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Mastering Habits Through Micro Habits

The core of starting and keeping habits lies in creating smaller day to day habits. Our fast paced lives have created this phenomenon that we need to think and act big, when we’re really bitting off more than we can chew.

A girl sitting and mastering micro habits
Illustration by Olivia Orr

As soon as the New Year begins, our minds are littered with ways to make major life improvements. However, we overlook the importance of striving to accomplish micro habits—discouraging New Year’s Resolutions.

Don’t Over Complicate It

Our habits dictate our lives and routines, which is the main reason we place so much emphasis on starting and maintaining “good” habits.

It can almost seem like a yearly practice to make drastic lifestyle changes the second the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Day.

Declaring that you’re you’re going to save money, workout more, or prioritize better sleep beginning January 1st. All to reinvent yourself for the year ahead. 

One of the reasons sticking to a New Year’s resolution doesn’t always exceed past the month of January is that we often think too big.

And the reality is that the New Year optimism isn’t enough motivation to achieve our goals.

Research has shown that accomplishing micro habits is easier in the long run when aiming to fulfill bigger goals, according to Harvard Business Review.

“It’s great to dream big, but the way to achieve big is to start small,” Harvard wrote, explained through micro habits.

They allow you to accomplish smaller, digestible change that sets you up to achieve bigger ones over time.

The idea is that you have to start somewhere, and starting at the middle mark doesn’t necessarily get you to the finish faster.

If you want to pick up running, a micro habit to start with would be laying out your gym clothes.

Once you routinely set out your clothes, begin the next habit of making it to the gym a few days each week. When you get into the practice of getting to the gym, start running in small increments until you work your way up to your end goal.

Eventually, these habits will start to feel routine, like second nature, and not a habit you dreamed of accomplishing.

Met with the idea of starting habits, we often adopt the mindset of “go big or go home.”

We are trained to dream big yet aren’t taught how to achieve them. We are praised for thinking big, not starting small.

If it were possible to make life-changing habits overnight, everyone would do it. 

The Three-Week Theory 

The three-week theory originated in the 1960 Psycho-Cybernetics, a self-help book by Maxwell Maltz. Maltz, a plastic surgeon, discovered it took his patients 21 days to adjust to their new appearance after surgery.

“These, and many other commonly observed phenomena, tend to show that it requires a minimum of about 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to jell,” Maltz wrote.

His findings evoked a long game of telephone that transformed into a widely recognized myth that it takes 21 (or 30, depending on who you ask) days to form a new habit.

Although no formal experiments prove this, many accept it as a rational timeline for self-transformation.

James Clear popularized the idea in his book Atomic Habits, where he outlined the 21/90 rule.

The 21/90 rule suggests that it takes 21 days to develop a new habit and 90 days for the habit to become a permanent lifestyle change.

The thought of picking up a new habit in under a week seems impossible and a year too intimidating. Three weeks is almost the perfect time to start and keep a realistic timeline. 

Start Small

Many of the habits we set our minds to accomplish tend to be things we think we should be doing rather than what we want to be doing. A way to be more consistent with building habits is to get to the why.

Do you want to exercise more but hate going to the gym? Find other exercise routines that better fit your lifestyle.

It’s as easy as that.

We think our new habits and resolutions need to be these expansive changes when, in reality, it can be as simple as getting to bed 5 minutes earlier. 

At the heart of our daily rituals lies routine. Getting out of bed and brushing your teeth (or maybe grabbing your phone) becomes automatic because of how often it is repeated.

A way to gradually implement change through habits is habit stacking. Instead of jumping into a new habit head first, you pair it with a current habit. 

@shelbysacco5

HABIT STACKING is a simple, small and easy way to work towards your goals!! Comment one way you are going to habit stack this week and make sure you are following along with my series teaching you how to change your life 🫶🏼 #habitstacking #howtochangeyourlife #fyp #howtoglowup #habits #healthyhabits #howtohabitstack #habitstackingstips #habitstack

♬ original sound – Shelby Sacco

If meditating was your 2025 resolution, dedicate one minute after your morning coffee to meditate. Over time, it will feel like taking a breath, not a chore.

BJ Fogg introduced this method in Tiny Habits program. The program showed how old habits “anchor” preexisting ones.

The psychology behind habit stacking is supported by the principle of association and conditioning. The brain links a new habit to an already existing habit, which makes it easier to perform a new one.

Creating Lasting Change

These habit-tracking methods are no secret to the wellness sector of the internet. Many brands have created products circulating around people who want to make drastic lifestyle changes. 

Journaling has many health benefits, although it can be hard to know where to begin. Bullet journaling, a method of personal organization, is a good starting point.

Bullet Journal, or Bujo, is an organized journaling method aimed to get to the why of your productivity.

As defined on BulletJounral’s website, Bujo gives you “the tools to set clear goals and create actionable plans, helping you turn your ideas into reality.”

The main goal is to keep you in a productive, organized and mindful headspace when it comes to accomplishing tasks.

Whether your prerogative is to buy an outlined journal or organize your own, it’s helpful in tracking your habits while simultaneously staying mindful of them.

Dedicating a page to each week and outlining your goals or to-do lists is more encouraging to accomplish than mindlessly typing on a computer.

“All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision.”

James Clear, Atomic Habits

Instead of joining the majority that sets bogus, high-achieving New Year’s resolutions that we regularly fail to keep, start small. Opt for the smaller shifts that lead to bigger differences.

Written By

Senior at Binghamton University

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