Habits That Stick – step-by-step guide (e-book)

You've tried before. New Year's resolutions that were gone by February, workout plans that fell apart after two weeks, apps you stopped opening. The problem isn't your willpower. It's the method. This guide shows how habits actually work and gives you a concrete 30-day program to build good habits and break bad ones: start ridiculously small, stack new habits on old ones, make your surroundings work for you, and bounce back fast when you slip. With exercises, everyday examples and a printable habit tracker.

• A concrete 30-day program, day by day
• Why willpower fails, and what works instead
• Build good habits and break bad ones with simple changes
• Exercises, habit ideas and a printable habit tracker
• Approx. 24 pages
• EPUB for e-readers and PDF for phone, tablet or print

Before You Start

Think about everything you did today before nine o'clock. You got up, went to the bathroom, brushed your teeth, probably in the same order as yesterday and the day before. You made coffee, checked your phone, got dressed, walked out the door. You barely thought about most of it. It just happened.

Researchers estimate that a large share of what we do every day isn't a conscious choice, but a habit. That's good news. Because it means that if you change your habits, you change a big part of your life, without having to fight yourself every single day.

Why you've failed before

If you've tried to change your habits before and failed, you're in good company. Most New Year's resolutions are forgotten by February. But that's not because you're lazy or weak. It's because most of us use a method that doesn't work: we set a big goal and try to reach it with pure willpower.

Willpower is like a battery. It's strong in the morning and drained by evening. It's sapped by stress, poor sleep and hunger. A method that depends on willpower every day will fail on exactly the days you need it most.

This book is about a different method. About making good habits so easy, so obvious and so satisfying that they almost happen by themselves. And about making bad habits so hard that you skip them without thinking.

How to use this book

The first chapters explain how habits work, and the four levers that make them stick. Then comes a 30-day program, day by day. At the back you'll find habit ideas, common questions and a habit tracker.

Why 30 days?

You may have heard that it takes 21 days to form a habit. That's a myth. A well-known study from University College London found that it took around two months on average before a new habit felt automatic, with huge variation: some people needed less than three weeks, others many months. Simple habits, like drinking a glass of water with breakfast, stick faster than hard ones, like working out every day.

The first 30 days are still crucial. That's when a habit either takes root or dies. Make it through 30 days, and you've done the hardest part.

… The excerpt continues in the book.

1. Before You Start
2. How Habits Work
3. Start With Who You Want to Be
4. Start Ridiculously Small
5. Make It Obvious
6. Make It Easy
7. Make It Satisfying
8. Break Bad Habits
9. When Motivation Runs Out
10. The 30-Day Program
11. Habit Ideas
12. Common Questions
13. Your Habit Tracker

Format: E-book as EPUB (Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books, Kindle via “Send to Kindle”) and PDF.. Made with the help of AI and tested by our quality control. Not tax, accounting or legal advice. Terms and right of withdrawal