If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past few months, it’s that in order to get into a good habit, you have to start small. (Or maybe not. Perhaps you’re one of those people who can jump right into something and make it stick. If so, hats off to you.) I’ve also learned that sometimes, it is okay to ask for help or create something to force (ahem) motivate yourself. If forming habits and turning something into a regular event in your life were easy, there wouldn’t be so many people failing or giving up on their New Year resolutions every year. For me, at least, I like to have outside motivations to keep me going. I’m great at meeting outside expectations, but when I’m the one making the rules and setting the schedule, I have a hard time following through. (This is something author Gretchen Rubin calls being an “Obliger.” Her book, Better Than Before talks a lot about creating habits for different personality types. I definitely recommend a read!) To keep myself going and accountable, I’ve recently started setting goals and asking people close to me to keep me more motivated and set expectations for me.

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