How to Break Unhealthy Habits (A Simple Self-Monitoring Exercise)

Let's talk about something so many of us deal with — the instinct to distract ourselves from discomfort. Whether it’s scrolling our phones, snacking when we’re not hungry, binge-watching, or procrastinating — these behaviors make sense. They didn’t show up randomly. They developed because at some point… they worked.

They soothed us. Numbed us. Gave us something to control. Let us escape for a moment.

But over time, some of these behaviors start to carry consequences — they get in the way of what we care about, leave us feeling worse instead of better, or keep us stuck in cycles we’re ready to shift.

But guess what? We have the power to do something simple, but powerful:

👉 Self-awareness ➡ Pause ➡ Choice

We can start to interrupt automatic behaviors by tracking them — noticing when they show up, what we were feeling before, how we felt after, and what we were really needing in that moment.

The goal isn’t judgment. It’s understanding.
Because when we understand the pattern, we create space to change it.

Instead of scrolling → we might pause and take a breath.
Instead of snacking → we might check in with what we're feeling.
Instead of procrastinating → we might name the task and take one small step.

That pause gives us a moment of power — to choose something that actually helps.

Try This: Self-Monitoring for One Week

Below, you’ll find a self-monitoring worksheet you can use over the next week.
Choose a behavior or habit you notice that you turn to when you are uncomfortable. (The discomfort could be physical rather than emotional–example: tired, and turn to caffeine rather than rest.)

Use this worksheet to get curious. What’s driving the behavior? What are you actually needing?

This is not about being perfect, it's not about judgement— it’s about learning yourself, and gaining awareness, so you can regain choice. If the pattern is very engrained, don't worry about changing it yet. This is just to learn about yourself. See it as intel gathering.

Here are the instructions:

• Date / Time
  Helps identify patterns related to time of day or day of week.

• Trigger / Situation
  What was happening right before the behavior? (e.g., just got off a stressful call, bored at night, sitting alone)

• Feelings Before
  What were you feeling or thinking in that moment? (e.g., anxious, tired, “I need a break”). Rate each on a scale of 1-10, so that you can see if each changes.

• Behavior (What I Did)
  What did you do automatically? (e.g., opened Instagram, grabbed chips, started shopping online)

• Feelings After
  How did you feel after? Re-write the same feelings as before, and re-rank them. Add any new feelings--good or bad, and rate those. You may find that some feelings improved, but others got added. (e.g., less tired, but more anxious or less anxious but added guilt at a 9 out of 10).

• Net Outcome  Overall--with the new feelings and the old feelings, would you say that the behavior was more helpful or more harmful?
  

• What Might I Have Done Instead
  This is the insight column — what was the deeper need? (e.g., connection, comfort, rest, validation). In retrospect, would you make a different choice? This will help guide your decision-making for next time.