Stop us if this sounds familiar: At some point in your life, you decided it was time to make some changes. It could have been New Year’s Day, your birthday, the start of a new job, or just a really motivational TikTok you watched on a random Wednesday that did it. No matter the catalyst, we’ve all found ourselves revved up to commit to bold, new habits at one point or another.

Maybe you vowed to start working out every morning, for instance. Or drink eight glasses of water a day. Or cook more dinners rather than ordering takeout. Regardless of your goal in question, you probably started out with a lot of excitement, optimism, and determination. And then, well… life happened. You overslept and missed your workout, swapped your water for soda, or got stuck working late and picked up a pizza.

We’ve all been there. It’s frustrating (and all too relatable) when our “I got this” momentum runs out of gas and we fall back into old patterns. Still, it’s noble and commendable to want to form habits that improve your health and wellbeing, but sticking to them is always harder than it seems at the outset. 

So how long does it take to form a habit that truly sticks? Here, we’ll explain why habit formation can be tricky, how many days science says it takes for a new routine to feel automatic, and how to overcome common obstacles that may pop up along the way. 

What Is a Habit?

A habit is generally defined as something that’s performed automatically without much thought. You perform habits subconsciously and they don’t require motivation to happen. 

“To form a habit, you need to repeat a behaviour in the same situation,” says Phillippa Lally, PhD, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Surrey. “How many times depends on many things, but if you keep going, in the end you will find it easier to just do the behaviour when that situation occurs.”

Habits can be both good or bad, or simply neutral. Everyone’s routines will generate different habits, like checking your phone before getting out of bed in the morning, drinking a cup of coffee soon after waking, or simply putting on your shoes before walking out the door. 

When you can turn healthy choices into habits, you’re more likely to keep them up. If, for instance, you notice that you no longer think twice about meeting your friend for a yoga class every Tuesday night or roll out of bed and head right to your Peloton Tread for a walking workout most mornings, these are signs you’ve incorporated these behaviors into your way of living so they feel like second nature.

How Many Days Does It Take to Form a Habit?

As nice as it would be, there’s not one universal amount of time it takes to form a habit. One small study found that it takes, on average, 66 days for a new habit to stick, but even that research showed that the range among study subjects spanned from just 18 days to 254 days. Another study found that it can take a few weeks to make simple changes (such as handwashing) stick, while more challenging habits (such as going to the gym) could take months to feel habitual. Meanwhile, some health behavior experts say it generally takes about 10 weeks to create new habits.

For a long time, there was a popular myth that it takes 21 days to form a habit, but this ultimately wasn’t based on any solid research. And anyone who’s actually tried to commit to a new healthy routine knows there’s no magic number. That’s because there are several variables that play a role in turning any action into a behavior that feels easy and automatic.

The Science Behind Habit Formation

Again, habits take practice and repetition—lots of it. “They often require embracing some discomfort initially until the habits are formed,” says Ayelet Fishbach, a professor of behavioral science and marketing at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. 

Some experts think that the habit formation process can be characterized by something called habit loops, which has three predictable phases: the cue, or a trigger that sets the habit in motion, like putting on your cycling shoes; the routine, which is the actual behavior, such as getting on your Peloton Bike for a ride; and the reward, something that makes you feel good and gives you a positive feeling after you’ve finished the behavior, such as the post-workout mood boost you experience after your ride.

That last part is important: “Setting habits, like goal setting, is most successful when you plan to feel good about the process,” Fishbach says. “Clearly, you care about the destination and long-term adherence, but if the path isn’t rewarding, you won’t reach the destination.” In one recent study that Fishbach co-authored, researchers found that intrinsic motivation, or completing an activity for the internal satisfaction it gives you, was a predictor for long-term goal adherence. 

Benefits of Forming Healthy Habits

When you commit to long-term healthy habits, you’ll see a positive ripple effect across your entire life. Here are some benefits you may experience after implementing a new fitness or wellness habit:

The benefits you’ll experience from your own healthy habits will vary by the specific routines you create, of course. But in general, forming healthy habits offers us many long-term benefits to our overall wellbeing.

7 Tips for Creating (and Maintaining) New Habits

OK, so you’ve got a new goal in mind and feel ready to make it part of your daily routine. Where should you begin to make your efforts stick long-term? Here are a handful of expert-vetted ways to increase the odds you’ll stick to a new habit.

1. Time It Right

First things first, “think through when would be a good time to fit this new behavior into your life,” Lally says. In other words, the ideal moment to kick off a brand-new healthy habit probably isn’t when you’re distracted or dealing with lots of other major life events (an especially stressful time at work, for example). Making sure you have the time and space to focus on making your new healthy habit part of your routine will increase your chances of being successful. 

2. Do Some Prep

Getting to the point where you can actually do this new healthy habit might require a bit of prep. “You may need to form a preparation habit, where you get everything ready ahead of time,” Lally points out. She recommends making a list of everything you’d need to make your healthy habit a reality, whether that’s cleaning and collecting your fitness gear, making a healthy grocery shopping list, or carving out enough time to make it happen. “Think about what you need to be in place at that time to make it as easy as possible for you to do it, and make sure that is in place,” she says.

Ideally, this habit will fit into your life—not be incredibly difficult to make time for. So as you do this prep, consider how and when, exactly, you’re going to start your new habit. “Habits don’t exist in isolation,” Fishbach says. “You can’t go to bed later and wake up earlier. Something has to give. Decide what to adjust to make the new habit realistic.”

3. Make It Easy (Like, Really Easy) to Commit

Habit formation requires a level of honesty with yourself. By now, you have enough data from past habit attempts to know which types of actions you’re more likely to follow through on and which ones you tend to slack on. 

If, for instance, you’ve never been able to stick to a workout routine that requires you to travel far to a fitness class or gym, then don’t make that part of your plan now. “People are more likely to go to the gym when the gym is close by,” says Wendy Wood, PhD, provost professor emerita of psychology and business at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and author of Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick. Or, if your goal is to eat more fruits and vegetables, keep them “at the front of your fridge already cut up and ready to eat,” she adds.

4. Lean Into Repetition

“The key to habit formation is repetition in a consistent context,” Lally says. What she means is that habits don’t magically happen by themselves. You’re more likely to follow through when you not only create a plan, but also create an environment that supports that plan. Then, keep it consistent by focusing on setting up your environment the same way each time. 

For example, if you want to be better about using your Peloton Row+ each morning, perhaps the first thing you do after dinner every night is lay out your exercise clothes so they’re reading for tomorrow’s workout. “This sounds very simple, but we often don’t take the time to set ourselves up for success,” Lally says.

5. Focus on Getting Started, Rather Than the End Result

Remember how we talked about the importance of preparation? So often when we make bold declarations about new habits—”I’m going to exercise more! Hit 10,000 steps a day! Eat more vegetables!”—we focus on what researchers call the “execution habit,” which is the final step in the process. What we focus less on is the “instigation habit,” which is that tiny step that gets us going in the first place, like lacing up our sneakers, filling up our water bottles, or chopping veggies before snack time later on. 

However, it’s those early steps that should get more of our attention, Lally says. “There is a useful distinction between deciding to get on your bike, and then what you do in the workout,” she says. “Either or both parts of the action, the instigation or the execution, may or may not be habitual. The part that matters in predicting whether people do it or not is the instigation part. Just begin, even if you don’t necessarily plan to do a long workout, as it is the habit of starting that you are trying to form. Then, you can build up the actual activity over time.”

6. Have Fun

“Remember these two hacks to habit formation: Find something that’s fun to do and something that’s easy,” Wood says. “This advice might seem obvious, but it’s not what we typically do when we try to change our behavior.” 

Lally agrees that joy is key. “There is some evidence that the more rewarding a behavior is at the moment it is performed, the faster habits will form,” she says. “Therefore, if you want to form a new habit, choose something that you enjoy, or pair it with something enjoyable.”

Sounds easy enough, but how often do we try to white-knuckle our way through something we think we should do—rather than something we really want to do? It starts by giving yourself grace. When it comes to setting healthy habits, it’s important to focus on what you actually enjoy. Hate running? Pick a different workout. Can’t stand lentils? Choose another protein-rich food instead. “Choose versions of the habit you genuinely enjoy or can tolerate,” Fishbach says. “Misery cannot be sustained.”

Seek out healthy habits that you can reasonably come to look forward to, or, at the very least, pair them with something that’s already pleasing for you. If you’re finding it hard to move your body as much as you’d like, can you do it while watching your favorite show or following along with a motivating Peloton instructor? Could you bring along a friend who always puts you in a good mood? The more you look for ways to make a habit a “want” instead of a “should,” you’ll increase your odds of it becoming a staple in your life.

7. Look Back and Celebrate Your Progress

Remember the “reward” phase in habit loops? Make sure to regularly celebrate your accomplishments, big and small, and give yourself consistent small rewards for a job done, like finishing your morning workout with a relaxing shower or a delicious cup of coffee.

Another way of rewarding yourself is to monitor your progress—and this can be especially important in the beginning, while your habit is still being established, Fishbach says. “Look backward and appreciate how much you’ve already done,” she says. “Once the habit is established, shift to looking ahead at what you want to achieve next.”

How to Overcome Common Habit-Formation Challenges 

If there’s one universal truth to forming a new habit, it’s this: Things will get in the way. No matter how committed we are, life always has a way of mucking up our best-laid plans. Instead of feeling defeated by obstacles that will inevitably creep up, plan for them. Here’s how.

The Obstacle: Your Motivation Dwindles

The fix: It’s natural for your motivation to dip after the initial high of your new routine starts to wear off. Experts agree that you can’t rely too much on pure motivation if you’re in this for the long haul. “The first thing people typically do is they try to motivate themselves, thinking of all the reasons why they should get healthier,” Wood says. “They exert self-control to make themselves engage in a new behavior. Self-control is fine if you only need to do something once or a couple of times in order to reach your goal, but health isn’t like this. Few of us can continually control our actions.” 

Instead of solely relying on motivation, you have to fall back on an easy, fun plan that makes the habit as simple as possible. So simple, in fact, that you eventually don’t need to feel motivated to keep going.

The Obstacle: Changes Aren’t Noticeable Fast Enough

The fix: Adjust your expectations. It’s understandable to feel bummed if you expected to notice results soon after starting your habit, but that’s often not realistic. Setting practical, realistic goals is more likely to keep you engaged, and don’t be afraid to celebrate seemingly small wins along the way. In fact, research has found that people who felt positive about their progress were more likely to keep going than those who didn’t. 

The Obstacle: Life Gets In the Way

The fix: At some point, your new habit will be challenged by factors outside of your control (your kid gets the flu, your car gets a flat). To prepare for this, make a list of if-then statements that account for the most likely scenarios. If I get too busy to make a healthy lunch, then I’ll order something nutritious from (insert a local healthy takeout option). If I don’t have time for my usual workout, then I’ll make sure to schedule a shorter workout later in the day to get in some movement.

If-then statements allow for flexibility, which can work in your favor. In one study, exercisers were paid to work out on either a consistent or variable schedule. The group who went to the gym on a more flexible schedule worked out more when they were being paid and after the payments stopped, compared to those who had to work out within the same two-hour time window. If-then statements allow for a built-in backup plan, which may help you stay on track even when life goes off the rails.

The Takeaway

When it comes to forming healthy habits, you’re the best predictor of your future success. While there’s no universal amount of time it takes to form a habit, some experts say it can take 10 weeks—but this number can be drastically different from person to person or habit to habit.

To make a new healthy habit really stick, it can help to lean into activities you can realistically commit to and fit into your life, then make it as easy as possible for the behavior to become reality (such as by putting out your running shoes, exercise clothes, and water bottle the night before you intend to do a morning workout). Repetition will be the key to making that habit a natural part of your routine: “Some habits will never feel like brushing your teeth; it won’t be automatic, and it’s easy to fall off the wagon, but it’ll get easier and more natural over time,” Fishbach says.

And don’t forget to look back and celebrate your progress, as well as reward yourself for your hard work—research suggests that this can help people adhere to healthy habits over time.