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Lesson 3: How to Fit New Habits in Your Life

Many people think they lack motivation when what they really lack is clarity. It is not always obvious when and where to take action.

In the last lesson, we talked about designing a two-minute version of your habit. In this lesson, we’re going to discuss the ideal time and location to insert that habit into your life. In other words, we’re going to find a clear and specific space for your new habit to live. If you can find the right time and the right place for your new habit, everything falls into place.

Here’s how to do it:

One effective way to insert a new habit into your life is with an “implementation intention.” An implementation intention is a plan you make beforehand about when and where to act. That is, how you intend to implement your habit.

Scientists have found that if you make an implementation intention, you are more likely to follow through with your plans and stick to your habits. This is true whether you are building habits like recycling, studying, going to sleep early, stopping smoking, and many others.

The simple way to apply this strategy to your habits is to fill out this sentence:

I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].

Let me give you a few examples of what this looks like.

The crucial step here is finding the right time and location to insert the new habit into your daily routine. You are looking for the decisive moment where your new habit should live.

Make sure your implementation intention is specific and clear. Here are a few more examples:

When and where you choose to insert a habit into your daily routine can make a big difference. If you’re trying to add meditation into your morning routine but mornings are chaotic and your kids keep running into the room, then that may be the wrong place and time. Consider when you are most likely to be successful. Don’t ask yourself to do a habit when you’re likely to be occupied with something else.

The more tightly bound your new habit is to a specific time and location, the better the odds are that you will notice when the time comes to act.

Week 1 Summary

Week 1 Progress Check-In

That’s all for Lesson 3. See you in the next lesson,

James Clear ​
Author of the million-copy bestseller, Atomic Habits
Creator of the Habit Journal

p.s. If you want to tell a friend about 30 Days to Better Habits, you can use the sharing links below, or just copy and paste this URL to send to them: https://jamesclear.com/30-days

Helpful bonuses and downloads

References and further reading

30 Days to Better Habits: A simple step-by-step guide for forming habits that stick

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