The 20 second rule: How to build good habits and break bad habits
Have you ever had a goal that you wanted to accomplish but, you always feel too tired to actually do it? Do you have lots of work to complete but, you always end up doing something less productive instead? What about saying you’re going to start a new habit, but a few days later you catch yourself doing the exact thing you said you wouldn’t do.
If you can relate to any of this, you need to learn the 20 second rule to take back control of your life and stop procrastinating!
What is the 20 second rule?
The 20 second rule is a term first coined by positive psychologist expert Shawn Achor, in his book The happiness advantage. In short, this technique is used to build good habits and break bad habits, this is done by making it quicker and easier to perform a good habit and longer and harder to engage in a bad one by roughly 20 seconds.
#AD this website is supported by you and if you use our links to buy from Amazon, we may make a commission at no extra cost to you.
Why willpower doesn’t work
In his book, Shawn explains that he wanted to learn how to play the guitar but, he was finding it hard to get started, so he followed the same path as most and began to use a habit tracking tool where you check off your app or piece of paper every time you complete your task.
These tools and techniques are great in the beginning but, as Shawn found out, they often rely on your willpower and we all know that it’s unreliable for creating a long-term habit because it is a finite resource. One moment you feel like you can take on the world and the next you want your bed to swallow you up.
The fact of the matter is simple, humans are lazy creatures and we rely to much on motivation to get us going. Building or breaking long-term habits takes a lot of activation energy – the amount of energy required to start something and that’s why we always look for the path of least resistance, meaning we look for the easiest option possible.
However, you can use your laziness to your advantage and here’s how!
The 20 second rule to build good habits
Every time that Shawn wanted to play the guitar, he faced some mental resistance. He would have to get up out of his seat, get the guitar out of the closest and get it out of it’s case before he could even start practicing.
This took to much effort so, he would always choose to do something less productive. To combat this, he brought a guitar stand and placed it in his living room to hold his guitar. By doing this, Shawn made it easier for himself by bringing the guitar less than 20 seconds away, making himself more likely to play it as it was right in front of him, instead of searching for it.
The 20 second rule to break bad habits
Shawn realized he could use this method to break his bad habits like watching too much TV so, he hid the remote control batteries in a draw, that was in a room 20 seconds away.
The next day he sat down to watch some television and after pressing the on button a few times he remembered that he had hidden the batteries in the other room but, it was too much effort to get them and he couldn’t be bothered. Instead of watching the TV he played his guitar which was conveniently placed right next to him.
By implementing these tactics, choosing the more productive habit over the unproductive habits becomes more natural, making it easier for you to make the right decisions in life.
Other examples
This rule can be used in all aspects of life, from when you are working to when you are exercising. Here are some examples that you could use in your daily routine:
Going to the gym
Going to the gym can take a lot of effort, you have to pack your gym equipment, drive there, get dressed and start your workout. To reduce the time spent you could sleep in your gym clothes, go to the gym on the way back from work or even better have a home gym.
Stop watching videos
Whether it’s YouTube, Tiktok or Instagram it can be hard to put the phone down because they’re made to be as addicting as possible! It’s so important, especially in times like this to stop scrolling. There’s many things that you can do to put a stop to this, delete some of your apps, set blockers and time limits or just leave your device elsewhere.
Learning a new skill
Like Shawn, if you’re trying to learn a new skill, try placing the item in the room that you spend the most time in and remove all of the distractions. Learning to play an instrument? Swap it for your TV, watch a tutorial instead of Netflix, learn instead of wasting your time.
Making the right food choices
Choosing the healthy option when it comes to what you eat can be hard, especially with all the fast-food restaurants, sweets and tasty treats but, you know it’s the right choice. Even if you’re grandmother’s biscuit tin brings back childhood memories, try changing the biscuit barrel for a fruit bowl and instead of hiding the vegetables behind the junk food, bring them to the front.
If you have any further questions, remarks or requests for what you would like to see more of, you can comment here on the blog, or message us on our social media channels below.
I am one of those people who said, “I’ll never call a psychic or a magician or whatever” to help me with my problems – least of all my love problems, but I reached the point where I knew I needed some guidance, and I’m so glad I found this man called Dr Jumba. When I nearly lost David in one of our stupid, fights (he broke up with me), I thought I had lost everything. I cried all day and thought that he would never come back to me again. I read so much testimony about Dr Jumba love spell ,how he helped to bring back an ex lover .I quickly emailed him and helped get back my husband with his power, he didn’t take advantage of me because I was hurt and needed help by all means . Dr Jumba you are the best, you performed a very good service for a person in true need. I don’t know how you did it, or how this spell works, but all I know is, IT WORKS PERFECTLY!! My husband and I are happily back together, and I’ll always be grateful to you Dr Jumba. email him for any kind of help. He is capable and reliable to help you solve any problem. wiccalovespelltools@yahoo.com , wiccalovespelltools@gmail.com or WhatsApp him +19085174108 . Website : https://drjumbaspellhome.wordpress.com
My name is Ashley Vivian, Am here to share a testimony on how Dr Raypower helped me. After a 1/5 year relationship with my boyfriend, he changed suddenly and stopped contacting me regularly, he would come up with excuses of not seeing me all the time. He stopped answering my calls and my sms and he stopped seeing me regularly. I then started catching him with different girls several times but every time he would say that he loved me and that he needed some time to think about our relationship. But I couldn’t stop thinking about him so I decided to go online and I saw so many good talks about this spell caster called Dr Raypower and I contacted him and explained my problems to him. He cast a love spell for me which I use and after 24 hours, my boyfriend came back to me and started contacting me regularly and we moved in together after a few months and he was more open to me than before and he started spending more time with me than his friends. We eventually got married and we have been married happily for 3 years with a son. Ever since Dr Raypower helped me, my partner is very stable, faithful and closer to me than before. You can also contact this spell caster and get your relationship fixed Email: urgentspellcast@gmail.com or urgentspellcast@yahoo.com see more reviews about him on his website: https://urgentspellcast.wordpress.com/ WhatsApp: +1 (424) 330-8109
I want to say thanks once again to this great man called Dr Zuma and his spiritual way of helping people i lives in USA with my husband we love each other and also he care about me always look forward to make things easy for both of us 9 years after our wedding, we both work harder to make a family greatest surprise, we have a kid after some times again, we have another one so with this, we live in peace and he was so honest to me shortly, he started misbehaving that i don’t know what is going on then i asked him. Darling what is going on? you are so strange to me this few days hope i have not offended you? he said no. Not knowing he have an affair with one lady out side who promised him a car and apartment in one estate were i cannot see him also when he cannot see me i manage to stay with him pleading him he should forgive me if i have wrong him he started complaining he has no money that he has lost all his money in his business that he needs some money then i asked him how much is this money you are looking for? he did not know i can afford it. Then, he said $14,000USD i promised him i we give it to him just for him to care about his family. My greatest surprise, the next day, i went to work and our two kids were in school not knowing his going to leave the house before i come’s back i met some of his things outside i was waiting for him to come back he never come back i cried i miss him so much and he have taking all my money away i was only left with $800USD. One day, as i was ready a blog i saw a testifier made by someone in Australia called Jessica telling people about how this man call Dr Zuma helped her and the man’s contact email was there and his mobile number then i contacted him for a help and really, he brought back my husband now am so happy my brothers and sister if you are in such relationship problem kindly via Email spiritualherbalisthealing@gmail.com or Whatsapp +15068001647 Blog: https://spiritualherbal.blogspot.com he will help you solve all your problems.
I’m so excited my broken Marriage has been restored. “We recently made it, even though it was difficult. It’s been more than 6 month now, and everything feels like it’s returned to normal. He has begun to treat me better, and it’s been a healing process for both of us. The nightmare that had lasted for almost 2 years before we broke up is finally over. It’s like we fell in love all over again! We’ve both put the past behind us, and are trying to move forward – and for the first time in a long time, the future looks a lot brighter. I can’t express in words how grateful Dr Owo! It’s like we’ve finally rediscovered those things about each other that made us fall in love in the first place. All of the worrying and stress has simply vanished. Thank you Dr OWO for saving my broken Marriage and bringing my husband back to me!”. My husband and I are living together happily again.. All thanks to Dr OWO If you have any problem contact Dr Owo now and i guarantee you that he will help you contact him through his email:drowoherbs@gmail.com
I’m so excited my broken Marriage has been restored. “We recently made it, even though it was difficult. It’s been more than 6 month now, and everything feels like it’s returned to normal. He has begun to treat me better, and it’s been a healing process for both of us. The nightmare that had lasted for almost 2 years before we broke up is finally over. It’s like we fell in love all over again! We’ve both put the past behind us, and are trying to move forward – and for the first time in a long time, the future looks a lot brighter. I can’t express in words how grateful Dr Owo! It’s like we’ve finally rediscovered those things about each other that made us fall in love in the first place. All of the worrying and stress has simply vanished. Thank you Dr OWO for saving my broken Marriage and bringing my husband back to me!”. My husband and I are living together happily again.. All thanks to Dr OWO If you have any problem contact Dr Owo now and i guarantee you that he will help you contact him through his email:drowoherbs@gmail.com