Stop it! From vaping to doomscrolling, 10 bad habits and how to break them
‘Habit is a great weakener,” wrote Samuel Beckett. And he didn’t even have watermelon fumes and doom scrolling to contend with. Most of us have at least a few behaviors we want to change, but how can you break the habits of a lifetime? We asked the experts…
Spending too much time on your phone
From scrolling in the toilet to taking your phone to bed, 41% of us think we spend too much time on our devices. Hilda Burke, a psychotherapist and author of The Phone Addiction Workbook, recommends creating an “inspirational screensaver” – a visual reminder of what you really want to do with the hours you spend on your phone. It could be a photo of your dog, your children or a quote that motivates you.
“Visual cues are extremely powerful, especially when we are exposed to them over and over again. The average smartphone user checks their device every twelve minutes, so a positive visual cue can work to your advantage,” says Burke. She also recommends turning off notifications, unsubscribing from group chats, and scheduling short periods of the day to turn off your phone or leave it at home.
The app One second walks you through a short breathing exercise every time you try to open a designated “danger app,” which might be all you need to avoid checking Instagram (again).
Unhealthy snacking
We all know that eating unhealthy food between meals isn’t great, but there are ways to curb your hunger without resorting to Ozempic. Alex Ruani is a food science researcher at University College London and a ‘recovering snacker’ himself.
“The first step is making sure the food within reach — on your counter, in your backpack, on your desk — is healthy,” she says. “A study by Cornell simply showed that presence of unhealthy food on the counter was associated with a higher BMI.”
In addition to trying to eat fiber-rich foods that keep you feeling full longer (vegetables, fruits, whole grains and breads, legumes and nuts), Ruani also suggests replacing the sensory properties of the snack you’re craving with a healthier one. version. “You might want a cookie, but instead you have a chocolate rice cake.”
Vaping
The government is set to ban disposable vapes in June, so there’s no better time than now to get rid of that sweet minty pop. “Many people start vaping to quit smoking, but find that it is just as difficult (and in some cases more difficult) to quit vaping,” says Sophia Papadakis of the National Center for Smoking Cessation and Training. “We advise our customers to reduce the nicotine strength of the e-liquid in their vapes in phases of two to four weeks, to 0%.”
Papadakis recommends gradually increasing the time between smokes (from 20 minutes to 40 minutes, for example) and setting rules for yourself about where you do and don’t vape to “reduce the association between vaping and certain situations, such as a night out.” to break through.
The appeal of ‘click to buy’ is pressing 94% of us make an impulse purchase online every monthand clothes are the biggest temptation: up to half of clothes bought on websites are returned. “Before you buy something new, shop from your own wardrobe,” says Tatiana de Normann, a stylist who calls herself “the personal anti-shopper.” “Look at what you have, put together outfits – then you won’t panic shopping for an event.”
De Normann advises its customers to keep items in their online shopping cart for at least a few days. “Most people will forget about them or come back and decide they don’t really need them,” she says. Unsubscribing from retailers’ emails, deleting shopping apps, and deleting your card information are helpful “speed bumps” that help slow the impulse to shop online.
Drinking too much
“Moderate drinking can be even more difficult than abstinence because it requires more decisions,” says Rosamund Dean, author of Mindful Drinking: How Cutting Down Can Change Your Life. “You’ll have to ask yourself, ‘Am I going to drink today? How many?’. So to make life easier, you need to set rules: that is, no more than three drinking days a week, and no more than three drinks at a time.”
Dean suggests downloading an app that helps you track how much you drink (Try dry is a good one). “And never decide on the spot what you are going to drink. Check out a location’s non-alcoholic options in advance so that you are prepared to order your kombucha, mocktail or 0% beer. If you’re going to someone’s house, bring your own non-alcoholic drink that you’re excited about.”
When all else fails and that fourth pint calls, Dean recommends keeping your “why” in mind: “Whether that’s more energy, better concentration, better skin, less regret, less anxiety, more restorative sleep, a stronger immune system. system or a reduced risk of cancer, it can really help to remind yourself of the reasons why you drink less.”
Biting nails
About 20 to 30% of us nibble our nails, with children and teenagers most likely to suffer from onychophagia, as is known. “Our hands are with us all the time, so stopping nail biting is very difficult,” says Dr. Martha Collado, clinical psychologist and author of How to Be the Grown-Up.
Collado suggests becoming aware of your triggers, such as boredom or anxiety, and your dangerous times, such as when you are doing something passive like watching TV or scrolling on your phone. “Then find a behavior to replace nail biting. For example, if it’s boredom, you can make a list of activities that can refocus your attention, such as filing your nails or massaging your hands. If it’s anxiety, maybe it’s a breathing exercise.”
Not getting enough sleep
“We still approach sleep very haphazardly, treating it as something to do when we have nothing else to do that day,” says Nick Littlehales, a sleep coach who trains elite athletes, including footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
“A good night’s sleep starts before going to sleep. It means waking up at a set time, exposing yourself to enough daylight, 20-minute moments during the day when you and your brain are alone – for example, meditating, taking a nap or just taking a break.”
Littlehales says some clients find it helpful to set a sleep alarm to remind them to start their bedtime routine. “Ninety minutes before you go to sleep, you start to distance yourself from your daily activities. Go to a room that is cooler than your body temperature and dim the lights.”
Postpone
The old saying goes, “Never do tomorrow what you can do today.” Yet that super important task always seems to be at the bottom of your to-do list. “There is a misconception that procrastination is poor time management or laziness, but it stems from the desire to avoid difficult feelings such as boredom, frustration, anxiety or overwhelm,” says Collado.
“Chronic procrastinators often share perfectionism: an all-or-nothing mentality that creates a barrier to starting a task. Instead of focusing on the “perfect” time to do the work, setting “perfect” conditions, and doing it “perfect,” just set a time and date on your calendar, and do it. It may not be perfect, but if you can pull it off, you’ll find relief from stress and overwhelm, and that can motivate you to do this again – and procrastinate less.”
Collado says that visualizing the end result (what you gain) can ease the pain in the short term (no matter how boring and time-consuming a task is). And if you do procrastinate, don’t blame yourself. Research has shown that students who were able to forgive themselves for procrastinating when studying for a first exam ended up procrastinating less on the next exam.
Inconsistent training
“People put too much pressure on themselves to exercise,” says personal trainer Nick Finney. “They think ‘I don’t have it in me today’ and cancel, but even 20 minutes of stretching is better than nothing. You don’t have to push yourself to the limit, you just have to keep coming.”
Finney says the other big barrier to exercise is that people think they don’t have time. The answer? Multitasking. “On busy days, I walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes or cycle quietly on an exercise bike while I do my paperwork or answer emails,” he says. Setting micro goals, such as a manageable daily step count, can also encourage you on the days when motivation is hard to find.
“Expecting too much too soon only leads to frustration,” says Finney. “Make the weight loss or fitness goal achievable and do exercises that you enjoy. No one is going to convince themselves to go on to an intense boot camp that they absolutely dread.”
Always cancel
Every friendship group has a serial killer, known for backing out of plans. But what if you are the eternal flake? “Discover what’s behind that impulse to cancel,” says Anna Mathur, psychotherapist and author of The uncomfortable truth. “Are you too busy saying yes to too many things because you’re a people pleaser? Do you have Fomo and are you having trouble declining invitations? Do you feel socially anxious and do you need tools to deal with it?
Mathur says once you find the cause, you can address it. “It’s also important to look at your week as a whole,” she says, “and if you have plans, make sure you don’t need rest when they happen. We often exhaust ourselves with thousands of small social interactions online, wasting our social energy when we could be spending it on meaningful interactions with people who would energize us if we showed up.