Tiny steps, big changes

Tiny Steps,
BIG Changes
Simple daily strategies to improve health.
Cristin Stokes and Neal Andrews
MUS Wellness
May 2014

 “If you made a New Year’s Resolution for 2014, how
would you describe your success thus far?”
 Very successful
 Somewhat successful
 Unsuccessful
 I did not make any Resolutions this year
Poll Question!

 …is how we live our lives.”
 We can break down how we live by a series of
behaviors and habits.
 Intentionally, or unintentionally, these small
behaviors and tiny habits accumulate to form who we
are, including our health, accomplishments, and life
outcomes.
“How we live our days…

 One mistake we often make is setting outcome goals
without making appropriate behavior changes.
 I can set a goal to lose 10 pounds, but if I don’t change
certain behaviors that lead to weight loss, I will fail. I
can’t “think” the 10 pounds away.
 We must identify behaviors that we can either modify or
create that help lead to the desired outcome.
 Outcome goals are what we want. Behavior goals are
how we achieve outcomes, so focus on setting, and
following, behavior goals.
Behaviors and Outcomes

 Outcome goal: Lose 10 pounds
 Behavior changes to achieve goal:
 Drink water instead of sugar-containing drinks
 Eat breakfast
 Bring your lunch to work instead of going out
 Take the stairs instead of the elevator
 Go for a walk around campus on your breaks
 Get 150 minutes of exercise per week
 Focus on what to do instead of what NOT to do!
Behaviors and Outcomes

 …if you want to actually follow them.
 Changing behavior/Creating new behaviors is difficult.
 Tie to a trigger/anchor
 Start small
 Make it easy
 Remove obstacles
The rules of behavioral goals…

 Triggers elicit responses. Triggers tell us, “do
something now!”
 Anchors are behaviors that are already happening, or
can be external triggers.
 Examples: A cellphone ring is a trigger.
 Walking through the kitchen may be a trigger.
 Brushing teeth can be an anchor
 Reading the morning newspaper might be an anchor
 Getting out of bed may be an anchor
Triggers, Anchors, and Habits

 Assignment: Think of 3 or 4 triggers or anchor
behaviors in your daily routine.
 Examples:
 Brushing your teeth
 Reading the morning paper
 Pouring your morning coffee
 Eating breakfast
 Parking the car at work
 Bell towers or reminder alarms
 Walking in your house after work

 Once you list anchors, you can begin to attach
desirable behaviors to them.
 Brushing teeth & flossing
 Reading paper and eating breakfast
 Eating breakfast and taking a supplement (i.e. vitamin or
fish oil)
 Pouring morning coffee and cleaning
 Parking the car and taking deep breath (relaxation)
 Getting out of your chair when your hear the Bell Tower

 “Simplicity Changes Behavior.” –BJ Fogg
 Small changes create inertia, and lead to better
outcomes.
 Example: Flossing. Instead of flossing all your teeth,
just floss one. Brushing is an anchor, and we
attach the desired “tiny” habit.
 “When I brush my teeth, I will floss one tooth.”
 “When I pour my morning coffee, I will wipe the
counter.”
Start Small
BJ Fogg, 3 Tiny Habits

 Getting in shape
 If you workout zero days a week, don’t set a goal to workout 6 days a week
 Start with 2 or 3 days. Goals have to be realistic and manageable
 Improving diet
 A complete diet overhaul is overwhelming and impractical
 More practical:
 Include a fruit with breakfast
 Choose whole wheat bread instead of white bread
 Handling stress
 “When I park my car before work, I will take 3 deep breaths.”
 “When I go to bed, I will turn my cellphone off (or to silent).”
 Take a stretch break (find appropriate anchor)
 Have a designated meditative minute (find appropriate anchor)
 Financial
 “When I receive change, I will put it in a Piggy Bank for the entertainment fund.”
 “When I receive my paycheck, I will put $25 into my savings account.”
 “When I receive my tax refund each year, I will designate X% to…
Practical Examples

 Make the habit something easy.
 Good: When I pour my morning coffee, I will wipe down
the counter.
 Not as good: When I pour my morning coffee, I will clean the
entire kitchen.
 Good: When I park my car at work, I will take three deep
breaths.
 Not as good: When I park my car at work, I will meditate for
10 minutes.
 Good: When I hear the bell tower chime, I will get out of
my chair do three stretches for 10 seconds each.
 “When I eat breakfast, I will take my vitamin(s).”
Make it Easy

 Examples
 Water bottle on desk
 Fruits & vegetables washed & visible
 Smaller plates for portion control
 Workout clothes laid out for the morning
Make it Easy

 For a habit to form (much less stick), we must remove
obstacles.
 Part of making things easy is setting ourselves up for
success. Remove any barrier to your desired
behavior.
 Example: the Sunday food prep ritual.
 Example: the night before the morning run/walk.
 Example of a Fail: the guitar.
 Example of success: my Journal
Remove Obstacles

 Think of behaviors in terms of time.
 Dots: Behaviors that happen once.
 Spans: Behaviors that happen for a designated
period. One week, one month, etc.
 Paths: Behaviors that happen for life.
 Brushing your teeth.
 Washing your hands.
Dots, Spans, and Paths
BJ Fogg Behavioral Model

 When instituting new behavior, dots & spans are
advantageous, because we can handle them.
 Montana Moves Challenge of the Month:
 Bike Bingo: Dots.
 Montana Meals Challenge of the Month:
 Tracking Fruits & Veggies—span.
 www.tinyhabits.com Practicing 1-week span
behaviors, using many of these concepts.
Dots, Spans, and Paths
BJ Fogg Behavioral Model

 Outcome Goal (Big Picture)
 10 Behavior Goals
 Crispification (Make behavior Crispy)
 Who is doing what?
 When? (or how long?)
 How long? (Dot, span, path)
 What is most effective at…(helping achieve outcome)?
 What can I do right now?
Priority Mapping

 Write down your goals.
 “It’s not a goal unless you write it down.”
 Share your goals.
 Track your behaviors!
 Online
 Smartphone apps
 Journal or logbook
 Coming Soon: Wellness Portal
 Measure outcomes
periodically
Write it! Track it!

 It’s a law of physics, and it applies to us!
 Objects in motion tend to stay in motion/objects at rest
tend to stay at rest.
 Start small, and gradually build momentum.
 Celebrate victories!
 Do a dance.
 Say, “I’m awesome.”
Inertia and Momentum

 Rewarding yourself reinforces habits.
 Don’t reward yourself with something counterproductive
to your outcome goals
 Example: I worked out today so I can have a bowl of ice-
cream. (But maybe one spoonful if you are disciplined?)
 “Know Thyself”
 Neal’s two post-workout rewards:
 Recovery drink
 Uploading results
 Cristin’s reward:
 Gossip magazines!
Inertia and Momentum

 Lose the “All-or-Nothing” attitude!
 This is about learning new behaviors one step at a time.
 If you slip up or have a bad day, just get back on track
the next day (or meal).
 Or, if you don’t have a great breakfast, it doesn’t mean
the rest of the day is lost.
Don’t beat yourself up!

Don’t beat yourself up!
 Consistency over time is what matters.
 “How we live our days is how we live
our lives.”

 Create three new behavior goals for yourself.
 Choose your desired behaviors
 Keep it simple, make it easy, remove obstacles.
 Attach desired behaviors to existing anchor
 Pick a span of time to commit to this new behavior
 Celebrate your victories!
 Visit www.tinyhabits.com to interact with BJ Fogg’s
behavior model. It’s free, and only lasts a week!
Homework

 BJ Fogg Behavior Model and 3 Tiny Habits
 www.bjfogg.com
 The Essentials of Sport and Exercise Nutrition, John
Berardi and Ryan Andrews
References

 www.montanamovesandmeals.com
 www.facebook.com/MUSwellness
 @montanameals @montanamoves
 www.wellness.mus.edu
 wellness@montana.edu
Check us out!

Tiny steps, big changes

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