You want to build a habit that finally sticks

You want the habit to hold this time. Let us be precise about why habits fail, because the usual explanation — that you lack discipline — is almost never the true one. First, the habit is too big. You chose the version you admire rather than the version you will do on your worst Tuesday. Halve it, then halve it again; a habit you keep at a small size can grow, and one you abandon at a large size cannot. Second, it is attached to nothing. A habit needs an existing anchor — after I pour the coffee, before I open the laptop — because a habit with no cue is a wish with a nice name. Third, you have no plan for the miss. You will miss. The people who keep habits are not the people who never miss; they are the people who have already decided what happens next. Decide now: miss once, resume. Never miss twice. What is the smallest version you would still be glad to have done?