How long does it take to create a new habit?
In this short read, we explore what researchers have found about how long takes to form a new habit.
Yet before we get into numbers, let us remember that we are all individuals. While scientific studies make statements about their sample (the people that participated in the experiment), they cannot make precise prediction of how a specific indivdual, which did not participate in the experiment, will perform.
3 Weeks to 9 Months
Lally et al. found that on average, it takes roughly 10 weeks of continuous repetition of the desired behavior, until one feels it’s becoming more automatic. That’s almost three months.
However, those 10 weeks was the modelled average. In their experiment, the time it took for individuals ranged from roughly 3 weeks up to 9 months.
Nobody can predict how long it is going to take you to form your desired habit. And just as some people prefer Vanilla over Strawberry, for some it will be 2 months and for other 8.
Any ideas on how I will be able to not give up for up to 9 months?
It does take patience and persistence to form a new habit. In order to periodically check in and reflect on your progress, you could use our app.
If you would like to learn more about Habit, explore our growing Habit Information Hub in which you find similar posts like this one.
Should you wish the learn more details about this specific study by Phillippa Lally and her colleagues, follow the link to their puplication in the References and Recommended Readings below.
References & Recommended Reading
- Lally P et al.: How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology 2010, 40:998-1009 https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674