Creating habits: how long does it take to form a habit?

We hear that incorporating a new habit takes around 21 days. This magic number is used everywhere from advice columns to self-help books about creating habits. Today, I'm questioning that magic number and digging into where does it come from, and what are the factors that predict a certain time frame?

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Will Durrant

The origins of the "21 days"

Dr. Maxwell Maltz (1899 – 1975) was an American plastic surgeon. As part of his work with patients, he became interested in systems and ideas to improve their self-image. Maltz noticed that when he performed an operation, it would take about 21 days for the patient to get used to the result. He also noticed that it took him about 21 days to adjust to new routines.

In his book?Psycho-Cybernetic?published in 1960, Maltz wrote: “These, and many other commonly observed phenomena, tend to show that it requires a minimum of about 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to gel.”

With more than 30 million copies sold, the book spread the idea that 21 days was a magic number. A contextual observation quickly became popular but 2 areas we should note is that:

• Dr. Maxwell Maltz’s work mostly focused on self-image, not on habit formation.
• He wrote: “a minimum of about 21 days” — implying that it may take more than 21 days to adjust one’s self-image.

But simple ideas spread fast. 21 days, or about three weeks, has a nice ring to it: it’s short enough to feel motivational and long enough to sound realistic. Self-help authors and coaches started using it for everything from eating better to building a productivity habit or taking up running.

If we took a step back, it's easy to go with the flow of '21 days', however, each goal and every person is different when trying to form new habits.

How long does it actually take to adopt a new habit

We can create habits as long as we cultivate a growth mindset. Let's dive into that. Dr. Phillippa Lally, a behavioral scientist during her time fellowship at the University College London, focused on habit formation and weight control. In an?experimental study, her team investigated the process of habit formation in everyday life.

They enrolled 96 participants and asked them to choose an eating, drinking, or other simple activity to carry out daily at the same time for 12 weeks. Each day, the participants were tasked to complete a form to record whether they carried out the activity. The goal of the researchers was to understand how long it would take for participants to build a consistent habit.

The results were very far from a fixed, universal number. In fact, the number of days it took to form a new habit ranged from 18 to 254 days. On average, it took about two months (66 days) for participants to form the habit they chose at the beginning of the experiment.

This research suggests that it can take anywhere between 3 weeks and 8 months to form a new habit. And people will need on average 2 months to build a new behavior into their lives.

These numbers feel more natural: of course, it’s not going to take the same time to build the habit of drinking a glass of water every morning, compared to building a meditation habit or a writing habit. So all in all, each person is different and it will be a bumpy road for some, because we are learning to do something new, different, and most likely out of our comfort zone. So, young grasshoppers take it day by day.

Embracing longer timelines

Now that we've established that creating habits can take longer than 21 days to form a habit, we can discuss ways to get there and learn to embrace longer timelines.

• Scale down your goals, scale up your ambition.
• ?Research suggests that fewer goals are better. Life is not a checklist; embracing longer timelines can be a way to help you choose fewer, more ambitious goals.
• Focus on the journey.?Forming new habits is a process. As with all processes, it’s never perfect. You will sometimes fail, and that’s all right. It’s all about jumping back on the bandwagon when you're ready and in your own time.
• Learn how to learn.?Forming new habits is an adventure of self-discovery.?Re-learning how to learn takes time to develop. There is no need to rush it; so take the opportunity to study what helps you form new habits and what may be hindering your habit creation.
• Every habit skill you learn can be taken into the next habit you wish to develop.

Useful tools for creating habits

In order to make the process of creating habits easier, a few tools can be used. They won’t do the work for you, but they can help highlight bottlenecks so you can adjust the process.

First, a habit tracker is a powerful metacognition tool that will encourage you to reflect on your progress. It doesn’t need to be fancy: you can use a habit tracking app, a daily log as part of your journey to reflect on your week. I personally buy a journal, go to a park nearby, tune on some music and do some self-reflecting.

Finally, Another way to make it easier to form a new habit is to find a support group or a buddy. Join a group or find an accountability partner. By having a partner in crime the journey is always so much more enjoyable, even if you touch base for a few minutes weekly.

Whatever tools you decide to use, remember: creating habits takes time. Learn how to learn. Struggle. Fail. Stand back when needed. Get back up. And Embrace the Journey.

Speak soon.