Many people, myself included, have multiple areas of life they would like to improve. For example, I would like to reach more people with my writing, to eat good food at home,and to start practicing mindfulness more consistently. Those are just a few of the goals I find desirable and you probably have a long list your self.

The problem is, even if we are committed to working hard on our goals, our natural tendency is to revert back to our hold habits at same point . Making a permanent lifestyle change is really difficult.

Recently, I've come across a few research studies that (just maybe) will make these difficult lifestyle changes a little bit easier. As you'll see, however the approach to Mastering many areas of life is some what counterintuitive.

Too Many Good Intention

If you want to master multiple habits and stick to them for good, then you need to figure out how to be consistent. How can you do that?

Well, here is one of the most robust finding from psychology research on how to actually follow through on your goals.

Research has shown that you are 2x to 3x more likely to stick with your habits if you make a specific plan for when,where,and how you will perform the behavior. For example, in one study scientist asked people to fill out this sentence: during the next week, I will partake in at least 20minutes of vigorous exercise on "(Day) at (Time of Day) at/in (place)"

What Happens When You Focus On One Thing

Here is another science_based reason to focus on one thing at a time.

When you begin practicing a new habit it requires a lot of conscious effort to remember to do it.

After a while however, the pattern of behavior becomes easier. Eventually, your new habit becomes a normal routine and the process is more or less mindless and automatic.

Researchers have a fancy term for this process called "automaticity". Automaticity is the ability to perform a behavior without thinking about each step, which allows the pattern to become automatic and habitual.

But here's the thing. Automaticity only occurs as the result of lots of repetition and practice. The more reps you put in, the more automatic behavior becomes.

Change Your life Without Changing Your Entire Life

Alright, let's review what I have suggested to you so far and figure out some practical takeaways

1 you're 2x to 3x more likely to follow through with a habit if you make a specific plan for when, where, and how you are going to implement it.

2 you should focus entirely on one things. Research has found that implementation intentions do not work if you try to improve multiple habit at the same time.

The counterintuitive insight from all of this research is that the best way to change Your Entire Life is by not changing Your Entire Life. Instead, it is best to focus on one specific habit, work on it until you master it, and make it an automatic part of your daily life.

The way to master more things in the long_runs is to simply focus on one thing right now.