New Delhi: Humans can develop positive habits in anywhere from 18 to 66 days, but they can destroy them in less than three. And science concurs that developing habits is difficult. To develop a good habit, the brain has to add a whole new set of neurons and neural connections.
Anyone who has managed to go to the gym regularly for at least six months is aware that consistency is the key to creating a habit. We continue to perform the same things every day, which causes our daily routines to become routine.
However, it’s simpler said than done
According to the rule of inertia, bodies will remain in their current state of rest or uniform motion unless modified by an external force. This means that unless an external force is enticing you to engage in an activity that you wish to eventually transform into a habit, you’ll likely stay at rest.
These external forces can be anything, such as a friend who goes with you to the gym or a teacher who shows up at your house at 5 PM for your swim lesson, when it comes to habit building.
Another example of a “external factor” that can aid in the formation and tracking of a desired, learnt behaviour is the Habit Tracker app, which is available on iOS and Android.
Habit Tracker has been downloaded more than 100,000 times on both iOS and Google Play, where it has ratings of 4.8/5 and 2.8/5, respectively.
Using the app
The programme is really easy to use and doesn’t take much thought or input. You simply enter the app after logging in to get the home page.
But this page will be empty when you first log in.
Click the addition sign (+) in the lower left corner of the screen to begin adding habits. It’s easy to miss, but there are plenty of screen prompts that will help you if you can’t find it.
You’ll notice a list of pre-programmed habits, such as walking, running, doing yoga, cycling, meditating, reading, learning, breathing, drinking water, etc., that you can add to your list on the “New Habit” page, which you’ll arrive to if you click on the + sign.
