Did you know that habits make-up 40% of our behaviors in a given day?
But how many of those habits are you really aware of?
Our habits can be so ingrained into our beliefs and thoughts that it can be difficult to see them clearly. Which makes it even more challenging to form new habits, and let go of ones that no longer serve us.
Luckily, there has been a lot of research on how to form new habits. If you're trying to integrate how to use a standing desk into your lifestyle, follow these tips.
How to Use a Standing Desk Step 1: Start with Small Goals
Don't expect to go from never using a standing desk to using one for 30 hours every week overnight. It's this type of unrealistic goal setting that inhibits people from actually achieving the goals they want to achieve.
A classic example that illustrates this is the crash diet mentality. Many dieters will expect themselves to go from binging on pizza and doughnuts to drinking only 500 calories of juice for a week within a matter of days. Then what happens is they last a day or two, fail, and then give up on trying to change with self-destructive thoughts like "I'm just not meant to live healthily."
Don't fall into this trap! Start by setting realistic goals. Maybe for 10 minutes every day to start, then increasing the number gradually to end up reaching your 30 hours per week goal over time.
How to Use a Standing Desk Step 2: Split the Amount of Standing Time Into Chunks
As you increase the amount of time you spend standing from 10 minutes to 20 minutes and more, you'll likely reach long-standing times quickly. So that the habit of standing stays achievable, break it into chunks.
For example, if you've been steadily increasing your standing time and have reached four hours per day as your goal, consider breaking it into two standing sessions of two hours each. By doing so you're still moving the needle forward on your goal, but you're doing it in a much more manageable (less daunting) way.
How to Use a Standing Desk Step 3: Set a Pace You Can Win At
Patience is the key to progress. Burnout happens when you try to exert too much effort before you're really ready, resulting in hopeless thinking about your goal. Get real with yourself and set a pace that supports you winning, not one that works against it.
While it's great to use deadlines to establish clarity with goal setting, if you're setting unrealistic goals for your lifestyle, you're only setting yourself up for failure.
When it comes to how to use a standing desk, set daily and weekly goals to start. Allow yourself the space to form the small habits before adding on more time.
Need more help making the most of your standing desk? Click here to read our most recent blog posts all about the standing desk life.