The 5 Best Articles
I’ve written hundreds of articles that touch on habits, but if you’re not sure where to start, here are the best five:
- Habitual Mastery My initial series that started my writing on habits. This was my first-ever article that got popular attention, the advice coming from a time in my life when I was aggressively exploring habit change as a tool for life.
- Nine Habits to Increase Your Energy Feeling sluggish? Here are nine habits to try.
- Why is it So Hard to Build Permanent Habits Most habits are meta-stable, meaning they can persist, but are vulnerable to external forces.
- How to Build Habits of Moderation All-or-nothing is a lot easier than a little bit, because small temptations snowball into major vices. Here’s how to keep a little of what you like without going overboard.
- How Important is Growth Rethinking the idea that all goals and habits should progress to be useful.
In addition to my articles on goal-setting, I teach a course on how to create goals and systems to take the aspirations you have and make them happen in your life. If you’ve ever felt like the gap between what you intend to do and what actually happens is large, this is the course to close the gulf.
How to Change Habits
My book, How to Change a Habit, covers the approach I used for changing many habits early in my process of self-improvement. I still consider it one of the best guides I’ve written on the subject.
In addition to my book, here are some useful free articles that can help you out:
Advice for Specific Habits
Stuck with a stubborn habit? Here are some articles I’ve written on tackling more specific habit challenges and how I’ve overcome them:
- The Six Morning Routines that Will Make You Happier, Healthier and More Productive
- and why you should Build Your Morning Habits First.
- How to Build the Habit of Finishing What You Start
- Seven Easy Habits to Read More Books Next Year
- 10 Steps to Cultivate the Now Habit
- 10 Habits to Boost Your Happiness
- The Complete Guide to Self-Control
More Thoughts on Habits
In addition to advice, I’ve written a lot about the ideas that surround habits. Are they always good? What’s the right way to think about your habits? These articles explore some of my broader thinking on the topic:
I'm a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, podcast host, computer programmer and an avid reader. Since 2006, I've published weekly essays on this website to help people like you learn and think better. My work has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, TEDx, Pocket, Business Insider and more. I don't promise I have all the answers, just a place to start.