How to Modify Behaviors: A Guide to Transforming Your Habits
I have taken many courses in my different university programs. Yet, to this day my favorite remains Behavior Modification. Our main project was to modify one of our own behaviors over a four-month period. Personally, I had a dog and wanted to develop a better walking routine. So, over the four months I mapped out several walking routes that increased my time spent walking on a weekly basis. By the end of the four months, I was walking my dog two hours and twelve kilometers a day.
How to Form a Habit
Research indicates that it takes four months to develop a new habit, so by the end of the course my new walking routine became standard practice and something I did religiously. 25 years and three new dogs later, I still have this behavior!
Often, when our regular routines are interrupted by excessive work demands, stressful life interruptions, or even vacations and holidays, bad habits develop. While not immediate, over time days behaviors can become more and more maladaptive. This has a drastic impact on mental health and impacts all areas of physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning, let alone the impact on those that we live with.
Track Your Time to Transform Your Habits
The best way I have found to break unhealthy routines with clients is to have people track how they spend their time. Once this is documented, they can quickly identify the problems areas and then together we discuss how to fix them. This works for exercise, sleep, work hours, eating, and more. In every case, people discovered something about their routine that drove them into action for change.
So, if you are concerned that your routine or relationship with work is maladaptive, keep a log of how you spend your time. After a week, reflect on your log and make a list of the problem areas. Commit to making small changes (start with the easiest changes first) and over time, you will see huge improvements in how you feel about yourself and your routines. Or, for a more structured approach, consider hiring a professional to be your accountability partner in change.
