How To Build Good Habits

Building good habits is an essential tool for blokes on a weight loss journey. Look, we get that going for a run and cooking healthy meals every day can seem like a real stretch. But there are some really easy hacks to make setting a new habit a hell of a lot easier.

When you set a goal, make sure it’s precise. For example, if you’re on a weight loss journey and you want to get into running, don’t simply make your goal to ‘run more.’ Instead, tack a specific time or distance to this goal. Setting the goal to ‘run 15 minutes per day’, is much better, as it will make the objective less daunting and give you a way to track your progress.

You’re more likely to progress towards a goal if you set a specific goal, as well as when and where you do it, experts say. With that in mind, you should integrate a mental cue into the goal you’re trying to achieve.

So, for example, on top of saying ‘I’m going to run for 15 minutes per day,’ you should say something like ‘after work each day, I’m going to run for 15 minutes from the office to the train station’.

These cues will help you remember your goals and help you build your new habit. 

It’s only human nature that the more fun an activity is, the more likely you’ll want to repeat it. Let’s say your goal is to lose 15kg and you plan to do this by doing 30 minutes of exercise each day after work. Rather than trying to find a form of exercise that runs the risk of getting boring fast, try something you know you’ll enjoy — perhaps a ball sport? If you enjoy, you’ll want to repeat it. Repetition helps build a habit and if that habit is exercise, the logic goes that you should get healthier.

An alternate method is temptation building. This involves making an activity you enjoy dependent on your efforts to form a good habit. For example, you may only let yourself watch your favourite television show while using a treadmill. This should also help with your follow-through as it will link a potentially annoying task with a genuinely pleasurable one. 

Social support is a brilliant way to help build a new habit. Not only can friends and family be great at holding you to account, but they’ll also act as cheerleaders. The behaviour of others influences our behaviours, so if you're around people practising good habits, you’re more likely to pick those habits, too.

Do you want to start running more regularly? Join a run club and spend time with people who have already picked up the habit you want to develop. Want to eat more healthily? Ask your clean-eating mates whether they’d be happy to share their recipes with you — chances are they’re probably on the Man Shake!