You may have a lot things you want to accomplish this year. Some of them could be small things that could make you work faster or better. Others may be life changing decisions that requires long term planning. Every decision you make about life or work is either helping you get closer to your dreams or making it difficult to achieve your goals. Change is tough. Making new habits stick is even tougher. But change is inevitable as your grow and get exposed to new ways to making things better.
We all want to improve and become better people — healthier, more productive, a better partner or friend or even a business professional. But it can be tough to stick to new behaviours.
Here is Joel Gascoigne’s simple method to create a new habit. Joel is Buffer’s co-founder.
1. Start so small you can’t fail
2. Work on the small habit for as long as it takes to become a ritual (something you’re pulled towards, rather than which requires willpower)
3. Make a very small addition to the habit, ideally anchored to an existing ritual
Related: 28 Ideas for Becoming 5 Times More Productive Every Week
These are some of the best apps and tools to help you build strong habits.
1/ 42Goals — A simple tool for tracking your daily goals and keeping a log of your daily activities.
2/ HabitList — An app to create good habits and break unhealthy ones
3/ Zenlist — Simplify each day with three goals
4/ Human — Move 30 mins or more, every day
5/ stickK — empowers you to better your lifestyle.
6/ Momentum — Daily todo on your new tab page
7/ Do nothing for 2 minutes — Refocus your mind in just 2 minutes
8/ RescueTime — Analytics on your daily habits and productivity
9/ Handle — Time-based to-do app that brings together your to-dos, email, and calendar
10/ 21 Habit — Make or break a habit in 21 days
11/ Fitocracy — The easiest way to reach your fitness goals
12/ PocketRocket — One article from Pocket to your inbox every day
13/ Productivity Owl — A Chrome Extension that forces you to be productive
14/ Forest — An app helping you put down your phone and focus on what’s more important in your life.
15/ Calm — Take a break and meditate
16/ HabitForge — A proven motivator in creating new habits.