Our lives are filled with habits. Good and bad; from biting our nails to doing yoga at 6am before work. 

They can bring out our best or worst and can help us move forward or hold us back.  

So, how do we build positive habits. The kinds of rituals that will help us to learn, get fitter or get closer to that dream career or job. Once we’ve identified them, how do we make them stick? 

As a coach, this is something that comes up frequently in sessions, so I wanted to share with you the things that work for me to first start to build and then keep good habits. 

1. Make it part of your normal day – this is probably the biggest one for me and something Kathy Milkman highlights in her brilliant book ‘How to Change’. If you want to make something stick, it has to fit somewhere easily into your day or you are stacking the odds against yourself of doing it. Can you use your commute time to do that writing you want to do? Or perhaps do that desired reading while on the treadmill? Here’s an example. I wanted to run more, and I originally set myself up to go for a jog around the local park once I had got home. This was ok, but when I had to work a bit later, by the time I got home I was tired and so it was harder to get myself out again. So, I changed it up. Instead of getting the tube home, I got a rucksack and ran home; instead of adding to the end of my day, I made it part of my daily routine and it worked.  

1. Make it doable – This may seem obvious but be honest with yourself, set a reasonable objective that you can meet. For example, you might set yourself a new target to write a new blog every day, or read 30 pages of your accountancy exam textbook every day. Is this achievable? If you’re not honest with yourself here, not only are you increasing the chances of failure, but if you miss the mark a few times at the beginning, you’ll never get going. Also be realistic about when you are going to do it. For example, if you leave yourself something to do on a Friday evening after work, how likely are you to say no to that post work beer? 

1. Keep it front of mind – I'm a big fan of technology and use it to keep tabs on new things I want to turn into habits. I use apps to keep a record of how I’m doing but most importantly to send me reminders that I need to do it. For example, I use a combination of ToDoist and Streaks (other apps are available!) to push reminders and to show me what I need to do by when that day. That really works for me, and I think its super-effective, but do whatever works for you; put it in your calendar, write it in your diary or put notes on your screen. Just make sure it kept in the front of your mind. 

Anyone got any other tips that work for you?