BITE-SIZE HABITS

If, like most of us, you make resolutions every year, promising to make big, sweeping lifestyle changes – eat less, exercise more, be kinder, work harder – then you’ll know

ways of doing things. Perhaps by now you’ve even let your plans for 2021 slide already.

But have you ever considered that, by being too ambitious, you’re simply setting yourself up for failure?

‘Trying to change too much, all at once,

More than

80% of us fail at resolutions after six weeks, according to a recent study*. Well,

not any more!

not to succeed,’ says behaviour change specialist Dr Heather Mckee (drheathermckee.co.uk).

‘Research shows that it takes between 66 and 122 days to make a habit stick, but there’s more to it than that – the individual changes need to be small enough to guarantee success. Simple habits can be changed more quickly, while complex ones can take longer.’

Here, Heather lets us in on the secrets to creating a new norm. formed through repetition – and once they’re stuck, they’re notoriously hard to change.

If you really want to make a change

drinking more water or going for a run every day – you need to make it easy for yourself to succeed. And the best way to do that is by making small changes, one at a time. That way, you can then build up to bigger changes over time.

‘It’s much easier to make a tiny change and stick to it than it is to make huge changes all at once,’ says Heather.

‘If you try to do too much at once, it leads to what’s known as “goal dilution”, which means you’re overstretching your willpower, which will lead to it eventually running out.’

For the best results, focus on one small change every week, and build up from there. ‘Sometimes the achievement might feel laughably small, but it’s progress, and the smaller things can easily be built on,’ adds Heather.