Signal Boost

What does it take to make something a habit? This time of year everyone I talk to is spending time (and money!) trying to eat clean and hit the gym. But by spring most of us have lost the momentum and are back to our regular meals and workouts. As an esthetician I try to talk to my clients about what they can add into their regular routines to achieve the results they want from their skin, but I know that adding something in can throw off a routine and then the habit isn't created. I recently read that what made a person successful in a new routine was choosing a signal to let you know when to start your new task. It was a total lightbulb moment for me.

I am the ultimate creature of habit. Once I have my pattern down it doesn't change much. Especially when it comes to my skincare. I honestly can't remember a time that I didn't put body lotion on after a bath or a shower. And eye cream? Been slathering that on day and night since I was about 14. And it's all about the cue. If I hop out of the shower and immediately throw clothes on without a quick layer of lotion I feel dry the rest of the day. Even if it's the peak of summer and I have the opposite of dry skin. There is something in my brain that is now wired to think that my skin is dry without my post-shower moisturizer.

So the next time you buy a product and want to add it into your current routine all you have to do is create a cue! Did you get a new eye cream (OMG have you tried this yet? I'm in love!) and it's just been sitting on your shelf? Tonight, try this: cleanse your skin as normal, towel dry, put on a dab of eye cream and throw on your moisturizer and some lip balm. That should only take you a couple of minutes, and the extra step of the eye cream is maybe ten extra seconds. You can do ten seconds. Pretty soon you won't even think about what you do every night after you towel dry. If only my workouts only added ten seconds to my routine!