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Introduction

Read the article and answer the questions below. To listen to this article, click here for an audio download.

Read

1 It's day one of a healthier, smarter, better you. You're full of zest and good intentions. You woke up at 5am to run before work, you read a book in your lunchbreak, and you listened to an English podcast on your commute. Now, fast forward three months. Life is getting in the way, and you've slipped into old habits… snoozing your alarm and eating chocolate for breakfast. Sound familiar?

2 Don't be hard on yourself. It's unrealistic to rely on willpower alone. As James Clear, author of the bestselling book 'Atomic Habits', writes, "The problem isn't you. The problem is your system." Our habits come from goals, so start by getting really clear. Goals, according to George T Doran, should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. It's not enough to say, "I'll exercise more" – that's too vague! A SMART goal would be "I'm going to walk for 20 minutes in the evenings on weekdays." Now you have a clear action that you can stick to.

3 Once you're clear on your goals, you need to make the associated habits as automatic as possible. Try 'habit stacking', a technique popularised in the book 'Atomic Habits', which involves attaching a new habit onto something you already do regularly. For example, if you already make coffee every morning, use that moment to read your book for 20 minutes. That way, your new reading habit is now intertwined with something you're going to do anyway. Another key strategy is to reward yourself, to transform the habit from a chore into something pleasurable. If it's hard to get yourself to the gym, promise yourself that after each visit, you'll allow yourself a treat – a takeaway meal or an episode of your favourite TV show.

4 Even with our best intentions and a great system, stress and interruptions to your routine like social events can still make keeping habits feel like an uphill battle. If or when you have setbacks, accept it as part of the process. Life is full of spontaneity and uncertainty – one could argue that's what keeps it interesting! Use setbacks as a pause for reflection and review. What about your system is working? What's no longer serving you? Then, get back on track.

Questions

1. Match the heading to the paragraph.

Paragraph 1 ________
Paragraph 2 ________
Paragraph 3 ________
Paragraph 4 ________

a. Making habits easy
b. Hypothetical scenario
c. Giving up on your habits
d. When things go wrong
e. Sharing goals with friends
f. Goal setting

2. Choose the correct option based on the content of the article.

1. Which habit does the writer imply is negative?
a. waking up at 5am
b. making coffee every morning
c. snoozing your alarm

2. "I'll exercise more" is a SMART goal.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

3. Which word in paragraph 2 is the opposite of 'specific'?
a. unrealistic
b. vague
c. clear

4. Which statement best describes 'habit stacking'?
a. Linking a new habit to an existing habit to make it easier to remember.
b. Creating habits based on specific goals.
c. Replacing a bad habit with a good habit to break unhealthy routines.

5. Social events can interrupt our habit routines.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

3. Use the words from the list to complete the summary of the article.

Maintaining good habits can sometimes feel like 1) ________. It can be hard to 2) ________ a good routine. But when life sends you 3) ________, it's important not to be too 4) ________. Instead, search for the willpower to get 5) ________.

an uphill battle
setbacks
back on track
vague
stick to
zest
hard on yourself

Vocabulary

zest
energy, enthusiasm or interest

be hard on oneself
be very self-critical

willpower
the ability to control oneself

time-bound
has a deadline or is within a specific timeline

vague
not clearly understandable

stick to (something)
continue doing something consistently, even if it's difficult

intertwined
closely connected

uphill battle
something that is difficult to do

setback
something that delays progress

back on track
continue

Answers

1. Match the heading to the paragraph.

Paragraph 1 b) Hypothetical scenario
Paragraph 2 f) Goal setting
Paragraph 3 a) Making habits easy
Paragraph 4 d) When things go wrong

2. Choose the correct option based on the content of the article.

1. c. snoozing your alarm.Life is getting in the way, and you've slipped into old habits… snoozing your alarm and eating chocolate for breakfast.

2. b.False.It's not enough to say, "I'll exercise more" – that's too vague! If a goal is vague, it's not specific, which is a requirement of SMART goals.

3. c. vague.

4. a. Linking a new habit to an existing habit to make it easier to remember.'habit stacking' involves attaching a new habit onto something you already do regularly.

5. a. True. Stress and interruptions to your routine like social events can still make keeping habits feel like an uphill battle.

3. Use the words from the list to complete the summary of the article.

Maintaining good habits can sometimes feel like an uphill battle. It can be hard to stick to a good routine. But when life sends you setbacks, it's important not to be too hard on yourself. Instead, search for the willpower to get back on track.

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