6/3/11

How to Maintain Not-Quite-Daily Habits

Have you ever fallen off track while trying to install or maintain a not-quite-daily habit such as exercising 3-4 days a week or getting up at 5am on weekdays? This article will share some simple ideas to help you maintain such habits more easily.

If you perform a certain task every day for weeks on end, it’s usually pretty easy to maintain. However, once you take a day or two off, it can be harder to start up again on your next “on” day. For example, if you get up early every weekday and then sleep in late on Saturday and Sunday, waking up Monday morning often feels harder, and you’re more likely to oversleep. Before you know it, you’ve blown your positive habit completely, and somehow every day has become an off day.

1. Make it daily anyway.

The first solution is to turn almost-daily habits into daily habits. Sometimes it’s no big deal to continue the habit even when it isn’t necessary, and the upside is that you’ll have a stronger habit with less risk of losing ground.

For example, I like to get up early 7 days a week. I find this much easier to maintain than getting up early 5-6 days per week. If I get up at 5am every single morning, it’s really no big deal. But if I stay out late one night and sleep in until 7am, it’s always harder to get up at 5am the following morning. Every once in a while I’ll stay out past midnight and sleep in late, but my default is to get up with the alarm at the same time every morning.

Even though I don’t need to get up early every day, the habit is beneficial for me every day, so there’s no reason to limit it to weekdays. Although it might seem harder to do it 7 days instead of 5-6 days, it’s actually easier to be consistent.


With close to 100% daily consistency, a habit will typically maintain itself on autopilot, so you don’t even have to think about it anymore. But with 80-90% consistency, the contrast between your on and off days is always in the back of your mind. Do I have to get up early tomorrow, or can I sleep in late? Do I need to exercise tomorrow, or can I skip it? If you have a lot of almost-daily habits, this can be a big cognitive burden and quite a distraction. Maintaining good habits becomes much more difficult than necessary.

2. Use placeholder habits.

Another option is to create an alternative, placeholder habit for your off days.

Suppose you want to exercise 5 days a week, and you really want to keep those off days. Instead of doing your regular exercise, you could schedule an an alternative activity for the same time.

Instead of doing your usual workout, you could use your off days to go for a walk, read, meditate, write in your journal, etc.

I recommend that you use placeholder habits that are similar in some way to the original habit. For example, on your off days for exercise, you could still do something physical like walking, stretching, or yoga. This turns your physical development into an everyday practice, even though you’re doing different activities each day.

3. Chain Habits.

When you chain a series of habits together, they become easier to maintain. As soon as you begin the first habit in the chain, the rest of the sequence will tend to take care of itself.


My usual morning routine involves getting up, hitting the gym, showering, getting dressed, eating breakfast, etc. It’s a pretty stable pattern. But sometimes when I feel I’m at risk of overtraining, I’ll skip my workout without substituting anything. When this happens I can just jump to the next link in my morning habit chain, which means I’ll get up and then shower.

I find that when I occasionally skip habits that are part of a longer daily chain, it’s fairly easy to put them back in again as long as I continue to maintain the first and last links in the chain. As long as I get up early and go to the gym or get up early and then shower, my not-quite-daily exercise habit remains pretty solid. But if I mess with the first link in the chain and don’t get up at my usual time, the whole sequence is more likely to be blown.

So the idea is to put your not-quite-daily habits in the middle of a chain of daily habits. If you maintain the overall chain, you’ll probably find it easier to maintain the middle links as well, even though you sometimes skip them.

4. Make specific commitments.

If there are certain habits you won’t perform every day, decide exactly when you will perform them.

“I’m going to exercise 3-4 days per week” is too vague and wishy-washy. “I’ll do a 30-minute workout at the gym every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday morning at 6:30am, alternating between weight training and aerobic conditioning” is much better. The more specific your commitment, the better.

Block out time on your schedule, and add these commitments to your calendar. Be sure not to schedule anything else for those times.

It’s very easy to fail when you give yourself too many outs and don’t really commit. On any given day, there should be no question as to whether you will or won’t perform your habitual activity. Ditch the mights, maybes, and shoulds. Either you will or you won’t. Decide in advance what it will be.

5. Turn habits into appointments.


If you have a hard time maintaining irregular habits, find a way to turn them into appointments that involve someone else. It’s easier to ditch a habit if you’re only accountable to yourself, but most people are less willing to skip appointments that would leave someone else hanging.

Get a workout buddy. Schedule early AM phone calls with another early riser. Plan home organizing time with your roommate(s) at the same time every week. Schedule regular babysitting for date nights with your spouse.

Your accountability will be greater when you involve others in your not-quite-daily habits.

Top 500 Keyword for Webmaster

No Keyword Count
1
Keywords
1409768
2Keywords1408046
3facebook576020
4hotels524068
5youtube480072
6craigslist378398
7google376943
8ebay361483
9yahoo256312
10facebook login238621
11yahoo mail205433
12aquarius201310
13gmail195129
14hotmail187821
15mapquest174187
16facebook.com164721
17you tube150197
18yahoo.com143892
19amazon135729
20walmart120139
21google maps113533
22home depot108736
23msn105316
24hotmail.com95983
25myspace94264
26aol93214
27aol.com91779
28cnn88933
29backpage86039
30weather83980
31best buy83815
32lowes82348
33google search81758
34netflix80433
35amazon.com77086
36google.com76951
37target74770
38dogpile71778
39espn71147
40wikipedia70999
41hot70601
42bing69551
43sears67689
44pthc67224
45craigs list65402
46fox news64390
47gmail.com63494
48www.facebook.com62616
49white pages59139
50cars58146
51youtube.com56980
52southwest airlines55812
53dictionary55696
54verizon wireless52937
55peachtree accounting currper51168
56drudge report50685
57plenty of fish48625
58weather channel47901
59nudist47713
60ebay.com47459
61youtube videos45730
62ls island45661
63comcast.net44994
64occupation of america44190
65kim kardashian43646
66news42902
67por hub42831
68weather.com42704
69test42603
70hulu42595
71msn.com41390
72girls41033
73games40843
74egotastic40594
75msnbc40530
76google earth40344
77imdb39353
78maps39294
79carmen electra38746
80miley cyrus38306
81costco38190
82teeny angels37431
83elweb bbs livedoor gateway37401
84bed bath and beyond36491
85v for victory36232
86www.yahoo.com36146
87bikini35971
88map quest35949
89bank of america35632
90face book35327
91empflix34959
92met art34810
93kwentong epiko ng ibalon34485
94mature34449
95kohls34420
96elweb bbs34264
97tula tungkol sa kalikasan33889
98expedia33817
99delta airlines33654
100search engines33613
101aol mail33598
102altavista33455
103jebanje matorke33444
104usps33111
105motherless33063
106dans movies32982
107sams club32701
1082 kids in a sandbox video32319
109paypal32243
110nfl32155
111ls dreams32053
112hotmail email31933
113auto trader31743
114katrina kaif without clothes31544
115itunes31201
116astrology31193
117drudge31173
118www.google.com31012
119amazon books30943
120tube30872
121dogs30814
122craiglist com30687
123sandra model30504
124lindsay lohan30452
125travelocity30327
126ebay motors30025
127yellow pages29686
128google images29680
129facebook log in29654
130kelly blue book29140
131babes29096
132tmz29030
133craigslist.com28978
134naturism28954
135ask.com28894
136megan fox28894
137american airlines28708
138ups tracking28646
139oops28613
140jessica alba28449
141skype28296
142zodiac signs28263
143dogpile.com28254
144flickr28171
145verizon28141
146dog27989
147chatroulette27932
148firefox27723
149hotmail sign in27681
150women dressed and undressed27579
151office depot27547
152a27103
153kmart27059
154cabelas27049
155pic hunter27044
156jessica simpson27016
157lolicon26983
158radio shack26825
159youtube broadcast yourself26795
160avizoon26646
161movies26574
162barbecue tips and techniques26532
163united airlines26527
164free galleries26434
165irs26410
166beeg26229
167yahoomail26104
168staples26037
169tiny angels25991
170mortgage calculator25987
171walmart.com25841
172katy perry25727
173qvc25538
174jennifer aniston25237
175twitter25183
176funny videos25031
177elephant tube24708
178mujeres eyaculando24649
179ipad24590
180gmail sign in24571
181facebook login page24534
182mga halimbawa ng sanaysay24501
183chase24324
184ups24323
185kindle24259
186asian24211
187ovguide24174
188macys24166
189the hunsyellow pages23993
190barnes and noble23990
191jebanje23954
192music23949
193ask23910
194weather forecast23665
195pandora23552
196comcast23401
197lingerie23263
198bbc news23091
199girl22918
200youtube music videos22884
201topless22870
202plentyoffish22861
203huffington post22594
204cnn.com22580
205autozone22572
206jobs22475
207x videos22357
208justin bieber22267
209imgsrc22163
210besplatni strani filmovi za gledanje sa prevodom22157
211nudism22136
212angelina jolie21954
213people search21718
214busty21703
215sun safety tips21700
216homemade videos21684
217imgsrc ru21674
218ikea21321
219nifty21256
220food network21232
221pertama kali bersetubuh21105
222lowes home improvement21096
223toys r us21083
224strani filmovi sa prijevodom online20942
225halimbawa ng maikling kuwento20933
226videos de mujeres eyaculando20932
227search engine list20910
228flowers20788
229cats20756
230southern charms20675
231grocery coupons20655
232rockettube20625
233foxnews20622
234wal mart20582
235harbor freight20549
236lucy pinder20537
237dailymotion20526
238webkinz20493
239videos20269
240american idol20231
241online games20220
242breasts20054
243lil amber19939
244funny19926
245besplatni domaci filmovi19909
246irs.gov19757
247ls magazine19724
248metacafe19660
249milena velba19659
250jcpenney19646
251amazon com19629
252miniclip19594
253airline tickets19565
254mapquest.com19521
255you tube videos19516
256direct tv19514
257gmail login19508
258cheap airline tickets19469
259peruvian sea monster19461
260match.com19453
261walgreens19446
262continental airlines19402
263movie trailers19398
264infospacegames.com19386
265manhunt19352
266sports19313
267easter baskets19298
268kristen s archives19287
269www.lobby.com19282
270juggworld19264
271vida guerra19237
272gardening tips19193
273ninas cojiendo19193
274fedex19165
275wikileaks19153
276at&t19132
277noaa19132
278gardening tools19118
279ticketmaster18969
280maxim18884
281fakku18857
282kelly brook18816
283driving directions18737
284mga tulang pambata18684
285anime18664
286www.hotmail.com18664
287brooke burke18663
288realtor.com18612
289poptropica18603
290japanese beauties18558
291bbc18537
292milkmans book18521
293jessica biel18514
294pogo18486
295coupons18477
296christmas around the world18466
297love18405
298orbitz18383
299limewire18368
300natalie portman18363
301talumpati tungkol sa kalikasan18352
302free18255
303chase.com18201
304zodiac18180
305aff18161
306www.aol.com18130
307victoria justice fakes18068
308dish network18021
309miley cyrus racy photo17998
310mga tulang pilipino17982
311cuckold17933
312wells fargo17896
313myspace.com17876
314pof17873
315youporon17870
316emma watson17857
31767.220.92.22 forum index.php17826
318big mouthfuls17816
319photobucket17812
320currency converter17777
321free games17744
322accuweather17734
323pizza hut17673
324rss17613
325spring break17606
326apple17596
327naturist17585
328cnn news17532
329halimbawa ng mga epiko17506
330rika nishimura17467
331ashley madison17447
332youjiz17371
333blonde17316
334msn hotmail17315
335nudists17307
336pirate bay17295
337webmd17211
338craiglist17118
339preteez model17058
340halimbawa ng tula17043
341women17034
342tarot cards16999
343hurricane earl track16987
344lisa ann16967
345booty16934
346my free cams16923
347yahoo finance16914
348dancing with the stars16890
349lobby.com16869
350sublime directory com16826
351upshorts16784
352paris hilton16756
353printable coupons16709
354mga kwentong pambata16701
355thong16654
356loveletter.com16653
357soccer16623
358tv guide16596
359sprint16594
360round and brown16564
361att.net16525
362nozomi kurahashi16510
363dreammovies16504
364beach16480
365shoes16410
366mga epikong tagalog16357
367imgsrc.ru16315
368people16276
369massage16270
370dogpile search spy16259
371travel16249
372xshare16150
373panties16092
374brazilian beauties16072
375advance auto parts16006
376national weather service15991
377hot nurse15922
378music downloads15920
379breast15900
380halloween costumes15873
381chloroformed kidnapped15852
382linkedin15850
383amtrak15817
384dark collection15800
385mail.com15790
386kos farsi15783
387mature women15742
388overstock.com15705
389ipod15692
390web md15658
391song lyrics15650
392trish stratus15646
393people magazine15612
3944chan15607
395us airways15580
396halimbawa ng dula15564
397britney spears15552
398extremetube15542
399www.youtube.com15441
400ebay uk15421
401office max15419
402ace hardware15401
403youp15385
404you por n15384
405pusenje kurca15367
406target.com15354
407game cheats15303
408big15287
409ro8915272
410tattoo designs15142
411jenna jameson15127
412halimbawa ng epiko15106
413kidscorner.com15102
414nascar15094
415att15081
416vanessa hudgens15080
417newswire service15074
418addictinggames15062
419truyen khieu dam15045
420autotrader15040
421storm tracker15021
422home15010
423hamster14996
424pamela anderson14993
425free ones14991
426ipod touch14990
427ls land underground14984
428best buy store14971
429kwentong epiko14960
430wwwfacebook com14934
431webcrawler14881
432camfuze14833
433enterprise car rental14819
434foxnews.com14817
435dell14759
436bree olsen14736
437bestbuy14683
438paypal.com14604
439cnet14541
440royal wedding14532
441bibcam14515
442tattoos14504
443menards14498
444weight loss14464
445talambuhay ni ramon magsaysay14447
446car14422
447orient beach14408
448ford14385
449denise milani14378
450abc news14376
451indeed.com14358
452disney channel14353
453women milking men14334
454christmas cookie recipes14314
455american express14313
456engagement rings14301
457turbo tax14292
458jenny mccarthy14286
459priceless14281
460my first teacher14232
461f14226
462fitness14189
463frontier airlines14148
464g14141
465boysfoodcom14116
466purenudism14039
467diet13993
468we live together13978
469computers13975
470runescape13969
471statue of liberty13958
472football13918
473singles13899
474abc13887
475jennifer walcott13867
476nfl.com13839
477free e-cards13830
478napa auto parts13783
479wii13744
480social security administration13741
481miranda cosgrove fakes13696
482youjiizz13696
483mature tube13691
484nifty archive13642
485ebony13627
486targets department store13599
487lowes home improvement store13594
488mila kunis13585
489wife13571
490hombres peludos13517
491dillards13473
492zip codes13457
493gamestop13454
494internet13446
495palm reading13427
496fantasti.cc13422
497weather underground13405
498online dictionary13388
499recipes13383
500dictionary.com13383