Self-improvement plans: what sticks?

What does science say about the best ways to make self-improvement stick? Why do so many resolutions falter, and we give up the diet, stay out of condition, fail to make that change? More importantly, how can we frame our self-improvement plans so that they are sustainable, and result in meaningful change?

AUTOMATIC ROUTINES

Our bodies are designed around routines. Changes and differences put a very heavy load on our mind and body, unless and until we can build in regular, automatic processes which are much more sustainable.

Our heartbeat and breathing are the best examples of automatic processes that become our solid foundation. In fact, they become so reliable that the rest of our body uses them as a kind of mental map.

The aim should be to make certain self-care rituals as regular as our heartbeat or our breathing. Our exercise, nutrition, work, rest and play routines should become second nature, so that our daily timetable acts as a reliable framework for navigating change.

Ideally, we should be able to do a whole day almost without thinking, because our daily routine is so embedded in our being.

Any improvements should be incremental (i.e. manageable, not too dramatic or sudden), in order to ensure they stick.

DOG-TRAINING

If we want to train a dog, we don’t leave it an instruction book or inspirational memes. Instead, we put it through repeated reinforcement exercises, until it just knows what to do.

In the same way, we need to treat our mind and body like a pet dog, teaching it when to exercise, eat, sit quietly, be attentive, and play.

OPTIMISE YOUR ENVIRONMENT

Make good behaviour easy, and bad behaviour difficult.

Put on show good food, medicine, clean clothes, ready equipment, performance indicators, checklists. Make them very easy to access quickly.

Hide drugs, junk food, time-wasting diversions. Make them harder to access.

LINK NEW BEHAVIOURS TO EXISTING ONES

It is much easier to modify an existing schedule than to implement a new one.

Make one small change at a time, and give it a clear anchor or trigger in something you already do.

PRIORITISE ACTION

Visualising is good as a supplementary activity, but on its own it doesn’t get anything done.

Find a way to make a start on each desired activity, and use visualising as a reinforcing supplement to action.

So if you want to get to the gym, get to the gym. If you want to swim, then visit the swimming pool.

INTEGRATE REWARDS INTO NEW HABITS

Break up desirable tasks with quick rewards that provide unconscious markers to signal to the body that the right thing is being done.

If clearing emails, then clap, nod, congratulate or pat yourself after each one has been cleared. Positive self-talk can be a good, quick reward. It can help to create new, verbal patterns of self-support.

SUMMARY

1. Your mind and body like to evolve automatic, repeating routines. Use that fact to develop daily habits.
2. Use dog-training on yourself to reinforce new habits through clear procedure, immediate reward, and encouragement.
3. Optimise your environment. Make good habits easy and bad habits hard.
4. Link new behaviours to existing ones, creating easy triggers.
5. Prioritise action, even if it is just getting there and making a start.
6. Use quick, on-the-spot rewards (claps, nods, supportive words, pats)