The Science of Making and Breaking a Habit

There’s no doubt that behavior change is hard, but it’s certainly not impossible.

There are certain tricks to overcoming anxiety, procrastination, and/or fatigue. The key is leveraging the natural rhythms of your brain and body to make it more likely that you’ll start or stick with new habits. You can do this by dividing each 24-hour day/night into three phases.

Phase 1 – The first 0-8 hours after waking

You have more dopamine, adrenaline, and cortisol at this time, which makes your brain and body more action and focus-oriented. That means it’s easier to overcome anxiety, procrastination, and fatigue. However, our brains can also be more prone to distraction and multitasking at this time, so be mindful of that.

Identify 1-4 habits to complete during phase 1. Think of habits that require energy and focus, and set a window for completing them (it lends to flexibility). This might look like:

• Workout anytime between 7:00am and 11:00am
• 45 minutes of deep writing anytime between 8:00am and noon
• Have an important conversation at work anytime between 9:00am and 11:00am
• 30 minutes of reading anytime between 11:00am and 1:00pm

Phase 2 – The 9-15 hours after waking

Your serotonin levels are higher and your adrenaline levels are lower, so engage in habits that don’t require you to overcome anxiety, procrastination, or fatigue as much.

Choose behaviors/thinking that can be completed with less focus and that involve more creativity, such as:

• Working in the garden
• Writing fiction or rough drafts
• Crafting a grocery shopping list/searching for healthy recipes
• Exploring a new pursuit
• Going for an easy walk

Phase 3 – The 16-24 hours after waking

In this phase, we “reset” our ability to overcome anxiety, procrastination, and fatigue by resting and sleeping. If you find resting difficult because there’s “too much to get done,” remember that it’s the key to being able to harness energy for a productive tomorrow. You don’t need to feel guilty for resting.

Testing Habit Change

Research shows that picking six new habits to incorporate per day for 21 days, and aiming to complete four of the six per day is a great approach. Write these six habits down on day 1, and mark off which ones you complete each day on your calendar for 21 days.

You haven’t failed if you completed only four out of the six on a certain day, and please do not try to complete more than six.

Blend this approach with the Phase 1, 2, 3 structure above. Track how things go for 21 days, and see which habits actually became habits after three weeks. You can tell when something has become a habit based on how much anxiety, procrastination, or fatigue you need to overcome to perform the behavior and whether you can perform the habit no matter what, or only under certain circumstances, such as when you’re calm, rested, etc.

Breaking Habits

Breaking habits requires positive reinforcement for not engaging in the negative behavior you’re trying to break. For example, let’s say you’re trying to cut down on alcohol, and you walked past the bar on the way home from work instead of going inside. Reward yourself by taking yourself to a movie or engaging in something else that brings you joy.

Remember, habit building is all about being in the right state of mind and being able to control your body and regulate your emotions in a healthy way.

Source: https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033417