Habits are all the rage these days. The past few years have seen a flood of self-help books and content that champion habits as the key to higher productivity. But many of those books and content get the definition of “habit” wrong. Often, when they talk about habits, they’re really talking about routines. Confusing the two will only lead to disappointment, not productivity. People think habits will magically make something hard effortless, mostly because habits have been falsely advertised as a solution to problems that they just can’t fix. To change a behavior, you need to understand the difference between a habit and a routine. Knowing when to use the right tool can prevent frustration and help you accomplish your goals.
What Is a Habit?
A habit is an impulse to do a behavior with little or no conscious thought, according to Dr. Benjamin Gardner, a habit researcher at King’s College London. A habit is an automatic behavior that allows the mind to think about other things. Not doing a habit feels uncomfortable: You would feel weird if you didn’t wash your hands or brush your teeth—both examples of daily habits we as humans develop.
That feeling of discomfort is what draws the line between a habit and a routine. If what you’re doing brings up negative or uncomfortable feelings, and you find yourself procrastinating, then it’s not a habit.
By definition, behaviors that require concentration, deliberation or extended effort are not habits. Laundry is not a habit, exercise is not a habit (believe me, I’ve tried to make it one) and work is not a habit. And they likely never will be. We shouldn’t try to form a habit out of a task that can never become one. If we do, we’ll just be left disappointed.
What Is a Routine?
Behaviors that require conscious thought, such as cleaning your apartment or writing daily in a journal, are not habits. They are routines because they consist of a frequently repeated behavior. Unlike a habit, skipping a routine doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable. It probably makes you feel momentarily relieved! Have you ever felt the giddiness that comes with the decision to watch a show on the couch rather than go to the gym? Without proper forethought, a routine can be easily skipped or forgotten.
How to Turn a Routine Into a Habit
Before a behavior can become a habit, it needs to become a regularly performed routine. First, make time for a routine in your schedule. Use timeboxing to block off specific periods in your calendar for your routine. Follow this calendar strictly—don’t let anything get in the way of what you planned to do.
Next, expect and learn to cope with the discomfort of doing your routine. One coping technique is to reimagine the difficulty in a positive light. Instead of focusing on how hard exercising daily can be, envision each drop of sweat as a sign your body is getting stronger.
Last, pre-commit to the routine. Making a pre-commitment is scientifically proven to be effective in getting you to follow through. If you’re trying to make healthier eating a habit, start to meal-prep at the beginning of the week so you already have the ingredients to help you stick to your goals.
The more you repeat a routine, the closer it comes to a habit. Building habits to change behavior the right way can be a wonderful tool to improve your life. But you have to be able to tell the difference between a habit and a routine to employ them in your life. You have to work hard to turn a routine into a habit. And you have to accept that some tasks might be too difficult to become an effortless habit. Knowing your limits is key.
Nir Eyal is a behavioral design expert and the author of The Wall Street Journal bestseller Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. His website is nirandfar.com.
