8 Ways to Implant a Habit

For a long, long time I've had habits that I've wanted to implant. They include:

• Wash my face twice a day.
• Brush my teeth twice a day.
• Brush my hair every day.
• Read my Bible every day.
• Write in my diary every day.
• Post daily on my bookstagram.
• Eat better.
• Sleep better.
• Get up early.
• Drink more.
• and other random projects that I want to work on every day.

As you may have guessed, I've struggled with implanting these into my day. In the last two years I finally nailed the three basic hygiene habits. Last year I struggled hard with the rest of those goals. This year, I've suddenly found myself including those habits into my day. What happened?

The answer is just that I did them every single day. 

It sounds easy, doesn't it?

Let me tell you, it's not.

But there are ways to make it easier.

Today I will be sharing with you the ways that I have managed to acquire these habits.


1. Put them on your to-do list. 
Have you got a list of things you have to do today? (If not, you should. I promise it will save you time & energy!!) Put down all these things you're trying to do. Each time you see them written down, you'll be reminded--oh yeah, I want to ________. 

2. Have the objects you need to use visible.  
Keep your hairbrush on your desk. Stack your diary and notebooks next to your bed. Set out your music stand. If it's not practical to have the object (or an object) out, then write yourself some sticky notes and put them in a prominent place. Making them pretty, witty, or funny might help keep you from being unhappy about seeing them all the time. ;)

3. Appoint times to do those things.   
If you always write in your diary before bed, or brush your hair before you leave your room, or take a drink when you switch projects, you'll be reminded to do them. Appoint a time for practising your instrument and set a timer for it. If you can't do it then for some reason, snooze the timer!

4. Set a certain number of minutes to work on a given daily project.
30 minutes of writing a day. 10 minutes of Bible memorization. 5 minutes of stretching. Whatever. Set an amount of time to do something daily and time yourself as you do it. Pause the timer and return later if you have to.

5. Be conscious of your bad habits & counteract them. 
So you want to get up at 5 a.m. every day... but you don't close your phone until 11 p.m. Ehhh... yeah. Be conscious that you have a hard time getting off your phone, and find a way to counteract that. Put it out of reach, put on screen time, get someone to text you at 10 p.m. to warn you off your phone... whatever. Just find a way to make a new habit. Instead of picking up your phone when you get into bed, pick up a book or your Bible. Or work on poetry or Scripture memorization. Find something else to do instead of your bad habit. This stands for any bad habit.

6. Make it easier on yourself.
Do you want to post every day on your bookstagram? Keep a running list of ideas. Take lots of extra pictures that you can use. Write some posts in advance. Whatever it is that you want to do every day, find ways to make it easier for yourself to do this thing every day.

7. Get an accountability partner. 
We're proud critters. (Any Sheffey fans out here?!) We don't like to admit that we failed. Having an accountability partner can keep you motivated. They can encourage, threaten, praise, or comfort you. It can be someone who's trying to do the same thing or who's willing to partner over different stuff. Either way, this can be a great help.

8. Choose to do it. 
All the help in the world won't help you unless you help yourself. No one can make you choose to do this. You have to choose yourself. If you genuinely choose to do it and are absolutely determined to do it, you can do it. Ask the Lord for His strength. Be willing to sweat and hurt and work hard. Endurance brings satisfaction. :)

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There you are! I hope you found those tips helpful. Let me know of your tips for implanting habits! :)