How long does it take to form a habit?
Catch the Worm is all about learning to rise earlier in the morning, but how long does it take for it to become habitual? I’ve been researching to find out.
To take ‘Catch the Worm’ further I need to find out how many times the average person has to rise early for it to become habitual. Baring in mind the number one goal on ‘Catch the Worm’ is to make a consistently early riser out of you. At the minute my plan lasts for 90 days, an arbitrary number.
I hit the journals armed with the question, “how long does it take the average person to form a habit?” After a great deal of searching and reading things that went way above my head I found my answer.
Study – How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world
In a study by Lally et.al (2009) they took 96 volunteers and asked them to carry out an eating, drinking or physical behaviour at the same time each day for twelve weeks. They completed a report each day and recorded whether they were successful in carrying out the behaviour. The report also asked the volunteers if the behaviour required any will power or if they started doing it without thinking.
The results showed that the time it took for a behaviour to become habitual differed depending on the behaviour being carried out. Drinking a glass of water every morning is an easier habit to form than going for a run. Results were conclusive enough to say that on average a habit takes 66 days to form, but in reality could be ranged anywhere between 18 – 256 days.
It was also found that consistency in carrying out the behaviour during the first two weeks meant the habit would form more quickly. After the first two weeks breaks in carrying out the activity would not adversely effect habit forming.
What this means for ‘Catch the Worm’
At first I was tempted to interpret this study by setting the ‘Catch the Worm’ plan at 66 days. When I considered it further I realised that the time the ‘Worm Catcher’ is rising at will very slightly each morning (by getting earlier). I have therefore decided to increase the plan by a week so it lasts for 73 days in total. The last 14 days will be set at the users target time and will act as a stabilisation period so they become used with rising at the same time each morning.