Create Tiny Habits to Take Your Running to the Next Level

January is all about goal setting and making big changes to start the new year off right. Often times we give up on our goals after just a few weeks. What if the problem was that we were just not making the steps to reach our goals practical enough? What if the new habits we try to create are too overwhelming, or just don’t fit into our current routine, or we don’t even know how to do them to begin with? Instead, we can focus on creating tiny habits for our running that will help us to actually be consistent and successful. After reading the book “Tiny Habits” by B.J. Fogg I came up with some ideas to create tiny habits to take your running to the next level.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Create Tiny Habits to Take Your Running to the Next Level

There is alot of great information throughout the book about creating changes in behavior. I’m going to try to keep it simple here since this is just a short post. However, if you want to learn more I definitely recommend reading the full book. Change can feel overwhelming and this book has a step by step plan to make simple changes. You can also go to the Tiny Habits website and download a free Tiny Habits Toolkit.

How to Create Tiny Habits for Your Running

Decide on a goal that is important to you

This can be anything, big or small, long term or short term. Just try to make it specific! Let’s say you find that you keep having to cut your runs short because you get dehydrated and have stomach issues. You know you need to improve your hydration and nutrition, but your goal is to run X minutes or miles without stopping.

Determine a few habits that will help you achieve your goal

Now that you have your goal, it’s time to decide what habits will help you reach your goal. Make a list of ALL the habits that might help you, even if they aren’t all that practical or you know you won’t do them. Then decide which of these goals you are the most likely to do and that you have the ability to do. Start by just choosing 1.

Make your habits TINY

Now make your habit tiny! Instead of many a big change, make a tiny change. The example in the book is that the author wanted to start flossing, so to make it a tiny habit the first step was to floss just one tooth. How can you make your new habit so tiny that you will be very likely to do it?

Follow the tiny habits recipe

Next you use the formula of “after I…..I will…..then I celebrate.” The idea here is to find a prompt or anchor to help you remember to do your new habit. This should be the last step of something you already do. For example, “After I flush the toilet I will do one pushup”.

Celebrate success right away

The last part of the plan is to celebrate every little success you have, in whatever way you want. The goal here is to create a positive feeling inside you that you will correlate with your new habit and make you more likely to continue that habit!

An example of a tiny habit to improve your running

Let’s say that your goal was to run for 60 minutes straight, but every time you reached 45 minutes you felt dehydrated or got stomach cramps. You know that your nutrition and hydration could use some work but it feels so overwhelming to make big changes in those areas. Write down all the habits you COULD do that would help you feel better on your runs. These can even be things you know you won’t do, just write them down.

Then go through and circle the habits that you have the capacity to do (you know how to do them and are capable of doing them) and that you have the motivation to do. For example, maybe you pick “drink more water throughout the day, eat something 1 hour before a run, and drink a smoothie after a workout”.

Now identify prompts. What do you already do in your routine that you can anchor to a new behavior to? Do you always get up and turn on the coffee machine in the morning? As soon as you press start, pour a glass of water. Your “habit recipe” is “After I press start on the coffee machine I will pour a glass of water”.

Your new habit is tiny and doesn’t even involve drinking water yet. But guess what- if you pour that water, you might realize you are thirsty and drink it. Make sure your new habit comes after the last step of the prompt (rather than after I put the coffee filter in the pot I will our a glass or water) because you want there to be an immediate connection from one step to the new habit.

Finally, celebrate when you pour that glass of water! Do a little dance. Cheer for ourself. Give yourself a pep talk. Reinforcing a new habit with positive feelings will make you more likely to repeat the behavior.

Other ideas to create tiny habits for your running

After I tie my second shoelace, I will do one squat to warm up.

After I press “stop” on my running watch, I will walk for 10 seconds to cool down.

After I press “on” to start the TV, I will take out my foam roller.

The possibilities are endless! Get creative and before you know it you will be incorporating many positive habits into your day to support your running.

You may also like:
3 Key Takeaways From “Peak Performance”
How Runners Can Sleep Better to Improve Their Running
10 Small Ways To Improve Your Running Right Now

Have you read the book “Tiny Habits”?
What tiny habit can you start today to improve your running?

Now it’s time for the Runners’ Roundup! Link up your running and fitness posts below! Join myself, Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner, and Runs with Pugs to post your favorite running tips, experiences, race and training recaps, workouts, gear, and coaching ideas.