8 ways to end bad habits and be more productive

8 ways to end bad habits and be mora productive8 ways to end bad habits and be more productiveBad habits we all gotem. Youknow what they are. Youknow youshould stop. But. . . its hard. In fact, sometimes you feel downright powerless. And youre not crazyResearchfrom Duke University shows 40% of what you do every day isnt a decision - its a habit.From Charles Duhiggs excellent book The Power of Habit Why We Do What We Do in Life and BusinessOne paper published by a Duke University researcher in 2006 found that more than 40 percent of the actions people performed each day werent actual decisions, but habits.Yeah, you spend almost half the day on autopilot. And cabfahrting bad habits isnt just kinda nice. If you want to be a success, studies show habits really do matter.Looking for an inspiring way to start your day? Sign up forMorning MotivationIts our friendly Facebook ? that will send you a quick note every weekday morning to help you start strong. Sign up here by clicking Get Starte dPeople who have career momentum are 53% more likely to have good habits.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleComparing middle management employees, researchers have found that those whose careers continue to have momentum are 53 percent more likely to engage in healthy life habits than those whose careers are stalled. Roberts and Friend 1998If were on autopilot for half the day, we want those routinesto be good ones. So what really works for ditching bad habits? And isnt horribly difficult?Letsget to it. . .1. Change abad habit. SingularAt one time we have all felt as ifour lives are a constellation of bad habits. You get home from work, youre exhausted and you go from one I should not be doing this to the next.Its like you need to change everything. And you need to do it tomorrow No. Bad. Wrong. Does not compute.Do less. Just focus on fixingone thing at a time. When I spoke toPower of Habitauthor Charles Duhigg, he said thatsthe key to lasting change. Heres CharlesIf you try to transform everything at once, it tends to be very, very destabilizing. In general, what people should do, is they should think of change as a project. Its a project that takes a whileNow, it might feel frustrating to say, If you have ten habits you want to change, that means its going to take eight months or nine months. The truth of the matter is if this is a behavior thats really important, changing it will have this huge impact on your life. Its worth spending a month to change one behavior permanently. Youre going to be reaping the benefits of that for the next decade.You dont need to overhaul your life. Just killone bad habit. Give it a month and then move on to the next.(To learn the four rituals neuroscience says will make you happy, click here.)Okay, youre focused on one thing. Whats a painless way to start?2. Dont stop. Just countWhatever it is you shouldnt be doing, you dont have to stop yet. (Doesnt that sound nice?)Dont try to reduce the habit, reduce the variabi lity in the habit.In other words, dont even try to quit smoking try to smoke the exact same number of cigarettes each day. Or only check Facebook your usual 90 times an hour.This tinyeffort toward self-control can lead to a decrease in bad habitsover time, unconsciously.Via The Willpower Instinct How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of ItBehavioral economist Howard Rachlin proposes an interesting trick for overcoming the problem of always starting a change tomorrow. When you want to change a behavior, aim to reduce the variability in your behavior, not the behavior itself. He has shown that smokers asked to try to smoke the same number of cigarettes every day gradually decrease their overall smoking- even when they are explicitly told not to try to smoke less.Just paying attention to those numbers can make a big difference. Merely looking at the calorie counts on food labels before eating was more effective for weight loss than exerciseLabel users who did not exercise displayed a slightly greater likelihood of weight loss than those who exercised but did not read food labels. Additionally, those who only read labels were more likely to improve their chances of weight loss by adding exercise to their routines rather than abandoning label usage in favor of exercise.You dont have to deny yourself at first. Just notice the numbers and continue to behave badly - but consistently.(To learn what Harvard research says will make you happier and more successful, click here.)Thats not hard. You dont have to change. How else can you beat bad habits without changing yourself at all?3. Dont change you. Change your worldEvery day I download Instagram on my iPhone and every day I delete Instagram off my iPhone. Does it sound like I have a problem? Nope. Its a great way to make sure I only check it once a day.The app isnt there tempting me to check it 600 times. And its a pain to keep downloading it. And this is a big secret to beating bad habits.Dont change yourself. Change your context. We engage in habits because of triggers in our environment. Remove the triggers or make them more difficult to reach and youre less likely to engage in the behavior.When I spoke to behavioral economist Dan Ariely he said context affects your behavior much, much more than you think.Heres DanOne of the big lessons from social science in the last 40 years is that environment matters. If you go to a buffet and the buffet is organized in one way, you will eat one thing. If its organized in a different way, youll eat different things. We think that we make decisions on our own but the environment influences usto a great degree. Because of that we need to think about how tochange ourenvironment.So get the tempting stuff away from you. Bestselling author Shawn Achor recommends the 20 second rule. Make bad habits 20 seconds harder to begin and youre far less likely to engage in them.Heres ShawnWatching too much television? Merely take out the batteries of the remote control creatinga 20 second delay and it dramatically decreases the amount of television people will watch.You dont need to change yourself just yet. Change the things around you.(To learn an FBI behavior experts secrets for getting people to like you, click here.)Pretty simple, right? Good. And lets keep it that way. Do you need to put pressure on yourself and be a demanding taskmaster to eliminate bad habits? Nope. Neuroscience says do the exact opposite4. Chill, dudeWhat makes you more likely to engage in bad habits? Stress.UCLA neuroscientist alexanderplatz Korbsays staying relaxed helps your brain make the right choices.Heres AlexI have a friend who always says, Stress takes the prefrontal cortex offline. Stress changes the dynamics of that conversation. It weakens the prefrontal cortex. That part of your brain doesnt have infinite resources. It cant be eternally vigilant and so while its not paying attention, your striatum islike, Lets go eat a cookie. Lets go drink a beer.Anything that you can do to reduce stress can help strengthen the prefrontal cortexs control over your habits.Dont pressure yourself. Stay calm and youll behave better.(To learn how to stop being lazy and get more done, click here.)Alright, the tipsso far have been plenty easy. Time for some black belt methods. And we also need to correct some myths. How do you really eliminate those bad habits? Its easy Dont.5. Dont eliminate bad habits. Replace them.Ironically, studies show saying, Ill never do that again makes you even more likely to do that again.Charles Duhigg wrote the book on habits. And he says the research is clear you cant eliminate bad habits but you can replace them.Want to stop shoving donuts in your mouth?When you feel the urge, put some sugarless gum in your piehole. The trigger stays the same and you still get a nice reward but youre replacing the bad behavior with a good one.FromThe Power of Habit Why We Do What We Do in Life and BusinessWe kno w that a habit cannot be eradicated- it must, instead, be replaced. And we know that habits are most malleable when the Golden Rule of habit change is applied If we keep the same cue and the same reward, a new routine can be inserted.Notice what triggers your bad behavior and then replace your usual response with a new one that gives you a different (but still pleasurable) reward.(To learn a Georgetown professors secrets for managing your time like an expert, click here.)Am I making this all sound too easy? Dont worry - I know youre gonna screw up. We all do. In fact, I bet you know when youre most likely to screw up.So here are the two words that can make sure you dont blow itMore from LaddersHow to quit bad habits without willpower 3 secrets from neuroscience9 bad habits you must break to be more productiveTen bad habits you must eliminate from your daily routine6. If and thenPlans are good. And with a very simple one you can resist temptation. When do you always perform that ba d habit? For instance, Whenever I sit on the couch I surf the internet endlessly.Okay, now use two words to make a teensy weensy little planIf I sit on the couch, then I will pick up a book.FromNine Things Successful People Do DifferentlyIts called if-then planning, and it is a really powerful way to help you achieve any goal. Well over a hundred studies, on everything from diet and exercise to negotiation and time management, have shown that deciding in advance when and where you will take specific actions to reach your goal (e.g., If it is 4 p.m., then I will return any phone calls I should return today) can double or triple your chances for success.Sound too simple to be true? Wrong.FromNine Things Successful People Do DifferentlyThe results were dramatic weeks later, 91 percent of if-then planners were still exercising regularly, compared to only 39 percent of nonplanners Similar results have been shown for other health-promoting behaviors, like remembering to do monthly breast self-exams (100 percent of planners, 53 percent of nonplanners), and getting cervical cancer screenings (92 percent of planners, 60 percent of nonplanners).Two words. Big changes.(To learnwhat Yale research says is the lazy way to an awesome life, click here.)But what happens if you still blow it? Dont worry, buddy. I got you covered . . .7. Forgive yourselfYoure going to screw up. And thats okay.In Richard Wisemans study of people who achieved their goals he realized we shouldExpect to revert to your old habits from time to time. Treat any failure as a temporary set-back rather than a reason to give up altogether.So you say youre not going to eat cookies. Then you accidentally eat a cookie. Thats not when the diet is blown.The diet is blown when you eat the one cookie and say, I give up - and then devour the rest of the bag.What does science say we should dowhen we lose self-control or procrastinate?Forgive yourself and move on.ViaThe Willpower Instinct How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of ItStudy after study shows that self-criticism is consistently associated with less motivation and worse self-control. It is also one of the single biggest predictors of depression, which drains both I will power and I want power. In contrast, self-compassion- being supportive and kind to yourself, especially in the face of stress and failure- is associated with more motivation and better self-control.In trying to do anything to better your life, its okay to stumble. It takes time. You learn.(To learn how to be more compassionate with yourself, click here.)Okay, weve covered a lot. Lets round it up and learn the eighth tip - which is the easiest and most fun of them allSum upHeres how to get rid of those awful bad habitsOne at a time.Beat one bad habit per month and in a year youll be awesome.Dont stop. Just count. Dont eliminate the bad behavior just yet. First, be consistent in your awfulness.Dont change you. Change your world. 20 second rule. Make it harder to engage in bad habits.Chill, dude. Stress makes the bad stuff tempting. Relax and youll behave better.Dont eliminate. Replace. You cant kill bad habits but you can swap them out for new ones.If and Then. A simple plan for how youll beat temptation helps you beat temptation.Forgive yourself. Beating yourself up makes you behave worse.Self-compassion keeps you going.And whats the final tip?Peer pressure is a good thing - when you use it strategically.Mom wanted you to hang out with the smart kids in school because theyprovided good examples. Mom was right.Its simple, really. Hang out with people who you want to be. Procrastinate a lot? Spend more time with uber-productive friends. Want to get in shape? Hang around those healthy-eating gym addicts.When I spoke to Carlin Flora, author ofFriendfluence The Surprising Ways Friends Make Us Who We Are, she saidResearch shows over time, you develop the eating habits, health habits and even career aspirations of those around you. If youre in a group of people who have really high goals for themselves youll take on that same sense of seriousness.And conversely, if youre in a group of friends who are not that ambitious, then you too will lower your standards.Okay, enough talk. Right now, emaille or text one of those friends you want to be and set a time to hang out.Friends dont just make us happy. They can also make us better people.Join over 255,000 readers.Get a free weekly update via emailhere.Related postsHow To Get People To Like You 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior ExpertNew Neuroscience Reveals 4 Rituals That Will Make You HappyNew Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More SuccessfulThis article originally appeared at Barking Up the Wrong Tree.