When starting a new habit, one important element is your ability to comply with the routine and stick with it over the long run:
- Is it easy to drop it after a few days?
- Is it hard to follow?
- Does that require a lot of attention and thinking?
If it’s complicated, you won’t fail because you’re weak or you have a bad ability to start and keep habits.
You will fail because you make a complicated routine.
You can’t show up at 5 AM at a gym 20 km away by bike? No wonder you won’t stick with it for more than a week.
Removing barriers and make it easy to comply with it will get you a long way into sticking with it.
I love the habit of starting with exercise every morning at home, for a short time (max. 15 minutes).
Not weight-lifting, but body weights. You travel with your body, so next time you’ll be away you’ll have your body to train with. No need to have a barbell or weights with you.
At home, you don’t have excuses to get ready, to leave in the cold, rain or snow to get to the gym, with the car, bus or anything. You get out of bed and your gym is right there.
Use this principle with any habit. Lower your expectations and make it impossible to fail. Then you can build a more complex routine.
