Habits are very powerful because they are so automatic that they require little energy. Changing habits, on the other hand, can feel tremendously wrenching. Give yourself a break and focus on changing one tiny habit at a time.

1. Little Habits Can Make Big Changes
As 2013 approached, I felt, as many do, that I was being
given a clean slate, a chance to order my life better – if
only I could stick to that plan.
It has long been my dream to not only run my own
business, meditate, and exercise daily, but also to resume
practicing singing several times a week and to renew my
study of French. On paper, it seemed doable. In real life, it
never worked more than a day or so. Schedules slipped and
slid; everything from small emergencies to illness got in
the way.
It was tempting to fall back on the belief that I (alone among millions, of course) lacked the
willpower to keep my life in order. In fact, new studies on habits and how they are formed can
provide us with useful information on how habits are made and kept. For one thing, it’s not our lack
of ambition that keeps us from forming new, good habits. It’s that we have too much ambition too
soon.
Here are some pointers:
Pick a foundational habit: one on which other habits can build.
When I surveyed my life, I realized that my busy, overcrowded office was somehow draining
my energy. Stacks of unrelated papers covered every surface; each one was a “blue dog.”
something that is unique and cannot be filed with anything else.
In the mornings, I was overwhelmed by the sight as I started to work; at night, I was too tired and
drained to tackle those piles before quitting. Singing? French? Those were like desserts I never got
to because I couldn’t get through the vegetables.
One night, I sat down to watch the return of Downton Abbey. At the end, relaxed and transported to
another time (where servants kept everything tidy), I wandered into my office, deciding to devote a
spare ten minutes to doing some clean up.
Ten minutes later my entire desk was organized! Energized by this, I now spend ten minutes every
evening clearing up a trouble spot: the top of the filing cabinet, the worktable, my nightstand. Each
time I do so, I feel clearer and more energetic, able to contemplate setting up a schedule on which to
sing or study. Weeks of pile-ups are disappearing quickly.
I actually feel motivated to do this every night, almost like a craving for action. This is clearly the
start of a good habit, one that will continue well into the future, because it is intrinsically so
rewarding.
This habit of clearing out clutter is also a foundational habit: one which, when mastered, clears
the way for other change. My energy has increased, as has my optimism that I can fit the pieces of
my life back together.
Why had this worked now? What had stopped me from doing this earlier was “decision fatigue”:
faced with too many decisions in a short period of time, which includes throwing away or filing

2. pieces of paper, we shut down and feel helpless. In other words, when you decide to practice your
new good habit is one factor in determining whether or not it will stick.
Turtle steps win the race
Perhaps you want to exercise every morning, and picture a slimmer, healthier you.
You are excited and motivated by this image.
But the fact is, you hate to get up in the morning, and getting up an hour, or even a half hour, earlier
feels like torture. You’re going to try to force it through, however. It only lasts for a few days.
Maybe the foundational habit you want to create is getting up earlier and feeling good about it.
Rather than setting up an exercise program that requires you to put on running shoes and hare off to
the park at 6:15 a.m., how about setting your alarm clock for the desired hour, having laid out your
workout gear the evening before.
Do this every day for a week, lying in bed and picturing yourself exercising. Just get used to
waking up earlier.
You may even want to start by surveying your nighttime habits. Are you getting enough sleep? Do
you need to go to bed ten minutes earlier, then increase that to twenty minutes, until you wake up
feeling rested? Focusing on your bedtime behaviors may be the foundational habit you need to work
on.
After you have accustomed yourself to waking up earlier, spend a few days actually getting up and
putting on your workout gear, perhaps sipping your coffee and standing on your porch. Then, spend
a few more days doing the same, plus doing some warm up exercises.
Finally, start your actual exercise program slowly: 10 minutes of running, on a treadmill, for
example. Increase your time gradually, day by day.
After each small change, celebrate your progress with a “Yay, Me!” or a latte, smoothie, whatever
feels like a reward.
Habits are very powerful because they are so automatic that they require little energy. Changing
habits, on the other hand, can feel tremendously wrenching. Give yourself a break and focus on
changing one tiny habit at a time.
If you think this is a wimpy way to proceed, consider this: who won the race, the tortoise or the
hare?
Lynette Crane, M.A.(Psychology) and Certified Life Coach,is a Minneapolis-based speaker, writer,
and coach. She has more than 30 years' experience in the field of stress management. She currently
works to provide stress and time pressure solutions to harried women, those women who seek
"Islands of Peace" in their overly-busy lives. Her talks to groups of what she calls "harried women"
are receiving rave reviews. Visit her website at http://www.creativelifechanges.com/ to see more in-
depth articles and to view her programs.