If you’re anything like me, New Years is a great time to take stock and determine how you want to completely transform every aspect of your life. (Or, at least, figure out how to exercise every day. Or, you know, once a month.) Here's a flowchart that tells you how to design New Year’s Resolutions according to the science of habit formation. For more tips like this, see my posts on Linkedin http://linkd.in/1goZvGD or visit my website at http://charlesduhigg.com/.

1. NEW YEAR’S
HOW TO
Routine
Leave your running
shoes by the door.
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A piece of chocolate
aw
dr
A half hour on
Facebook
Set your alarm
an hour earlier.
Find an exercise
buddy.
You don’t need ALL of
these to make good on your
New Year’s resolution.
ONE is enough.
An episode of
Nashville
After a
few days,
ask yourself:
Do I crave this
reward when
I am exposed
to the cue?
Ye s
Do you actually enjoy
this reward?
Ye s
No
o
A RANDOM HOUSE
TRADE PAPERBACK
AND eBOOK
O
Reward
But the more cues you
test out, the faster you’ll
find one that works.
Choose a
new reward.
YOU’RE ON
YOUR WAY TO
CREATING A
POWERFUL
NEW HABIT!
STEP
3
EXECUTE THE ROUTINE
Routine
Your cue reminds you
of your routine.
Your reward
motivates you.
Cue
Reward
Smokes
Now execute!
This year when I see
THE NEW YORK TIMES
BESTSELLER—
NOW IN PAPERBACK
PO
oR
CRAVING
F OR ENDORPH IN
RUSH OR
ACCOMPL ISH MENT
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to work for you.
What
motivates you?
eR
Smokes
Here’s how to apply it:
POWER OF HABIT
CHOOSE A REWARD
itu
Cue
A habit is a 3-step neurological process.
First, there’s a cue, something that tells
your brain to go into automatic mode.
Then there’s a routine. And finally, a
reward, which helps your brain learn to
crave the behavior. It’s a basic formula
you can use to create—or break—
habits of your own.
Put the
2
What will remind you
to go to the gym?
Here’s how it works:
Choose a cue, like leaving your running
shoes by the door, then pick a reward—
say, a piece of chocolate when you get
home from the gym. That way, the cue
and the reward become intertwined.
Eventually, when you see the shoes,
your brain will start craving the reward, which will make it easier to work
out day after day. The best part? In a
couple of weeks, you won’t need the
chocolate at all. Your brain will come
to see the workout itself as the reward.
Which is the whole point, right?
STEP
PICK THE CUE
H
1
BA
TI
STEP
en
Let’s say you want to hit
the gym more regularly this
year. How do you make that
happen? Consider putting the
habit loop to use.
T
eu
C
DESIGN A
RESOLUTION THAT LASTS
COMMIT TO YOUR
PLAN—IN WRITING.
I will
BEHAVIOR
to get
Studies show that the best way
to implement a New Year’s
resolution is to write it
down as a formula.
CUE
in order
REWARD
.
Post this plan where
you will see it.
Try it for a week.
Thank us later.
,