Author(s): Jeremy Dean

Psychology

Most of us would love to adopt a new positive habit (an evening run, eating a piece of fruit with lunch, clearing out the email backlog by the end of the day), but it seems we can't quite muster the self-control to make our resolutions stick. Now, psychologist Jeremy Dean shares the new brain science of routine that can improve any person's life, every day.
Habits are powerful, Dean explains, because of the way in which the brain runs automatically. Amazingly, we spend a third of our waking hours falling into habits without even realizing it - ruminating over past events, or clicking through web sites trawling for updates. Such unconscious thoughts and actions can, however, be steered to our benefit. Drawing on hundreds of fascinating studies, Dean reveals how to take control of your brain's "auto-pilot" to transform willpower into reality.