Paperwork: Life should be habit-forming and these tips should help

Don’t think big if you want to change your life. Think small.

I’ve tested this advice and it works. But first I had to scrutinize my daily routine. And understand a simple, universal truth: we are creatures of habit.

Yeah, I knew that. But there’s more. Little habits are a big deal. They decide your future. They define who you are. They tend to control what you do or don’t do – every day.

Many daily habits we do without thinking. Brushing teeth. Getting dressed. That’s kind of the definition of a habit – something we do automatically because we have taught ourselves it gives us what we want. Even if we shouldn’t have it.

One of the first things I want every day is coffee. I grab the same cup, pour the brew, punch the “keep warm” button on the machine, then shuffle to my couch spot, sink in and study my phone for “news.” I nest there too long because it’s easy to stay there.

But I’m learning to change that thanks to James Clear.

“If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you,” says Clear, author of “Atomic Habits, An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones.”

“The problem is your system,” he says. “Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change.”

He has developed a process to alter that system that seems logical.

First decide the type of person you want to be. Now, what actions must you take to become that person? Those actions are habits you want to develop.

He explains how the brain creates habits and offers tactics to influence that process. It helps to understand what triggers our habits and how to rewire those triggers.

We must overcome our natural tendency to procrastinate, he said, and staying motivated is not easy.

Amen to that. I know what I should do each day but I can’t get myself to do it. Clear offers tips to make a task more enticing and easier.

We put off tasks that take time and extra effort, but most helpful is Clear’s “two-minute rule” – scale a new habit down to a two-minute task.

My goal is to write every day. Clear says start by writing one sentence every day until I master the art of showing up. After you establish the basic habit you can improve it. I just need to promise myself when and where I’ll do it. Baby steps get you where you want to go.

Clear explains, “This is the meaning of the phrase atomic habits – a regular practice or routine that is not only small and easy to do but also the source of incredible power; a component the system of compound growth.”

Clear gives more examples: “Read before bed each night” becomes “Read one page.” “Do thirty minutes of yoga” becomes “Take out my yoga mat.” “Run three miles” becomes “Tie my running shoes.”

Showing up is the key. It plants the seed for a habit to grow. The harvest comes later.

There’s much more to Clear’s methods than what I’ve shared and it’s all helpful. In the end, showing up still requires action, but his methods work. At least for me.

The key has been think small. Grow gradually. The big will come later.

• Lonny Cain, retired managing editor of The Times in Ottawa, also was a reporter for The Herald-News in Joliet in the 1970s. His PaperWork email is lonnyjcain@gmail.com. Or mail The Times, 110 W. Jefferson St., Ottawa, IL 61350.