Five ways to form a good habit that sticks

We are more likely to create a habit when it connects to our sense of identity.

Some habits are representations of certain important goals or values. If you manage to link certain behaviours to your sense of identity, it might help to establish those habits.

Make use of what we called ‘habit discontinuities': moments when people go through life-course changes, such as moving house, starting a family or a relationship, divorce, retirement or organization changes.

These kinds of events disrupt old habits and allow you to create new ones.

The widespread assertion that forming a habit takes 21 days is not true. Forming a new habit takes on average  66 days, with some people taking as much as 254 days (and some only 18).

And don’t despair if you miss a day. Just don't make a habit out of it.