The Power of Micro Habits: How to Make a Major Transition Manageable

Big life changes take work. And the work, well, it’s not always fun—nor is it completely stress-free. 

You’re left with two options: either tackle it all at once to get it over with, or bit by bit. While the former route may be ideal for some people—Quit your job! Move across the country!—chances are the latter solution is more appealing.

Breaking any major transition down into bite-sized pieces doesn’t just make it more manageable and realistic. It also helps the time fly by, so you don’t have a moment to be anxious, develop regrets, or overthink your decisions.

This is the true power of micro habits! Never heard of the concept? We’ll explain what they are, how to go about honing them, and where they could come in handy for goals like making a career switch or building a completely new skill set through a bootcamp.

What are micro habits?

Simply put, micro habits are small, consistent behaviors that, when done at scale, help you become a healthier and happier person inside and out. 

The size and frequency of them is key: Micro habits must be easily picked up and executed so they can become a regular part of your day or lifestyle. The best micro habits also come with a measurable difference—otherwise, you can't track how they’re making a positive impact or see how your body or mind is improving over time (note: this won’t happen overnight!).

The “micro” aspect could relate to the time commitment—it takes minutes to achieve, for example, versus hours—or amount of the task, such as writing one line a day in your journal as opposed to an entire page-long entry. It’s also relative to the person: Someone who’s bilingual may be able to pick up several verbs in a new language fairly quickly, while someone without any such experience might want to start with just one new verb a day.

The micro habits you can pick up — starting today

Building any habit, including a micro habit, requires practice. The more you do it, the better you’ll be at it and the stronger your willpower to see it—and any other habits—through. Which is why it’s key to begin now if you plan to take on more goals down the road.

Here are some daily micro habits you can try adding to your routine right away:

• Meditate for five minutes
• Read five pages of a book
• Listen to 10 minutes of an audiobook
• Finish one level on a language or learning app
• Journal for five minutes
• Turn off your phone one hour before bed
• Drink a glass of water when you wake up
• Incorporate a vegetable into one meal
• Take a five-minute walking break every hour during work
• Make your bed
• Do five sit-ups, push-ups, or pull-ups
• Run or jog for 15 minutes
• Stretch for 10 minutes
• Limit TV or social media scrolling to one hour
• Take the stairs once
• Complete at least one chore — a load of laundry, washing the dishes, vacuuming, booking a doctor’s appointment
• Write down three things you’re grateful for
• Do one random act of kindness

Why this matters for a bootcamp

Bootcamp students thrive when they adopt micro habits. Why? Because the realities of a bootcamp program demand that you complete a lot of coursework within a fairly short amount of time — and often, on top of other priorities_{3 Strategies to Balance Your Life and Studies Like a Pro} like a job, family duties, or important hobbies. You’ll also have to untangle subjects that are sometimes complex or unfamiliar, and so having good habits_{2 Qualities that Set Students Up for Bootcamp Success (and 3 Habits to Avoid)} enables you to remain motivated and avoid feeling frustrated or burnt out.

We estimate that TripleTen’s programs require around 20 hours a week_{How to Find Time for a Bootcamp} that cover attending classes, completing assignments, and taking advantage of other opportunities like externships_{Externships: Your Ultimate Guide}.

Twenty hours can seem like a lot—but not if you think about it through the lens of micro habits!

Let us explain: Rather than try to fit 20 hours as a chunk into your weekly schedule, consider all the time you have available between commitments. Maybe you have a free hour after work but before your kids get back from after-school activities. Maybe your Saturday mornings are quiet until you practice with your local soccer squad. With this approach, you’ll quickly realize that the 20 hours have been there all along—you just had to seek them out in smaller slices. 

(Some people require more or less than 20 hours a week to get the full bootcamp experience—that’s totally OK, too! Select a routine that fits your learning style, and be open to adjusting your time commitment once you have a better grasp of what the bootcamp involves for you.)

Of course, that’s only half the battle: Now you need to figure out how you’ll use those hours. After all, what’s the point of setting aside the time if you’re going to waste it procrastinating or not getting bootcamp stuff done properly? Revisit the micro habits philosophy!

Take that one hour you have after work and before your family comes home: You could use five minutes to prioritize your homework, another five to set up a workspace conducive to focused, uninterrupted learning, and then use the rest of the time to get your most urgent assignment done. Or, you could leave five minutes at the end to write down questions you have for the instructor or your mentor when you meet next. Suddenly, that daunting to-do list doesn’t look so bad, and you’re checking boxes left and right.

This is basically what TripleTen graduate Jeremy Laurange_{Switching to Tech for His Family: Jeremy Laurange’s TripleTen Story} found: “What I would do is I put the kids to bed and essentially study for around three or four hours each night. And it was kind of my relax time.”

“I liked to be able to go at my own pace,” he added. “So if one day I felt burnt out coming home from work, I didn't need to do it because I had enough time to do it.”

You might be surprised how much extra time you have at your disposal during other obligations—as was the case for Jessica Powers_{Tying a Career Together with QA: Jessica Powers’s TripleTen Story}, a graduate of the TripleTen Quality Assurance program. “If I had downtime or I was on my lunch break, I got through the reading portion, and then I would go home, and I would work on the practical portion,” she said.

Micro habits shouldn’t be all work and no play, either. In fact, we encourage using incentives! For example, maybe every 15 minutes of studying is rewarded with a piece of candy, or one completed assignment comes with one episode of your favorite binge. All the more reason to do what you set out for yourself!

Stay in the loop for more advice

Signing up for a bootcamp is the easy part—but then what? 

At TripleTen, we have plenty of expert-backed advice to dish out about fitting a bootcamp into your schedule, getting the most out of the experience, and landing the job of your dreams afterwards. 

Want to check if it's the right move for you? Take the quiz linked below!

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