Things You'll Need:
- Paper
- Pen/Pencil
- Determination
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Step 1
The first step in changing a behavior is to establish the extent of the behavior. So go about one week and track the behavior with tally marks to see the amount of times you do this behavior. Keep a daily total so that it is easier to read and track changes later.
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Step 2
Now that you know the extent of your problem behavior, determine if it's something you want to increase (wear your seatbelt more) or decrease (drink less coffee) and set a goal. Make this a project for approximately 6 weeks.
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Step 3
Then setup a reward/punishment system that will help you to be more motivated to make a change. For example, if you would like to drink more water, and you set a goal of eight 8-oz cups a day, then each day you reach your goal, pay yourself $5. Put this money up to splurge on at the end of the project.
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Step 4
Now to make it easier to change this behavior, see what obstacles you have that can be changed or what you can do to make changing this behavior easier. As in the water example, if you don't drink water now because of the taste, try adding frozen fruit slices instead of ice cubes, or using a Brita pitcher to make tap water taste better.
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Step 5
Make sure you are keeping a daily total of your behavior so that you will see the progress you are making. Throughout the six weeks, your behavior is slowly changing from a bad habit to a good habit. Some experts say 30 days is a good time-period to form a behavior, so by the end of the six weeks, you should have great progress!!
