5 ways to create healthy habits in less than a minute

We set wildly ambitious goals; ‘lose four stone’ ‘run a marathon’, ‘finally learn to meditate’. Like a TV makeover show, we want to remodel our lives and do it NOW.  Failure comes as a blessed relief.

Little resolutions or ‘micro-practices’ are powerful ways to ambush ourselves. They are a low entry point to bigger gains and maximise our chances of sticking with it.

The best micro-practices are those which we can smuggle into our existing routines; habits that don’t require special equipment or complicated arrangements or take a lot of time.

Here’s a selection you can ‘piggy-back’ off things you do every day, on autopilot.

1. Move a little

10,000 steps a day is a high bar. But you don’t have to lace up and brave the elements to break the back of it.  Jogging on the spot while the kettle boils is easy. It works because it is a manageable length of time and you get the reward of a cup of tea at the end of it.

2. Find smart shortcuts

5-a-day, every day, is a chore, but chucking some frozen veg into a casserole or a soup takes no time at all.  It works because the nutrients are the same as fresh and you really don’t have to overthink it. Frozen spinach all but evaporates into that sauce.

3. Meditate in a moment 

It sounds hard but what about a One Moment Meditation before you face the morning emails. It works because everyone has a minute, and you can do it anywhere. No cushions needed.

4.Stop scrolling and eating

Your body doesn’t know you’ve stopped work.  It is still hunched over a screen, reading, frowning.  It works because you can taste your food and savour it and the break seems somehow longer.  It takes a bit of practice to get used to this one.  You may have to banish that screen to another room.

5.Use stickers

Stick gold stars on the calendar, or in your diary as a reward for successful tiny habits.  It works because we can see how far we have come. It works because we love stickers.

About the Authors

Carmel Moore and Martin Boroson are directors of the One Moment Company, dedicated to helping people to break through the time barrier and wake up to the potential of this moment.