By Leo Babauta

I’ve been talking with a lot of people recently about the topic of morning and evening routines, and I have one piece of advice that I’ve been giving for almost two decades now …

Form routines gradually.

We tend to get very ambitious and we want to change everything all at once, immediately. But that’s not how humans tend to work. We need to adjust to new things, and we do so more slowly than we think.

So do it gradually, one small step at a time.

Let’s talk through an example … let’s say you want to wake up earlier and meditate, journal, do some yoga, and do some writing.

Here’s an example of how you might do that (1 week per step is recommended):

1. Start by waking just 15 minutes earlier, and do a little meditation to start.

2. Wake another 15 minutes earlier on week 2, and add in some journaling.

3. On week 3, wake a little earlier and do a little yoga.

4. On week 4, wake a little earlier and add in your writing.

Each step should be just a little longer, with a minimum version of the habit you’re trying to form. After 4 weeks, you’ll be waking an hour earlier, and have 4 new habits! And each step along the way, it won’t be very strenuous. This is how you set yourself up for success.