Do you have trouble sticking with and maintaining good habits? I certainly have in the past. This time of year often provides renewed motivation to begin new habits, end bad habits, or renew good habits we had in the past.

I have learned three truths that enable me to kick the bad habits and maintain or begin good habits.

1 – Habits can be seasonal. If we were to take an analytical look at our year, we would see that there are natural annual rhythms we abide by. For example, I have a habit of strength training and running. As a resident of the desert southwest, in the summer, I have to maintain this habit early in the morning. During the winter, I can maintain the habit in the middle of the day or afternoon, which frees up my mornings for other habits or work. Don’t force a habit into a time of day when it doesn’t necessarily need to go there.

2 – If you are building a new habit, tie the new habit to an action that “moves the ball down the field” –  Ensure your habit helps you accomplish a goal. For example, if you have a goal of healthy teeth, it will help motivate you to develop the habit of flossing each day.

3 – Use the power of Dopamine to build habits. Use a streak tracker to log habit accomplishments – every time you floss, check a box in your journal or notebook. This simple action releases a shot of Dopamine in your system, releasing a sense of accomplishment which assists in ensuring the new habit sticks. Check out my favorite, the Full Focus Planner for an example of a daily streak tracker.

Habits are powerful tools we can use to accomplish our goals. If we follow these three truths, habit development and accomplishment will become a matter of course. Happy accomplishing!