In 2009 Phillippa Lally, a psychology researcher at University College London, published a study on how habits are formed. She sought out to identify how long it takes to form a habit in the real world and by doing everyday tasks. The study looked at simple acts that people could incorporate into their daily life such as drinking a bottle of water at lunch or running for 15 minutes before dinner.
Her findings? On average it took more than 2 months before a new behavior became automatic; 66 days to be exact. Her study went on to say that it could be anywhere between 18 to 254 days – upwards of 8 months to start and stick with a new habit!
The punchline? It takes a much longer period of time for a new habit to become your new normal.
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