Many have heard the famous quote: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” It may seem obvious that habits are key to success, and I’ve mentioned habits before. But in this post I want to discuss specific strategies that anyone can use to improve their habits.

The key thing is to keep any new commitment as small as possible and start with something called micro-habits. A new habit should start in a way that it’s nearly impossible to not do it. For example, if you want to start going to the gym, don’t promise yourself that you will have a two hour workout every day. Have your daily goal be to simply step into the gym, and anything beyond that is extra. With the habit of stepping inside the gym, you can build actual workout routines habits on top, known as anchoring. If you can check-in at the gym 5 days a week for a whole year, that’s 250 trips to the gym. No matter what your preference of workout is, whether it be weights, treadmill, yoga, or Crossfit, you will see amazing results.

In the spirit of starting off easy, another technique is the 2 minute rule. A new habit should take two minutes or less. If you’re trying to learn a new language, don’t commit to spending an hour a day, as that is way too much to digest. Commit to two minutes, and naturally you will probably get interested and study more than that. Just getting started with studying, or getting into the library or gym, is half the battle. Once you get to your spot, you will naturally feel a rush to do what you need to do.

With so many things out of our control, habits are one thing that we do control. So develop great habits and great things will happen.