Daily Habits Hacks

Habits are the small decisions that you make every day.
According to researchers at Duke University, your habits account for approximately 40 percent of your behaviours on any given day.
Your life is the sum of your habits.
Whether you have good or bad habits, they can drastically affect your life.
Bad habits in your life can harm your mental, physical, and emotional health.
Because our habits are deeply ingrained in our subconscious Minds, breaking them can be incredibly challenging.

LEARN MORE ON HOW TO BREAK BAD HABITS BY DOWNLOADING THIS EBOOK

PDF document; 43 pages.

3 Steps to Help You Break Your Bad Habits

Most of us live with at least one bad habit, although we don't like to admit it. Unfortunately, some habits, like smoking, can pose a severe health risk. Fortunately, if you follow these three simple steps, you can break your bad habits.

Step #1: Make it Conscious.

The first step that you need to take to break your bad habits is to figure out when and why you engage in your bad habit. Then, if you notice that you are doing it, determine the circumstances for participating in your bad habit and what feelings are attached to it. If you can do this, you might be able to figure out why you are engaging in the bad habit and will have a better chance of stopping it.

Step #2: Put It In Writing.

When you've figured out when and why you start to engage in a particular habit, take the time to write it down to help you establish a baseline. Write down the antecedents, the emotions surrounding the bad habit, and what happens when you engage in your bad habit. Doing this will make your bad habit more conscious. It would help if you kept a log for at least a week to have enough data to take the next step, which is analyzing the data and looking at your usual triggers. As you put your information about your bad habit in writing, you also want to list the pros and cons of the behaviour and keep a detailed record of when you engage in the activity.

Step #3: Bait and Switch 

When you realize when and why you are engaging in your bad habit, the next step that you need to take is to find a temporary or permanent replacement that isn't as annoying. For example, if you tend to bite your nails, you could chew gum instead. If you have a habit of clearing your throat, the alternative might be some slow exhaling because it is impossible to do that and clear your throat simultaneously. If you have bad habits you'd like to break, the process is easier than you might think.

Follow these three steps, and soon, you'll notice you no longer engage in bad habits.