A NEW Way to Create Habits That Stick

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you made some agreements with yourself and kept them? How would you feel? Yup – I am talking about habits, and not just about fitness (this time). I recently learned of a new way to create habits that stick, and it is already changing my life for the better.

When you have solid habits and structure in place, it becomes so much simpler to get things done, because you do them without even thinking. I know someone who used to struggle with keeping on top of the laundry, until she assigned a day for each task: Sunday, sheets. Monday, towels & blankets. Tuesday, folding. Now, laundry is part of her routine, and the kids even know that Sundays they need to strip their beds. Amazing! 

I long-ago learned about the power of habits and routine, but I definitely have areas where I want to improve my routine. I want to create new habits, free up time, and do new things. And since I started making daily agreements with myself, I’ve become pretty excited about the possibilities! 

What are Daily Agreements? 

I belong to a business group called Profitable Pilates, and we have monthly webinars. This month, a beautiful and inspiring woman named Amy Ledin spoke about her DAC’s: Daily Agreement Cards. The idea is that you write out a card every day, stating the agreements that you are making with yourself. 

Each day, you write out 5 agreements. Then you KEEP those agreements until they simply become routine. Then, you choose a new agreement. It only takes a few minutes to do, but the action of writing + the visual reminder creates a powerful tool to create habits that stick. 

What to Put on Your Daily Agreement Card

So what is an “agreement”, and what do you write on your card? 

1. The date (to track how long you keep your agreements).
2. Use the acronym BANG: B = Behavior, A = Activity, N = Nutrition, G = Growth. These titles are for the first 4 agreements on your card.
3. What is a behaviour agreement? Examples would be: Be calm while driving. Make your bed when you get up. Wait 30 minutes after waking up to use your phone. Do one hour of cleaning every day.
4. What is an activity agreement? This is your fitness. Examples: Do 20 minutes of physical fitness. Get to 10,0000 steps a day. Stretch for 15 minutes each night.
5. What is a nutrition agreement? Examples: Drink a specific amount of water each day.  Limit coffee to two cups a day. Eating 5 portions of fruits and veggies. Eat breakfast.
6. What is a growth agreement? This is personal growth.  Examples: Meditation for a set length of time. Listening to a podcast. Read a chapter of a book each night. Spend time on a hobby. Study a language.
7. And finally write the next day’s card at the end of the day.  

There are a few rules:

• There can be more agreements, but start off with just 5 for about 10 days.  
• Keep an agreement until it is routine for you. So if you feel like you are doing well with it and it’s a habit now, then try taking it off. If you fail to do it that day, add it back.
• When LIFE HAPPENS (like the washing machine breaking down), it is time to quickly negotiate your agreements. Maybe you planned to run outside, but the temperatures have dropped and it’s too slick to run safely. What do you do? Treadmill run? Hop on your spin bike? Run the stairs in your house? Do an interval HIIT type workout at home?   Just don’t let yourself down! 

The Power of Agreements

Amy told the story of her young daughter’s DAC (her children all wanted in on it when they saw their parents doing it), and being in tears one night. She hadn’t done three of her agreements that day, which meant she had broken her “winning” streak of over fifty days! So off she went with her dad for a 20 minute walk, with a huge water bottle and veggies in hand to meet her agreements in the dark.   

I have been doing this now for five days. It should be day six, but I skipped writing my Sunday card and never got around to it. So yes, I have already failed a few times! But I have also stuck to my agreements even when I may have given up in the past. I headed out for a run at 8:30pm after I had put it off for hours and last-minute tasks. I could have put my PJ’s on and called it a day, but I didn’t! I told myself to do a half hour. I ran to some stairs in the neighbourhood which took 10 minutes. I ran up and down the stairs and a hill for 10 minutes, then back home. Half an hour done and I felt great.

So to answer my own question: What would happen if you made agreements with yourself and kept them? You will create habits that stick and you’ll feel amazing about yourself and all that you accomplish.