Although many Internet websites may offer advice on self-improvement, not all ways are based on scientific research.
The Donovan Institute, as a free service to the general public, has identified several websites whose information is based on scientific studies. For your convenience, we show each article’s approximate word count (its length), its readability (difficulty), and the estimated time it takes to read the article.
BEWARE: Even though these articles offer good information, some of them may try to sell you something for a price. The Donovan Institute does not endorse them. We do advise you to become a smart, skeptical consumer before you buy anything. Do you really need what they’re selling? Research it before you buy it. Read some independent reviews about it. Can you get it elsewhere for a lower price? Or maybe get it for free? You might be surprised when you investigate.
“The Science of Habits,” Psychology Today
Apx. words: 1,350
Apx. readability: 9th Grade level
Apx. read time: 5-10 minutes
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-wise/201904/the-science-habits
“Stop Expecting to Change Your Habit in 21 Days,” Psychology Today
Apx. words: 400
Apx. readability: 11th Grade level
Apx. read time: within 5 minutes
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-happiness-project/200910/stop-expecting-change-your-habit-in-21-days
“Study Finds Habits in Children Take Root by Age 9,” Psychology Today
Apx. words: 350
Apx. readability: 7th Grade level
Apx. read time: within 5 minutes
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/school-thought/201502/study-finds-habits-in-children-take-root-age-9
“The Neuroscience of Habits: How They Form and How to Change Them [Excerpt],” Scientific American
Apx. words: 1,050
Apx. readability: 11th Grade level
Apx. read time: within 5 minutes
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/power-of-habit-excerpt/
“Habits: How They Form And How To Break Them,” National Public Radio (NPR)
Apx. words: 1,400
Apx. readability: 9th Grade level
Apx. read time: 5-10 minutes
https://www.npr.org/2012/03/05/147192599/habits-how-they-form-and-how-to-break-them
“Habits: Why We Do What We Do,” Harvard Business Review (HBR)
Apx. words: 3,000
Apx. readability: 8th Grade level
Apx. read time: 10-15 minutes
https://hbr.org/2012/06/habits-why-we-do-what-we-do
“How Habits Work,” CharlesDuhigg.com
Apx. words: 3,000
Apx. readability: 8th Grade level
Apx. read time: 10-15 minutes
https://charlesduhigg.com/how-habits-work/
“The Science of Change,” Thorne.com
Apx. words: 1,250
Apx. readability: 9th Grade level
Apx. read time: 5-10 minutes
https://www.thorne.com/take-5-daily/article/science-of-change-7-steps-to-create-new-habits-this-year
“The Science Behind Adopting New Habits (And Making Them Stick),” Quora via Forbes.com
Apx. words: 1,375
Apx. readability: 8th Grade level
Apx. read time: 5-10 minutes
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/02/13/the-science-behind-adopting-new-habits-and-making-them-stick/#55b4d3ec43c7
“7 Science-Backed Strategies for Building Powerful Habits,” Entrepreneur
This article contains links to other articles related to habit-forming.
Apx. words: 1,220
Apx. readability: 8th Grade level
Apx. read time: 5-10 minutes
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/289564
“5 Science-Approved Ways to Break a Bad Habit,” Time.com
Apx. words: 1,150
Apx. readability: 10th Grade level
Apx. read time: within 5 minutes
https://time.com/5373528/break-bad-habit-science/
“Anyone can change any habit,” The Guardian
Apx. words: 2,150
Apx. readability: 11th Grade level
Apx. read time: 10-15 minutes
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/29/anyone-can-change-any-habit-science-keeping-2018-resolutions
“The scientific secret to building good habits and sticking with them,” The Week
Apx. words: 2,100
Apx. readability: 6th Grade level
Apx. read time: 5-10 minutes
https://theweek.com/articles/711574/scientific-secret-building-good-habits-sticking
“How we form habits, change existing ones,” Science Daily
Apx. words: 900
Apx. readability: 10th Grade level
Apx. read time: 5-10 minutes
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140808111931.htm
“The Biology of Positive Habits,” Harvard Graduate School of Education
Apx. words: 650
Apx. readability: 10th Grade level
Apx. read time: within 5 minutes
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/16/03/biology-positive-habits
“How to Get People Addicted to a Good Habit,” Harvard Business School
Apx. words: 1,900
Apx. readability: College level
Apx. read time: 5-10 minutes
https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/how-to-get-people-addicted-to-a-good-habit
“See Better Habits,” Harvard Business Review (HBR)
Apx. words: 2,000
Apx. readability: 10th Grade level
Apx. read time: 5-10 minutes
https://hbr.org/2018/03/how-your-phone-can-help-you-set-better-habits
“Yale research suggests good rules can instill ‘habits of virtue’,” YaleNews
Apx. words: 450
Apx. readability: College level
Apx. read time: within 5 minutes
https://news.yale.edu/2015/09/16/yale-research-suggests-good-rules-can-instill-habits-virtue
“Yale research suggests good rules can instill ‘habits of virtue’,” YaleNews
Apx. words: 450
Apx. readability: College level
Apx. read time: within 5 minutes
https://news.yale.edu/2015/09/16/yale-research-suggests-good-rules-can-instill-habits-virtue
“Making Health Habitual: The Psychology of ‘Habit-Formation’ and General Practice,” BJGP
Apx. words: 1,800
Apx. readability: College level
Apx. read time: 5-10 minutes
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3505409/
“Habit Formation and Behavior Change,” Clinical Psychology
Apx. words: 7,630
Apx. readability: College level
Apx. read time: 30-40 minutes
https://oxfordre.com/psychology/psychology/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.001.0001/acrefore-9780190236557-e-129
“‘Mindlessness is the new mindfulness’: Lessons from brain science on how to change behaviors,” mobihealthnews.com
Apx. words: 600
Apx. readability: 11th Grade level
Apx. read time: within 5 minutes
https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/north-america/mindlessness-new-mindfulness-lessons-brain-science-how-change-behaviors
“How Long It Takes to Form a New Habit,” brainpickings.org
Apx. words: 800
Apx. readability: College level
Apx. read time: within 5 minutes
https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/02/how-long-it-takes-to-form-a-new-habit/
“The Science of Habit Formation,” Clearvue Health
Apx. words: 650
Apx. readability: 9th Grade level
Apx. read time: within 5 minutes
https://www.clearvuehealth.com/habitscience/