We all know that habits are powerful and can help us achieve our goals and improve our lives. But forming and maintaining habits can be challenging, especially when life gets unpredictable and chaotic. How can we stick to our habits when we face obstacles, distractions, or changes in our circumstances?
The answer is to make our habits elastic. Elastic habits are flexible and adaptable habits that can adjust to different situations and levels of difficulty. They are not rigid or fixed, but rather offer multiple options for how to perform them depending on our mood, energy, time, and resources.
Elastic habits are based on the idea that no two days are the same, and that we need a habit system that can accommodate the variability and unpredictability of life. By making our habits elastic, we can avoid the common pitfalls of habit formation, such as boredom, frustration, guilt, or failure.
How Elastic Habits Work
Elastic habits are designed by Stephen Guise, the author of Elastic Habits: How to Create Smarter Habits That Adapt to Your Day. He is also the creator of the mini habits strategy, which involves setting very small and easy goals for your habits, such as doing one push-up or writing 50 words a day.
Elastic habits build on the mini habits concept by adding two more layers of flexibility: lateral flexibility and vertical flexibility.
Lateral flexibility means having several different options for how to perform your habit within the same category. For example, if your habit is to exercise, you can choose between running, cycling, swimming, yoga, or any other activity that counts as exercise. This way, you can vary your habit according to your preference, availability, or weather conditions.
Vertical flexibility means having three different levels of difficulty for your habit: mini, plus, and elite. The mini level is the easiest and most achievable one, which serves as your baseline and minimum requirement. The plus level is a moderate and challenging one, which pushes you to do more than the minimum. The elite level is the hardest and most ambitious one, which stretches you to your limit and maximizes your potential.
For example, if your habit is to exercise, you can set your mini level as doing 10 minutes of any activity, your plus level as doing 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity, and your elite level as doing 60 minutes of high-intensity activity.
The beauty of elastic habits is that you can choose which option and level to perform each day depending on how you feel and what you can realistically do. As long as you do at least the mini level of one option, you have successfully completed your habit for the day. You can also mix and match different options and levels within the same habit category.
For example, if your habit is to exercise, you can do 10 minutes of running (mini), 30 minutes of cycling (plus), or 60 minutes of swimming (elite). Or you can do 10 minutes of yoga (mini), 30 minutes of running (plus), and 60 minutes of cycling (elite). Or any other combination that suits you.
The key is to be flexible and adaptable with your habits without compromising on consistency and progress.
How Elastic Habits Can Help You
Elastic habits have many benefits that can help you make your habits stick forever. Here are some of them:
- They prevent boredom. By having multiple options for how to perform your habit, you can avoid getting stuck in a rut and losing interest in your habit. You can also keep things fresh and exciting by trying new activities or challenging yourself with different levels.
- They reduce frustration. By having three levels of difficulty for your habit, you can avoid setting unrealistic expectations or feeling overwhelmed by your habit. You can also adjust your habit according to your current situation and capabilities without feeling guilty or disappointed.
- They increase motivation. By having a choice in how to perform your habit, you can increase your sense of autonomy and control over your behavior. You can also reward yourself with positive feedback and satisfaction by completing different levels of your habit.
- They enhance resilience. By having a backup plan for your habit, you can overcome obstacles and setbacks that might otherwise derail your habit. You can also cope with changes in your environment or circumstances without losing momentum or giving up on your habit.
- They promote growth. By having a range of difficulty for your habit, you can challenge yourself to improve and progress with your habit. You can also stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone and reach new heights with your habit.
How to Create Your Own Elastic Habits
Creating elastic habits is simple and fun. Here are the steps:
- Choose a habit category that you want to work on. This should be something that is important and meaningful for you, such as health, productivity, creativity, or learning.
- Brainstorm at least three different options for how to perform your habit within that category. These should be specific actions that are measurable and achievable.
- Assign a mini level for each option that is very easy and doable for you. This should be something that you can do even on your worst days.
- Assign a plus level for each option that is moderately difficult and challenging for you. This should be something that you can do on most days.
- Assign an elite level for each option that is very hard and ambitious for you. This should be something that you can do only on your best days.
- Write down your elastic habit in a table or a chart with three columns: option, mini level, plus level, elite level.
- Track your elastic habit daily by marking which option and level you performed each day.
- Review your elastic habit weekly by evaluating how well you did each day and what factors influenced your performance.
- Adjust your elastic habit monthly by tweaking the options or levels if needed based on your feedback and results.
Here is an example of an elastic habit for reading:
| ……..Option……..| ……..Mini ……..| ……..Plus ……..| ……..Elite…….. |
| Read a book | Read 10 pages | Read 30 pages | Read 50 pages |
| Listen to an audiobook | Listen for 15 minutes | 45 minutes | 75 minutes |
| Watch a video summary | Watch one video | Watch three videos | five videos |
Conclusion
Elastic habits are a smart way to make your habits stick forever by making them flexible and adaptable to different situations and levels of difficulty. They allow you to vary your habits according to your preference, availability, or mood without compromising on consistency and progress.
By creating elastic habits for yourself, you can enjoy the benefits of having multiple options and levels for how to perform them depending on how you feel each day.
You can prevent boredom, reduce frustration, increase motivation, enhance resilience, and promote growth with elastic habits.
So what are you waiting for? Start creating your own elastic habits today!
