Why is it so hard to stick to healthy habits? Science tells us that motivation alone isn’t enough. To build lasting habits, you need a plan that works with your environment and lifestyle. Here are three science-backed strategies to help you create habits that last:

1. Focus on environment over motivation

Motivation is fickle and can fluctuate massively over time. If we rely solely on it to maintain healthy habits, we’re setting ourselves up for failure. Instead, consider the power of your environment.

Unlike motivation, you can control your physical environment to make it easier to stick to your goals. By arranging your surroundings deliberately, you can keep yourself on track long after motivation fades.

For example:

• Fill your fridge with healthy foods and place nutritious snacks where they’re easy to grab.
• Replace fast-food takeout menus with a list of quick, healthy meal ideas.
• Plan your weekly meals and create a shopping list to ensure you have everything you need to prepare them.

Small changes like these make healthy choices the path of least resistance. Research by behavioural scientist BJ Fogg underscores that shaping your environment is key to building lasting habits.

2. Start small and build from there

New Year’s resolutions often result in a flurry of gym activity in January, but come March, attendance plummets. Why? People often attempt dramatic overhauls that are hard to sustain.

Instead, start small. Introduce one or two light exercise sessions per week, make them part of your routine, and escalate the intensity and frequency over time. Habits that stick are built through small, incremental changes—not drastic, overnight transformations.

Here’s how you can start small:

• Commit to a 10-minute daily walk instead of an hour-long gym session.
• Add one serving of vegetables to a meal instead of revamping your entire diet.

Research shows that consistent, manageable changes build confidence, and this sense of progress fuels more significant results over time. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

If you’d like to dive deeper into this concept, check out this insightful TEDx talk:
Why We Struggle with Habits

3. Set goals and celebrate progress

The strategies above provide a process to help you form healthy habits, but you need to know where you’re headed. This is where goal-setting comes in.

Set a clear, achievable goal and write it down. Break it into smaller, intermediate milestones that keep you motivated along the way. For example:

• Big goal: Run a 10K race in six months.
• Small goal: Run for 10 minutes twice a week for the first month, then increase duration gradually.

Don’t forget to celebrate your wins. Recognising each tiny victory helps reinforce your commitment and keeps you moving forward. Visualise how amazing it will feel to achieve your goal—it can be a powerful motivator.

To make your goals more effective, use the SMART framework: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Start Today
Building healthy habits doesn’t require perfection, just a plan and small, consistent steps. Take a moment to reflect:

• What is one habit you’d like to improve?
• How can you adjust your environment to make it easier?
• What is the smallest action you can take today to get started?

Minor changes lead to big results over time. The journey to better health starts with just one step.