Building a Habit: 30 Days of Breakfast

One thing I keep reading all over the place is that it takes 30 days to build a habit. Do something for a month, and it'll become a habit. So I thought I'd put that theory to a test. I'd been trying for months (years?) to eat breakfast every day. Back in November, I decided that I'd eat breakfast ever day that month, and take photos of it to hold myself accountable. Here's my set on flickr. I only missed two days and it was because of...lets call it self induced sickness. Eating breakfast would have been a waste of time because it was not going to stay down. Otherwise, I did really well. I'm one of those people that starts a lot of projects, but doesn't finish very many, so I was pretty pleased with myself.

So, did it work? I made it 30 days, but did it stick? Well, it's well over a month later and I'm still eating breakfast most days. And that's something. I'd call that a success. My only real tip for anyone else who's working on this particular habit is to have a variety of easy breakfast items on hand, otherwise you'll try to make the excuse that you just didn't have time. Instant oat meal can be ready in a few minutes, and cereal and milk takes even less time then that. If you don't have time to dump some cereal in a bowl and add some milk, then you aren't giving yourself enough time to get ready in the morning. Or you're lying to yourself. Also, leftovers are awesome for breakfast.

Got a habit you're trying to build? Give it 30 days. It really does help.