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3 Steps to Make Habits and Resolutions Stick this New Year



3 Steps to Make Habits Stick in 2021


Habits aren’t hard, remembering to do them is hard. Being consistent is hard especially when things get stressful and busy.


Each year I write out 407 resolutions that will magically make my life easier. Then, I never do them again. This year I am taking a different approach.


Ed Mylett says, Change doesn’t happen from having one good day, it happens when you up-level your average day”. It happens when you create routines and habits that help you to automate things. The key is consistency and remembering to do it.


This week’s podcast episode is all about how to make your new years goals stick so that they don’t get ignored or fall by the wayside the first few weeks of January. To listen to the whole episode, click HERE.


In 2020 I did not reach very many of my goals and that really took a huge hit to my mental health because I constantly felt like a failure. This year, I am making my goals much more participatory in nature and less outcome based. I still have one big huge audacious goal but the rest are more about compound effort and consistency than results based. So for the sake of simplicity I am considering these habits that I want to start, not “goals”.


My main habit I want to start is to consistently keep my house cleaner every day. The other one is to workout 5 times per week.


For somethings, consistent habits lead to you achieving your goal. Take for instance the goal is to lose 20 pounds, the habit is to go to the gym 5 times per week OR the goal is to declutter my home and purge all closets and my upstairs catch-all bedroom, the habit is to keep things cleaner every day. For 2021 I am focusing more on good habits than achieving goals.


Now, this doesn’t work for everything, if you goal is to get a new job that pays at least $80,000 and has benefits then habits alone won’t get you anywhere, for that type of goal you need a plan. (More on that below)


3 Steps to Make Habits Stick


Step 1. Write out your ideal day-include everything you have to do, want to do and your existing habits and routines.


Step 2. Write out the habits you want to start. Pick 3-5, don’t get too excited here or else burnout will be inevitable. Then, look at your ideal day and see if you can habit stack or piggyback your new habits onto your existing habits.


-For example:


Habit #1 Add in daily affirmations to my existing killer morning routine framework

What is the Killer Mourning Routine framework- (Get the free framework printable for the best way to start your day at www.micultivatebalance.com/tools)


-Habit # 2 Add Morning de-clutter routine after I eat breakfast


-Habit #3 Add workout to my end of workday routine


-Habit #4 Add Evening de-clutter routine to after dinner kitchen cleanup


-Habit #5 Add Bedtime stretching and gratitude to my brush teeth habit


See mine here:




Step 3. Set reminders or timers in your phone to make it happen, if it doesn’t reflect in your schedule, you will forget!


This seems like a no brainer. If you have a reminder in your phone that sends you a notification to workout at 4pm every day then you will not forget!


Technology can be wonderful, use it for good and eliminate the distractions.


Now, what if your goals need a plan? Want a new job, to write a book, start a side hustle, remodel your kitchen or something else that requires a multi-step plan??


Want to will learn how to set goals the right way, how to reverse engineer a plan to achieve them, and how to create habits and routines that allow you to make time in your schedule to work on them.

Enroll in the 2021 Goal Setting Workshop happening January 14th, 2021 at 7pm. Replay is available. Register today for $15 HERE.


Connect with Sarah Zastrow






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