I’ve been obsessed with something lately. It’s something that will make me healthier, happier and more productive. It will re-wire the circuits of my brain. It will alter my daily behavior.

Some kind of miracle drug, you ask? A special diet? Herbal supplements?

No.

It’s habit forming.

Not “Oh, it’s so habit-forming,” like a quasi-addiction. Actual habit forming.

I’ve been interested in habits for awhile- how they form, how they work, and how to make and break them. I read The Power of Habit a few years ago, of course (it’s on my list of life-changing books) and I became a fan of Carrie Willard’s blog last October when she did a series on habits. For the last couple of months, Gretchen Rubin has been blogging about habits in preparation for her new book on happiness-related habit forming (which I’m greatly anticipating, as I like the concept much more than that of The Happiness Project). I found everything I read fascinating, all the research and personal accounts, but until recently, I was still thinking about habit forming in the abstract, not as something directly applicable to my life. Oh, I was implementing some basic ideas, such as breaking a large goal into smaller daily practices, and scheduling certain things for my most energetic times of day. But I didn’t start getting obsessed with habit forming until I looked back at my New Year’s resolutions from the last two years, and realized I’d created two healthy habits that really stuck.

In 2013, I wanted to encourage my husband and me to eat more healthily (and I wanted to lose the rest of my pregnancy weight). I decided to make it easier for us to eat salads, which we both like, and are portable for work. So I set a reminder on my iCal to “cut up salad vegetables” every Sunday, and rescheduled it every week. It takes me ten minutes to chop the veggies, and I keep them on the top shelf of the fridge. That’s all I did, and guess what? We eat more salads. I eat one almost every day from spring to fall (slightly less often in the winter, as I prefer vegetable soups when I have time to make them) and my husband takes them to work most days too. A very simple habit loop had been formed: the “cue” (using The Power of Habit’s language) was the reminder on my iCal; the “routine” was cutting up veggies and seeing them ready and waiting when we opened the fridge all week; the “reward” was a fast lunch and improved health. It’s still going strong, over a year after I created the habit.

In 2014, I took it a step further. For years, I’ve tried to eliminate unhealthy foods from my diet, but in most cases, that doesn’t work for me long-term (I’ll explain why in a later post). This year, I decided to try a different approach: filling up on healthier foods. I decided I was going to have “two veggie snacks” a day. Instead of using the iCal this time, I put little check boxes for each day of the week on my office whiteboard, where I keep track of my exercise and writing projects for the month. This habit loop was even easier to form, because I already ate two snacks a day; I just replaced my handful of nuts with a handful of carrots, and my granola bar with a half cup of sliced cucumber. I don’t prevent myself from eating other snacks, if I want them, but I find I rarely do, unless a tough workout is involved. I replaced a habit I already had- snacking- with a better habit- snacking on vegetables. The quick “stickiness” and success of this habit was what got me thinking in more detail about other habits and how I can use the habit loop to make my life easier and lessen my mental anxiety.

The big reason why I’m thinking about this now? After two years on maternity leave, I’m finally going back to work in September. I’m looking forward to some things, but I’m also terrified about making the transition from stay-at-home mom to working mom and managing the household with 40 fewer hours a week. Working on implementing lifestyle and household habits now, while I have the time to think about and tweak them, might keep me from totally stressing out in September. The great thing about creating a simple-yet-sticky habit loop is that it takes the mental work out of daily tasks. If I’m already mindlessly eating healthy things, maybe I won’t gravitate to comfort food when I’m stressed. If my husband and I have good budgeting and meal planning habits in place, the burden of “when is this going to get done, and will we have enough money” won’t be on my mind. If I can learn to spend 15 minutes a day cleaning, I won’t have that chore hanging over my head every weekend. (That last one’s going to be tough. I’m good at picking up and doing dishes daily- it’s practically in my DNA- but vacuuming and dusting give me hives.)

So over the next several months, I’ll be tackling habit-forming in several areas, starting with health, and progressing to cleaning, budgeting, planning, and structuring free time. That may sound stressful to some, but to me, it’s exciting. It’s an opportunity to think about the things I want from life; to automate the necessities, so that my brain can rise above them to dream, wonder, imagine and write in my head, and to keep myself calm and anxiety-free.

What areas of your life could benefit from some focused habit-forming? Share your ideas in the comment section below, and I’ll be happy to give you suggestions for how you can make a simple-yet-sticky habit loop!

The sun makes a habit of coming up every day! (I know, that’s reaching, but I didn’t have a more appropriate picture for this post.)