SpringInto NewHabits

ALEX ASTIAZARAN, HALL DIRECTOR CATIE WITT-DANNER, COMPLEX DIRECTOR NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

Now that spring is right around the corner, it is the perfect time to start practicing new personal and professional habits. Forming new habits can often be difficult as we struggle to maintain a new routine. We want to highlight a few different methods to help you establish a new habit Establishing a new habit can clean up your daily routine and lead to a healthier lifestyle. James Clear, a New York Times best-selling author, and author of Atomic Habits (2018), said “A habit is a lifestyle to be lived, not a finish line to be crossed ”

Clear talks about the key to creating habits that stick is using the habit loop. The habit loop consists of four stages: Cue, Craving, Response, and Reward The habit loop can start with a good or bad habit One bad habit we might have is constantly checking our phone at work. The cue may be boredom after staring at a screen for an extended period of time. We crave stimulus, so our response is checking social media on our phone The reward is the satisfaction of the slight entertainment from being on our phone. This bad habit can then be mapped onto other bad habits through the continued desire for satisfaction. You might first check a social media app, then watch a funny video, then send a picture to some of your coworkers, and now you have mapped various bad habits together and have created a routine for when you become bored.

Monitoring our cues and changing our responses can lead to healthier habits. Instead of checking your phone, try going on a walk around your building to check on your front desks or talk to residents.