Building stable habits: Consistency vs. Flexibility

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Exploring the importance of consistency versus flexibility in building healthy habits, a study incentivized two groups to exercise at the same time consistently or with more flexibility. While one group exercised at a consistent time most of the time, the other group had a more varied routine. Surprisingly, the group with less consistency in their workout times built a more stable habit when rewards were removed. This challenges the common belief that consistency always breeds habit, indicating that sometimes flexibility can also lead to stronger habits.

Ever want to change something that really matters to you, but struggle to make it stick, let alone wonder how to ever get started? You’re not alone. There is so much misinformation in the world of behavior change, which is why I wanted to sit down with Katy Milkman to see if we could all get closer to the truth. And, find out, once and for all, what really works, and what’s just distraction.

Katy is an award-winning behavioral scientist and a professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She hosts Charles Schwab’s popular behavioral economics podcast Choiceology, and is the co-founder and co-director of The Behavior Change for Good Initiative, a research center with the mission of advancing the science of lasting behavior change whose work is being chronicled by Freakonomics Radio. She has worked with or advised dozens of organizations on how to spur positive change, including Google, the U.S. Department of Defense, the American Red Cross, 24 Hour Fitness, Walmart and Morningstar. Her research is regularly featured in major media outlets such as The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and NPR. She is the bestselling author of How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.

You can find Katy at: Website | Choiceology podcast

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