Setting yourself up for success

Building positive habits and breaking bad ones doesn’t happen overnight. Taking even small steps towards positive change can lead to success.

You’re not alone

The key thing to realize when encountering obstacles, barriers, or hurdles in your education journey is that you’re not alone. Everyone experiences similar things. The main thing is how you handle them.

Through thousands of conversations with adults going back to school, we’ve identified a few of the more common obstacles and how to overcome them.

A road paved with good intentions

Have you ever committed to building better habits, only to give up a short while later? You’re not alone. Whether we try to build better habits to be healthier, be more organized, or reduce procrastination, it can be hard to stick to positive change.

Forcing yourself to make change isn’t usually very effective. We’re creatures of habit, so it’s easier to fall into ingrained habits and tendencies—even if they don’t support our well-being or progress. And when we get off track, guilt or disappointment often makes it tough to maintain commitment.

The good news is that changing your habits IS possible. It takes effort and drive, but with the help of a few guidelines and support, you can create a system that sets yourself up for consistency, accountability, and, ultimately, success.

Taking inventory

Transforming habits starts with identifying who you want to be. Typically, we think of habits as achieving specific outcomes, like “I want to learn Spanish” or “I will read 30 books this year.” Long-term change is more likely to stick when you visualize a specific identity: I want to be someone who knows Spanish. I want to be someone who reads every night before bed.

Then, list your current habits. Divide them into habits that serve your goals, and habits that impede your progress. Determine new habits to add that can help you achieve your objectives.

It might look like the table above.

Pick and choose

The next step is to prioritize. Start small and choose just one or two habits to start with—maybe something easy or more enjoyable. For example, if your goal is to become a healthier person, try eliminating unneeded sugar and taking a 10-minute walk every day. If you want to be someone who studies effectively, start by studying for 15 minutes every weekday. Small changes ultimately lead to big results. And then, over time, you can increase your goal.

Whatever you focus on, experiment and tweak as you move forward. Keep your longer list handy to come back to as you gradually build better habits.

Taking cues

Now think about habits you already practice. When and where do they happen? How do they make you feel? Who’s typically around?

Set regular notifications on your phone or laptop to remind you of the positive changes you’re trying to build.

Thinking about these answers can tell you about your cues, or settings, emotions, people, or events that trigger your habits. For example, waking up in the morning might be your cue to brew a pot of coffee. Driving to work might be your cue to listen to a podcast.

To build positive habits, make your cues obvious. To break bad habits, ignore certain cues. For example, if you want to be someone who studies effectively, place your books and notes in plain sight. If you have a tendency to get distracted, put your phone and other devices out of reach.

Make it fun

It goes without saying that new habits are easier to maintain when they’re enjoyable. Play music while you exercise. Turn household chores into a friendly family competition.

If it’s too much of a stretch to make a new habit fun, you can try habit stacking by associating a new habit with something enjoyable. Meal-planning on its own might not be very fun, but if you do it at your favorite coffee shop, you might be more motivated.

Remove the roadblocks

A proven method for positive change is to make positive habits convenient. This is crucial in changing your behavior for the better.

Think of it like a little advance planning. Set out gym clothes the night before if you want to be someone who works out in the mornings. If you want to be someone who gets more sleep, set a reminder on your phone to turn off screens and get ready for bed at a certain time. To spend less time on social media, you might put the apps in an out-of-the-way folder—or delete them from your phone.

Rewarding the good

As you build positive habits and break bad ones, reward yourself. After 30 minutes of studying, indulge in some self care or tell your friends and family about it. Celebrating the steps towards positive change and regularly checking in with accountability partners can keep you honest and motivated to keep going.

Be consistent but flexible

While consistency is key to building better habits, so is flexibility. Life happens! Sometimes our ability to carry out our daily routines is disrupted. If you have an exhausting day and go to bed without brushing your teeth, that doesn’t mean you’re never going to brush your teeth again—you just start again the next morning. This goes for any habit, like studying, exercise, eating well—it’s all about progress, not perfection.

Keeping track

Keeping a journal, whether physical or digital, can help you keep track of and reflect on your progress. Habit building is a process of trial and error, success and adaptation. When new habits don’t take or don’t serve you, you can adjust and replace so you can continue to move forward to who you want to become.

Change your habits, change yourself

Building positive habits and leaving old, bad ones behind isn’t a quick fix. It’s a process of long-term behavioral change. Think of it as opportunity rather than inconvenience.
Start small, stay consistent but flexible, and lean on your support system when you need.