Small Steps, Big Changes

Home >> Resources >> Articles >> Small Steps, Big Changes

As we enter the New Year, many of you will have made resolutions. Whether that’s to stop eating chocolate, spend less time on your phone, or develop better study habits, be mindful of the pressure you’re putting on yourself.

Expecting instant and dramatic change is often unrealistic and short lived. As James Clear explains in his bestselling book “Atomic Habits”, small, incremental changes to our daily habits and routines are far more effective in helping us achieve our goals.

Goals can only be achieved if you have the right systems (i.e., processes) in place. For example, if you play a musical instrument, your goal may be to move up a grade. Your system is how often you practice, how you break down and tackle each piece of music, and your method for receiving feedback from your music teacher. By putting the right systems in place, you can achieve your goals. But how do you successfully build new (or break old) systems?

James Clear claims there are 4 laws for building habits:

Law 1 - Make it Obvious:

Our brains are like computers, sifting through incoming signals and identifying the most important bits of information that guide how we think, feel, and behave. When we experience something repeatedly, our brain keeps a record of the most important cues for future use. This allows us to make predictions about what might happen if we encounter the same/similar scenario again.

With enough practice you will start to identify cues automatically, and before you know it, habits (good and bad) will start to form. Habits often occur without us knowing. So, to build new habits, we need to:

A) Identify our existing habits with a Habits Scorecard:

Start by making a list of your daily habits. Once you have a full list, think about which habits are good, bad, or neutral and mark them with a “+”, “-” or “=” respectively.

Example Scorecard

Wake up (=)	Brush and floss teeth (+)
Turn off alarm (=)	Have a shower (+)
Check my phone (-)	Put on deodorant (=)
Weigh myself (-)	Hang up towel to dry (+)

B) Incorporate new habits into our daily routine with Habit Stacking:

The Habit stacking formula is: “After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT]”

After I’ve brushed my teeth each morning, I will make my bed.
After I’ve eaten breakfast, I will drink a full glass of water.

The more you practice incorporating the new behaviour, the more automatic it will become.

C) Use the environment to cue behaviours:

If you want to practice guitar more, put the guitar stand in the middle of your bedroom.
If you want to do yoga every morning, leave your yoga mat unrolled next to your bed.

Law 2 - Make it Attractive:

Habits are driven by dopamine-reward pathways in the brain. When we anticipate reward, dopamine levels rise, and so does our motivation to engage in the behaviour. New habits may not be attractive at first, so we need to re-wire our brain to anticipate a reward when completing these activities. Give these exercises a go…

Temptation Bundling:

Pair actions you want to do with actions you need to do. This technique can be combined with habit stacking using the following formula:

After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [HABIT I NEED].

After [HABIT I NEED], I will [HABIT I WANT].

For example: If you want to check Instagram, but you need to exercise more…

After I unlock my phone, I will do ten squats (NEED).
After I do ten squats, I will check Instagram (WANT).

Slowly but surely, you will start to look forward to doing the things you need to do by associating them with a reward.

Law 3 - Make it easy:

As humans, we will naturally gravitate towards the action/behaviour that requires the least effort. If you want to make a habit or break an old one, make that habit as convenient or inconvenient (respectively) as possible.

You may have ambitious goals but remember the importance of starting small. To counteract tendencies to try too much too soon, practise the two-minute rule.

Two-minute rule:

Scale your habits down. For example:

“I want to read every night” becomes “I will read one page every night”
“I want to fold up my washing” becomes “I will fold one t-shirt”

Make your new habit as easy as possible to complete. The art of “showing up” is something that takes practice and once you’ve mastered it, those first two minutes become the start of a larger routine.

Law 4 - Make it satisfying:

Find ways to make your new habit satisfying so that it’s more likely to be repeated. Why not try:

A Habit Tracker. Record your habits each day and monitor your progress. It is helpful to visualise when we are doing well. Tracking will become rewarding, and your habit will be reinforced.
A Habit Contract. Write down your commitments and goals along with what will happen if you don’t stick to them. Read over this contract regularly to remind you what all the hard work is for.
An Accountability Partner. Share your habit contract with a friend/partner/family member to add a social cost to inaction. We care a lot about what people think of us, if those around you are also aware of your progress, it may motivate you more.

Healthy habits can make a big difference to the way we think, feel, and behave. So, why don’t you choose a new habit you’d like to build and give some of these techniques a go. Let us know how you get on!

Article date 22 January 2022

Article written by Imogen Clifford, Assistant Psychologist, Bristol CBT Clinic for young people