may be difficult to get started, it gets progressively easier with time.

Banish Excuses

Instead of allowing yourself to use the words "but" or "if" which imply the presence of an excuse or a conditionality, train yourself to refuse any notion that there may be a reason for not getting your action done. This hard line approach makes it easier to form a new habit.

Write it Down

When your goals are visible they are easier to achieve. One way to improve your chances of creating a new habit is to write it down and put it somewhere that you can see it. If your aim is to maintain a healthy diet, stick a note on the refrigerator.

These tips can help anyone to make something into a habit without too much added stress or false starts. Try them out today!

Have a wonderful day and go get yourself organized!

Miriam from West Hempstead: Enjoyed our time together and loving my new desk and feeling like I can tackle some more myself.

Cynthia Braun is a certified professional organizer for Long Island, New York