Habits small enough that you cannot fail them

A resolution to run thirty minutes every morning tends to survive about nine days. Not because thirty minutes is a lot, but because it is only possible on ordinary days — and life is not made of ordinary days.

Set the target for your worst day, not your best

This is the whole principle. Choose a size you could still manage while ill, busy, or short of sleep. Not thirty minutes of running, but putting your shoes on and getting out of the door. Not twenty pages, but one.

It sounds pointless because it is too small to produce results. But results are not the goal at this stage — keeping the chain is. Results come later, once the habit is solid enough to grow.

Attach it to something already there

A new habit needs an anchor. The most reliable approach is to hang it immediately after something you already do without thinking: "after I make coffee, I sit and breathe for five minutes." The old thing becomes the reminder, so you do not have to remember.

A habit without an anchor is not a habit. It is an intention waiting to be forgotten.

Let the minimum count

• Define the minimum precisely, and treat it as done. One page still counts as having read.
• Never make up for a miss. Skip a day and the next day is normal size, not double. Making up is the fastest route to quitting.
• Missing one day is nothing. Missing two in a row deserves attention — that is where habits die.

When to increase

Only once the current size is automatic, meaning you do it without deciding to. For most people that takes weeks rather than days. Increasing too early is the most common reason a habit that was going well suddenly collapses.