WEBVTT - How often rather than how much 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is that how often can matter more than

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<v Speaker 1>how much. Committing to doing things frequently may ultimately lead

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<v Speaker 1>to more success than committing a lot of time. We've

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<v Speaker 1>all heard the advice that goals need to be smart, specific, measurable, achievable,

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<v Speaker 1>all that good stuff, and I agree what we measure

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<v Speaker 1>is generally what we get done. So when we start

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<v Speaker 1>thinking of goals, we often try to attach numbers to them.

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<v Speaker 1>But numbers can take different forms, and you might be

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<v Speaker 1>better off focusing on how often you do something rather

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<v Speaker 1>than the extent of a given engagement. For instance, you

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<v Speaker 1>commit to meditating daily rather than meditating for ten minutes

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<v Speaker 1>at a time. There's a simple reason for this. Emphasizing

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<v Speaker 1>how often we engage in a desired behavior helps us

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<v Speaker 1>form the habit of actually doing it. We might be

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<v Speaker 1>able to stick with a frequency more easily than with

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<v Speaker 1>a set duration or target, so we're more likely to

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<v Speaker 1>continue the habit even when life is challenging. Running streaks

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<v Speaker 1>provide a great example of this. A streak is more

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<v Speaker 1>about how often, namely daily, than how much. Streakers almost

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<v Speaker 1>universally set a low threshold amount, such as one mile,

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<v Speaker 1>to count as that daily run, and for a regular runner,

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<v Speaker 1>a mile is really not that much. Most runners can

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<v Speaker 1>do that in ten minutes or so, and so the

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<v Speaker 1>mild target is more to ensure the frequency. If you

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<v Speaker 1>commit to running a mile every day, then every day

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<v Speaker 1>some running will happen. The runner will put his or

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<v Speaker 1>her shoes on and run. Whether it's raining, or they're

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<v Speaker 1>out of town or under the weather, or spending the

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<v Speaker 1>holidays with extended family, they can run that mile. I

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<v Speaker 1>know from personal experience that you can run that mile

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<v Speaker 1>by doing laps around your basement or small hotel room

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<v Speaker 1>if you have to. It turns out that you can

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<v Speaker 1>even run a mile one day before giving birth. Ten

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<v Speaker 1>miles maybe not so much, but shuffling through one mile

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<v Speaker 1>is almost universally doable, and the daily frequency means that

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<v Speaker 1>the habit is straightforward. The question is not whether to

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<v Speaker 1>run but when. Likewise, if you aim to read every day,

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<v Speaker 1>you may read more books in a year than if

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<v Speaker 1>you set a goal like reading a hundred pages per

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<v Speaker 1>week or two books per month. If it gets to

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<v Speaker 1>be Friday and you haven't read anything for your weekly

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<v Speaker 1>goal or the last day of the month, and you

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<v Speaker 1>haven't read much towards your monthly goal, you may be

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<v Speaker 1>tempted to just abandon the goal altogether. After all, you

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<v Speaker 1>are unlikely to read two books in a day, But

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<v Speaker 1>if you commit to just opening up your book every day,

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<v Speaker 1>you will probably end up reading a hundred pages or

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<v Speaker 1>more every week. And two books are more every month

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<v Speaker 1>because you'll get into the books simply by visiting them frequently.

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<v Speaker 1>When you focus on how often, the how much will

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<v Speaker 1>take care of itself. With many desired habits, daily is

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<v Speaker 1>a good frequency to aim for simply because it takes

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<v Speaker 1>the decision making process out of it. No need to

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<v Speaker 1>di there about whether today is the day or not.

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<v Speaker 1>It is always the day. Just do it. As the

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<v Speaker 1>old Nike slogan says that said, if daily seems impossible,

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<v Speaker 1>you might decide that if you didn't do something yesterday,

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<v Speaker 1>you will definitely do it today. For example, you could

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<v Speaker 1>aim to do yoga or stretch every night before bed.

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<v Speaker 1>If you did do yoga or stretch last night, great,

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<v Speaker 1>your default is still to do it tonight too. But

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<v Speaker 1>if you didn't do yoga last night, you will definitely

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<v Speaker 1>do it tonight. By focusing on how often we are

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<v Speaker 1>able to see the benefits or pleasure the behavior gives us,

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<v Speaker 1>without setting a how much goal that might be hard

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<v Speaker 1>to keep, we are well on the way to forming

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<v Speaker 1>a habit without any of the dread a how much

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<v Speaker 1>goal can inspire. As long as you do it, you're

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<v Speaker 1>good and progress is motivational. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. M hm. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four,

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<v Speaker 1>then breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>That before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For

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