Creating Habits & Making Them Stick + FREE Printables

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You guys know that I am all about goals, goal setting, and creating good habits. So, today I wanted to share some tips for creating new habits and really making them stick! Plus, I’ve got some printables for your planner so that you can keep track of your habits and really start reaching the goals you set.

Wanting to form new habits starts when you have something about yourself or your life that you really want to improve upon. This is actually a good thing, and I don’t think that everyone thinks so deeply about how they can improve themselves as those who want to set goals and have good habits.

It is really easy to make bad habits, but making good ones can often be difficult if it means changing the way we have always done something, or changing the things we are used to. It definitely requires some stepping outside of our comfort zone to change our way of thinking.

However, it is simple, and we can break making new habits down into 3 steps-

1. Decide what it is you want to do
You need to be specific here. You can say “drink more water” but really, how much water do you need to drink? When are you going to drink your water? It should be spread out throughout the day, right? Do you have a water bottle that you can take on the go? If you want to set yourself up for success, being specific and knowing how to achieve what you are trying to do is key. Then, you can break your new habit down, such as- “Drink 8 oz of water every 3 hours for a total of 40 oz of water a day” or something similar. Just apply this concept to whatever habit you are working towards.

2. Remind yourself to get it done
At first, it will be easy to work on your new habit. You’ll be motivated and eager to make some progress. However, after that initial motivation wears off, that’s when the work starts. Remind yourself what you are working on. I like to set alarms on my phone to remember things, or leave sticky notes around the house to remind me of things. You should also keep track of your new habit in your planner!

3. Make it a part of your routine
Here’s where we look at the long term and work on making your new habit a part of your daily routine. When we are busy or tired, it can be pretty difficult to make even simple decisions. This is where routines come in handy. When you can do things automatically it takes the brain work out of the equation and you can accomplish things more easily. When we don’t have to add to our already overloaded ideas and thoughts bouncing around our heads, that is a win. I have a few routines that I have set up throughout the day, including a morning and evening routine. With the example of drinking water all throughout the day, you could center it around different parts of the day. You could drink water when you first wake up, with each meal, and then before bed to reach your goal. This way without thinking you know you need to drink water when you eat, and first thing and last thing during the day. If your new habit is making your bed each day, make that a part of your morning routine. See where your new habit fits, and keep getting it done each day until you don’t even have to think about it anymore.

When it comes to completely new habits, I recommend starting with a few at a time. Once you have those down, you can add more. It’s easier to focus on just a few new things at a time, and you are less likely to get overwhelmed with a bunch of new changes at once.

Okay, so let’s get some printables to help us out.

I’ve got this in 3 sizes, Personal size for your personal size planner, Half Letter size for your A5 size planner and then letter size that you can pop into a binder or onto a clipboard!