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Benefits of New Habits to the DScIT student
How long does it take to form a new habit? Depending on who you ask the answer will vary. Anything from 21 days to 256 days, countless studies have a varying degree of what it takes to form a new habit. But what is it all for? What benefits exist for forming new habits and how can that be a benefit to a student in the DScIT program?
Webster’s definition of a habit is, “a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.” That sounds cool and everything, but why is this important or even something to talk about?
The importance of habits in our lives cannot be overstated. They help us get through the day, become productive, and make decisions. Consistency is one of the reasons why habits are so important. You’re more likely to achieve success at work or school if you’re consistent in your life because you’re more likely to follow through on tasks and projects with ease.
Habit Stacking
For any doctoral student, forming good habits is crucial to maintaining a level of success in your program. We can easily see this in contrast by thinking about the effects poor habits would have. According to James Clear in Atomic Habits, Synaptic pruning occurs with every habit you build. Synaptic pruning occurs with every habit we build. Our brain builds a strong network of neurons to support our current behaviors. The more we do something, the stronger and more efficient the connection becomes. Clear says that synaptic pruning occurs whenever we build a habit. A great way to create a new habit is to use a current habit you already perform each day as a foundation and then stack your new behavior on top of it. This is called habit stacking.
The Benefit
I like to think of habit stacking as creating a trigger to execute a second task or behavior. If I recite something I am grateful for each night when I sit down for dinner, I am stacking a new habit on an existing one that I have already formed.
This concept can be used to leverage new habits that are crucial to the doctoral student. For instance, when I check my email daily, I commit an hour to log in to my student portal to read discussion posts. As a professional, I am already checking my emails for work, therefore, set aside a small block of time to check in our school allows me to stack a new beneficial habit.
I can insert some new habits in between my current routine:
- After completing the assigned reading, write a summary of what I just read.
- Once I have written the summary, make notes on what was most important in what I read.
- Review any assignments related to the reading and make notes on how I would answer. I may not complete the assignment then, but I position myself to be ready for when I do.
With this, you are creating triggers for you to follow the behavior. Eventually, your brain will be able to detect cues that predict certain outcomes without consciously thinking about them.
XOXO
-Jamie
