Your Questions on Building Habits for Goals, Answered
As you begin this journey, questions will naturally arise. Here are answers to some of the most common ones we hear, designed to give you clarity and confidence as you implement these strategies for your own goal setting.
How long does it really take to build a habit?
You may have heard the popular myth that it takes 21 days to form a habit. While a catchy number, research shows it’s much more variable. A landmark 2009 study found that, on average, it takes about 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic. However, the range in the study was huge—from 18 days to 254 days. The takeaway is this: the time it takes depends on the complexity of the habit, the person, and the circumstances. Don’t get discouraged if a habit doesn’t feel automatic after three weeks. Focus on consistency, not the timeline. The real goal is to make the process so easy that you’re happy to do it indefinitely, whether it becomes automatic on day 20 or day 200.
How do I maintain habits when I travel or my routine is disrupted?
Disruptions are a primary reason habits fall apart. The key is to have a plan. First, scale your habit down even further. If your normal habit is a 20-minute workout, your travel habit might be 5 minutes of bodyweight exercises in your hotel room. If you write 500 words a day, your vacation habit might be to write one paragraph in a journal. The goal is to maintain the identity, not the intensity. Second, tie your habit to a universal cue that will exist even when you travel. For example, instead of stacking your habit after “making my morning coffee at home,” stack it after a more general cue like “after my first sip of a hot beverage” or “right after I put my shoes on.”
What should I do if my progress plateaus?
Plateaus are a normal and expected part of any long-term endeavor. First, recognize it as a sign of progress—you’ve been consistent enough to reach a plateau! Often, a plateau in a habit means the reward is no longer as satisfying as it once was. You might need to introduce some novelty. If you’re bored with your running route, try a new one. If you’re tired of meditating in silence, try a guided meditation app. You can also slightly increase the difficulty. If you’ve been doing your minimum viable action for months, maybe it’s time to graduate from “read one page” to “read for five minutes.” The key is to make a small, intentional change to keep the process engaging without making it overwhelming.
Can I build multiple habits for my goals at the same time?
While it’s tempting to overhaul your life all at once, it’s generally more effective to focus on one, single keystone habit at a time. Your self-control and decision-making energy are finite resources. By channeling all your energy into making one small habit automatic, you increase your chances of success dramatically. Once that first habit is firmly established and requires little to no willpower, you can then use it as a foundation to stack a second habit. For instance, once “going to the gym” is automatic, you can then focus on “packing a healthy lunch.” Trying to do both at once divides your focus and makes it more likely that neither will stick. Choose the one habit that will have the most positive ripple effect on your life and give it your full attention first.
