Generally 20 seconds helps to develop healthy habits.

Forming healthy habits and getting rid of bad ones can be easy and fun if you don't focus on change. You can make this transition in your life if you follow the 20 second rule. That's the problem!

The 20 Second Rule is a strategy that helps people form good habits and/or break bad ones. This strategy can be applied in many contexts and can help improve physical or mental health or other aspects of life.

What does this rule refer to?

The basic idea is that when you do something, you should make the task as easy as possible so that you are not tempted to lose motivation. If the task seems easy to you in the first 20 seconds, then the chances of completing it again increase significantly.

How can you apply this to your life?

If you want to replace watching TV with reading a book, prepare like this: put the remote in another room after turning off the TV. Then choose the book you want to read and leave it in a prominent place, maybe even on the couch where you used to watch TV. Reading will be easier the next day than watching TV because you have everything prepared.

Also, if you want to start exercising, prepare your evening wear and gear so you're ready to workout. This change can make the difference between whether you wake up to work out or decide to sleep more.

How it really works

The 20 second rule helps because your brain prefers to spend less time and energy on tasks that you do all the time. This means that you can form new habits if you don't focus on change and the task no longer seems difficult. This conclusion was reached by scientists from the University of Geneva, having studied the neural activity of several people who either chose to engage in physical activity, or chose to do nothing.

So, now that you've learned about this strategy, what habit do you want to change?