Building a Routine Around Healthy Habits: A Physician’s Guide

We all know what we need to do to live healthier lives—eat better, exercise more, sleep enough—but putting these ideas into practice is often the hardest part. As your physician, I want to share some practical tips that have helped my patients successfully build and sustain healthy habits.

1. Commitment and Accountability

It's easy to say you’re going to make a change, but when the time comes to act, other things often get in the way. That’s why it’s essential to commit to your goal and have someone hold you accountable. Share your goal with a friend, family member, or even a community group. Knowing someone will check in on your progress can be a powerful motivator.

2. Set Consequences

To stay on track, create consequences for meeting or not meeting your goals. These can be positive, like rewarding yourself with something enjoyable if you succeed, or negative, like giving someone $5 if you fall short. This adds an extra layer of motivation to stick with your plan.

 3. Start Small

One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to build healthy habits is starting too big. If your ultimate goal is to exercise for 30 minutes six days a week, don’t start there. Instead, begin with a 5-minute walk three days a week. Yes, it may seem too simple, but starting small ensures there’s no excuse not to do it. As you build confidence and consistency, you can gradually increase the duration and frequency.

4. Focus on One or Two Changes at a Time

Avoid the temptation to overhaul your entire lifestyle all at once. Don’t try to change your exercise, sleep habits, home management, budget, water intake, and diet simultaneously. Instead, pick one or two areas to focus on and slowly build them up. Once those habits become second nature, you can move on to the next set of changes.

5. Be Patient: Habits Take Time

It usually takes around 90 days for a new behavior to become a habit. During this time, it’s important to remember that just because something becomes a habit doesn’t mean it will always be easy. It becomes easier because you no longer debate whether to do it—you just do it. However, there will still be days when you don’t feel like working out, eating well, or sticking to your routine. That’s normal, and it’s okay.

6. Recommended Reading: "Atomic Habits" by James Clear

If you’re struggling to build habits, I highly recommend the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. This book does an excellent job of explaining how habits are formed in the brain and offers practical strategies for implementing them in your life.

7. Think Long-Term

Starting with just two new habits every 90 days may seem slow, but in a year, that adds up to eight healthy habits. In two years, you’ll have built 16 new habits. These small, incremental changes can lead to a dramatic transformation in your life over time. You might not recognize yourself as the same person, and that’s a good thing—your life is built on the habits you create.

Remember, building a healthier lifestyle is a journey, not a sprint. By committing to small, sustainable changes, you can create a routine that supports your long-term health and well-being. Let’s start this journey together, one habit at a time.