Do you have the tiniest inclination to make a change in the way you spend your days? Then watch this video on creating Tiny Habits. It may change your life.

For all the times you tried to incorporate something into your lifestyle and gave up after a few tries or even only one… this is the thing that truly makes a difference.

Here’s how it works: in stead of using willpower, which costs you a lot of energy and is far less effective, you can set tiny goals and make yourself successful at them time and time again.

You’ll start liking your new behavior, feel great about yourself and, out of enthusiasm (as opposed to willpower) naturally extend your new tiny habit into a Big one.

Tiny examples

  • After i pee, i do 5 situps.
  • After i brush my teeth, i floss 1 tooth.
  • After i stand up from my chair, i pick up 1 thing to clean.
  • After i send an email, i take 1 minute to watch my breath.
  • After i get up in the morning, i light 1 candle.

What’s this thing about pee you mentioned?

Using the Tiny Habits method, you will hook your new behavior into your day by anchoring it to something you do anyway. My favorite trigger has always been peeing: “after i pee, i will…”.

I love having a strong belly. It makes me feel grounded and full of energy and inner strength. To strengthen my belly, i want to do daily situps. I choose an amount of situps that (to me) is ridiculously low, so i will have no excuse to skip. So i picked up this tiny habit:

Each time i pee, i will do 20 situps.

I started only two days ago, i already did about 8 or 10 times 20 situps and i feel great about it!

Btw, i know that to many, 20 situps is not ‘tiny’ but rather a lot. So whatever you consider tiny is personal. If i would do pushups, i would probably start with 3. The trick is to set your goal to an amount that is something you can not NOT do because there is just no excuse. It may sound silly but this is the way it works.

How does it work?

Tiny Habits is a great method to introduce new habits in your lifestyle in a fun and super-sustainable way.

I have been using it often to get started with wholesome habits in my life such as drinking lemon juice every morning, sprouting my own beans, exercising daily and tidying my home.

Here are the steps according to B.J. Fogg, the creator of Tiny Habits:

Step 1: Get specific
What behavior do you want?
Translate target outcomes and goals into behaviors.
And be specific.

Step 2: Make it easy
How can you make the behavior easy to do?
Simplicity changes behavior.

Step 3: Trigger the behavior
What will prompt the behavior?
Some triggers are natural. Others you must design.
No behavior happens w/o a trigger.

Just watch the video, then all of the above will make even more sense. Or ask your question in the comments, i will do my best to answer from my own experience and insight.

If you want to know more and get automated email guidance by B.J. Fogg, the creator of Tiny Habits, check out this site: http://tinyhabits.com/ (new window).