Forget January’s ‘New Year, New You’ — Here’s why October’s the best month to start building new habits

by Lara Mills

January tends to go one of two ways: you either look forward to the fresh start of the new year, or you can feel daunted by the pressure to set lifestyle goals. With all the right intentions to start an ambitious meal plan or sign up for a gym membership, my enthusiasm tends to wane by February. 

It should be no surprise: often dubbed ‘the most depressing month of the year’,¹ it’s odd that January would be considered the optimal time to start forming new habits. You may even experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which is a type of depression that occurs during the winter months.² Regardless, when the weather is cold, the days are dark, the joviality of the holidays is over, and finances feel strained after gift shopping, it can feel hard to keep motivation high. 

There’s nothing wrong with a January reset, but there’s another month that might actually make more sense for building habits that last: October. 

By October, the spontaneity of summer has usually settled down, and the clocks go back which gifts us an extra hour of sleep. The holidays are over, the diary is looking a little more predictable, and those long evenings of dinners, drinks and weekends away have given way to earlier nights and more familiar routines. Christmas is on the horizon, but still far enough away that there’s time to lay some foundations before the next round of celebrations begins. 

In other words, October gives you something January often doesn’t: time to practise. 

Habits don’t happen overnight 

It’s a common myth that it takes 21 days to form a habit.³ The reality is much less predictable. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis of 20 studies found that health habits typically took around two to five months to develop, although there was considerable variation between individuals.³ In other words, consistency matters more than a perfect start. 

It’s useful to keep this in mind: we’re all individuals and so one person’s timeline may not work for another. Perhaps you could consider bitesize milestones, like trying a new habit for a month, and then adding on another month at a time. The aim is to make something familiar enough that, eventually, you don’t have to think so hard about doing it. 

The two-to-five month bracket also makes October an interesting time to begin. If you give yourself the quieter months of autumn to establish a few simple routines, by the time the new year comes around, they may already feel less like something you have to remember and more like part of everyday life. 

Start small, before you need a reset 

Rather than waiting until January to make a long list of everything you want to change, autumn is a good time to look at the basics. Could a nutritious breakfast be a little more consistent? Could you get outside for a walk before the darker evenings really set in? Could bedtime become a little less negotiable? Could taking your supplements become part of an existing routine rather than something you remember to do when you happen to think of it? 

The trick is to attach the new habit to something you already do. Take your supplement after brushing your teeth. Keep it beside your coffee machine. Have it with breakfast. Put your water bottle on your desk the night before. These tiny cues remove some of the decision-making involved, where one familiar action prompts the next. 

Your gut needs time 

If you’re looking to improve your overall health with Invivo, there’s another reason not to think in terms of quick fixes. Your gut microbiome is constantly responding to factors such as what you eat, your environment and your lifestyle, but meaningful changes aren’t necessarily immediate or predictable. 

The microbiome is complex and highly individual, which is why changes to your diet or routine are generally best given time to become established. Rather than expecting to “fix” your gut health in a fortnight, it makes more sense to focus on what you’re doing consistently over the weeks and months that follow. 

That might mean giving your gut the everyday things it needs: plenty of plant variety and fibre, enough fluid, regular movement and a diet that doesn’t need to be perfect to be nourishing, while also taking your chosen supplement regularly. 

Make the habit something you actually enjoy 

There’s a practical side to this, too. If a new habit feels like another chore on an already long to-do list, you're unlikely to stick to it longer than necessary. Finding small ways to make it enjoyable can help turn a tick-box task into part of your routine. 

That could be as simple as having a favourite mug waiting for your morning drink, dispensing your supplements into a fancy jar, trying a new recipe at the weekend or giving yourself something small to look forward to when you’ve kept up your routine for another month. 

It’s one reason we’re introducing Invivo’s new loyalty programme. Alongside the convenience of having your supplements arrive when you need them, subscribers can unlock a different gift each month, for the first 10 months — from recipe books and a supplement organiser to a ceramic mug. 

Terms apply: see (LANDING PAGE) for gift schedule, eligibility and cancellation. 

Building a habit doesn’t have to feel like a test of willpower. Making the routine easier, more visible or simply more enjoyable can help it fit naturally into everyday life. 

Think beyond January 

By the time January arrives, you might still want to make changes. You might not. Either way, you won’t be starting from scratch. 

A few months of consistent, manageable habits can give you something much more useful than the temporary motivation of a January overhaul: a routine that already feels like yours. 

So perhaps it’s time to forget the “new year, new you” mindset. There’s no need to become a completely different person in January. Just give yourself a head start. 

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