Stop Relying On Willpower To Break Bad Habits. Do These 5 Things Instead.

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How I stopped shopping, eating sugar, and procrastinating at the same time — all without feeling deprived or punished.

Shortly after I started my first job out of college, my high hopes were soon replaced with the grim realization that I had landed in a highly toxic work environment. And trying desperately to cope with the situation while I finalized my exit strategy unfortunately meant resorting to three familiar comforts: spending, snacking, and putting off as much of my work as I could get away with. While I knew that these were rather unhealthy stress responses at the time, I hadn’t yet broken my dependency on them during trying times.

But once I found myself in a new job and consequently needed to adjust to a substantially smaller paycheck, I began to break some of these old habits by way of overhauling my finances and getting to know myself a bit better.

Here’s how in my first year out of college I cut shopping, sugar, and procrastination out of my life — in just five easy steps.

Step #1: Identify Your Triggers — And Get Specific

I tend to engage in my worst habits, often without realizing that I am in the moment, when I’m feeling stressed. But simply citing stress as my primary bad habit trigger doesn’t get…