I don’t know about you, but I have a huge stack of books I’m trying to read. It seems like everything else in my life takes priority but reading more is actually a priority for me! So I’m trying to develop a new habit to squeeze some more reading into my day. I’ve set a goal to read 2 pages of my book in the gap between getting ready for work and the time I have to leave. I’d also like to read 2 pages right after I finish getting ready for bed. 

Reading 2 pages might sound like it’s hardly worth it, but if I read 2 pages every day, that’s about 2 books per year (4 books if I manage to get it in morning and night). Plus I’m starting with a small goal that I feel confident about, knowing that half the battle is showing up consistently. I’m also pretty confident that once I start I’ll actually get a few pages in during each allotted session. 

Charles Duhig explains our routines in terms of the Habit Loop, which consist of a Cue -> that triggers the Habit -> that results in a Reward. This is the case for habits we want to develop OR break. For the best results in developing a good habit, you need a trigger that occurs every day. So for my desired reading habit, the Cues are when I’m finished getting ready for work/ when I finish getting ready for bed. Those events trigger my Habit (reading 2 pages). My Reward is getting through some of those books I’ve been trying to read!

The habit loop is only part of the story though. The real magic happens when I keep showing up. I start to get invested in the story and momentum builds to keep showing up so I can be  rewarded with more information. My mind learns that the cue leads to a reward, and pretty soon I don’t even have to think about performing the action (it’s now a habit!) Consistently performing the habit loop is what makes the behavior stick.

The habits that we do consistently are the ones that impact our lives the most. Is there a habit you’d like to implement, or one that’s already established that you’d like to break? Maybe you’d like to start going for a daily walk, or you want to break that nightly cookie/ glass of wine habit. We’ll talk more about getting rid of bad habits in my next post, stay tuned!

I’d love to hear what you thought about this post and what you’re working on right now. What habit are you trying to develop or break? Let me know in the comments!