How long does it take to create a habit?

There’s a myth it takes 21 days.
Totally made up. It came from a plastic surgeon who found that it took patients around 21 days to get used to their new appearance.

66 days is also a number that gets used. That’s the median number from the study that found the range of 18-254.

It was a study of 96 people who tried to carry out a new behaviour over 12 weeks. The study has some limitations but has some important takeaways.

1. The habits were simple. They weren’t trying to become a new person in 12 weeks. Example: drinking a bottle of water.
2. They had a cue to remind them to perform the task. Example: Drinking a bottle of water with lunch.
3. The cues would happen every day. Example: drinking a bottle of water with lunch (lunch is a time of day that can be chosen).
4. You can miss days and still develop the habit. Miss weeks, that’s a different story. Strive for progress not perfection.

Habit development is hard. But worth it. Commit to the process and see the results happen.

Study: How habits are formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. Lally et al.