10 fresh ways to trick yourself into breaking bad habits — and building better ones

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Every night that I'm alone in my apartment, I grab my laptop and start scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed.

My intention is to spend five minutes catching up on people's life achievements and pretty vacation photos — and then suddenly, it's an hour later.

Afterwards, I feel kind of blech. Like I just wasted a chunk of precious non-working time that I could instead have used to call a friend, or take a walk, or clean my bedroom. But the next night, it's the same deal.

I'm assuming (hoping?) you can relate, even if your blech isn't the Facebook newsfeed. Which is why I've put together a list of 10 strategies, recommended by experts and backed by science, to help us break bad habits and start better ones.

I plan to use some, if not all, of these techniques to break my late-night Facebook habit. But they can be equally helpful for those who want to quit biting their nails, or start flossing daily, or hit the gym regularly after work.

Read on to learn how to take control of your daily routines — and hey, wish me luck.

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1. Start a new habit by figuring out what helped you succeed in the past

Instead of beating yourself up for your inability to commit to a new habit, try pinpointing the specific factors that will help you achieve your goal.

According to Gretchen Rubin, author of "Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives," one way to do that is to ask yourself: What was different then from now?

In other words, reflect on a time when you successfully changed your behavior in the past and figure out what you had then that you don’t have now.

For example, Rubin has a friend who used to work out regularly when she was on the track team in high school, but finds it difficult to make time for exercise now that she’s on her own.

Then, the friend had external expectations to meet — presumably, she had to show up to practices or else she'd get kicked off the team. Now, she's her own coach.

So it might be helpful for her to find a workout buddy or trainer.

The idea here is to set yourself up for success using your past achievements as your guide.

Flickr / Alex

2. Start a new habit by finding opportunities for a 'fresh start'

There's a reason why the gym gets super crowded in early January and on Monday mornings.

Researchers call it the "fresh-start effect" to describe what happens when we seize on any opportunity to leave our old, lazy selves behind and become our new, ideal selves.

So if you're trying to start a fitness regimen, consider putting the plan in place on your birthday, or the first day of the month, or any other date that seems like a turning point. You'll likely see it as a chance to try again.

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3. Break a bad habit through mindfulness

The problem with scrolling through Facebook or biting your nails is that it feels great in the moment, right?

Maybe not. According to research led by psychiatrist Judson Brewer, if you focus on how the bad behavior really feels, you might realize that it's not so pleasurable after all.

Brewer conducted a study in which he instructed smokers to smoke cigarettes mindfully, focusing on what it smelled and tasted like. Another group went through standard training on quitting smoking. Mindfulness proved twice as effective at helping people quit.

Brewer explains that mindfulness helps you observe your behavior — whether it's smoking or nail-biting — up close, without getting sucked into it. Over time, your disgust for the behavior could help you quit the habit for good.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider