How to Start (and Maintain) a Healthy Habit (2025)

This applies not only to the things you have to do, but also the things you think you want to do. Maybe you think you should learn Spanish, but you haven’t done anything to actually learn Spanish. Admitting that you’re not actually committed to the idea enough to undertake the process of learning Spanish can help close this cycle. Getting rid of that feeling of having to learn Spanish may be the thing that frees your mind enough for you to decide Practicing rowing On a whim. The point is that the new year is not just a time to start something new. It’s time to let go of things from that past that no longer serve you.

In many ways, this is the antidote to that ever-popular “just do it” slogan. Do it It means that you don’t have to think about it, instead decide what you really want to do or what you should do. Maybe spend some time remembering why you wanted to do it in the first place, and if those reasons no longer resonate with you, just… no Do it.

If you like this idea, I highly recommend getting Allen’s book. It goes into more detail about this idea and contains some practical advice about letting go. You can still pursue these things, in case, years from now, when you’re paddling across the Sea of ​​Cortez, you decide that now you really want to learn Spanish and are willing to put in the work.

Remember to live

I will admit, my enthusiasm for Getting things done It has diminished over the years. Not because the system doesn’t work, but because I’ve found that my life has dramatically improved by doing less, not more. It doesn’t mean I’ve stopped getting things done. I found that many of the things I felt I should do weren’t really my idea; They were ideas I absorbed from other places. I didn’t really want to do it, so I didn’t, and then I felt guilty about it.

While everything I’ve written above is still good advice for starting and maintaining a healthy habit, it’s worth taking some time and making sure you know why you want to do what you’re doing. I’ve been re-reading Bertrand Russell In praise of lazinessThis line jumped into my mind: “Modern man believes that everything should be done for the sake of something else, and never for itself.”

In the case of habits, I think it’s helpful to think about whether you want to start a habit because you love the habit no matter what or because you think you should do it because it will make you happier, healthier, or more successful. Doing things because you truly love them for their own sake is more likely to lead to success.

Do the work

As one of my writing teachers used to say, to be a writer, you have to put your butt in the chair and actually write. To be a yogi, you have to practice yoga. In order to run, you have to run. There is no easy way to overcome it. You have to put on your grown-up pants and do the work.

However, on the other hand, as Clare pointed out early on Atomic habitsThe way to change your personality is to change what you do. “Every time you write a page, you’re a writer. Every time you practice the violin, you’re a musician. Every time you start practicing, you’re an athlete.” Every time you do this, you become the future self you want to be.