The Power of Autopilot
How 88% of Your Day Could Be Working For You
Happy New Year, everyone!
Here’s to a year of new possibilities and fresh beginnings. There’s something about January that I personally love—that blank slate feeling, the sense that anything is possible, that we can start fresh and reinvent ourselves. And here’s the wonderful part: there’s actually a lot of science behind why this time of year feels so energizing and full of potential. I’ll tell you more about that in Sunday’s article, where we’ll explore the psychology of fresh starts and how to use that January momentum to create real, lasting change.
But today, I want to share something truly fascinating with you, something that might change how you think about your daily life and your potential for positive change.
Before We Begin: Have You Done Your Annual Review?
A quick note: On December 30th, I shared a comprehensive annual review process to help you reflect on 2025 and set intentions for 2026. If you haven’t done that yet, I highly encourage you to [go back and work through it - you can find it here. It creates the perfect foundation for what we’re talking about today.
If you have completed it—wonderful! You’ve already identified your intentions for the year. Now let’s talk about the secret weapon that will help you actually live them: habits.
And if you’re just joining us or prefer to dive right in? That’s perfectly fine too. What we’re covering today stands on its own, and you can always circle back to the reflection process later.
The Invisible Force Running Your Day
Here’s something remarkable: according to recent research, 65% of our daily behaviors occur on autopilot, driven by habit rather than conscious decision-making (source).
Think about that for a moment. When you reach for your phone in the morning, pour your coffee, take your usual route to the mailbox, or settle into your favorite chair in the evening, you’re not making a conscious decision each time. These actions flow automatically, triggered by learned patterns between familiar settings and your usual responses to them.
The researchers discovered something even more striking: 88% of our daily actions are performed at least partly on autopilot. That’s nearly nine out of every ten things we do throughout the day.
Is This Good News or Bad News?
The answer is: it’s both. And that’s exactly what makes it so powerful.
Here’s the beautiful part. This autopilot system isn’t working against you. The study found that 76% of all actions—including those done out of habit—were things people actually intended to do. We’re not mindless robots. Instead, we’ve learned to automate the behaviors that matter to us.
Imagine if you had to consciously deliberate over every single mundane decision each day: when to brush your teeth, which shoe to put on first, how to hold your fork, when to turn on the lights. You’d be mentally exhausted before breakfast!
Habits free up your mental resources for the things that truly need your attention and creativity—conversations with loved ones, problem-solving, enjoying a good book, or simply being present in the moment.
The Two Sides of Autopilot
But here’s where it gets interesting, and why I’m sharing this with you at the start of a new year.
If 65% of what we do runs on autopilot, that means we can have habits working for us or against us.
We can be on autopilot toward health and wellbeing, or on autopilot toward behaviors that undermine what we truly want.
Those automatic behaviors could be:
Walking every morning after breakfast (habit supporting your health) or reaching for sugary snacks every afternoon (habit working against you).
Taking your medications at the same time each day (habit keeping you well) or skipping them because you never built that routine (missing the habit you need).
Automatically drinking water throughout the day (habit fueling your body) or mindlessly scrolling on your phone instead of moving (habit stealing your energy).
The power isn’t just in having habits. It’s in choosing which habits to cultivate.
Why This Matters More in Your Senior Years
Here’s what gives me so much hope about this research, especially for those navigating the 60s, 70s, and beyond.
Dr. Grace Vincent, one of the researchers, offers this encouraging insight: “Our study shows that two-thirds of what people do each day is sparked by habit, and most of the time those habits are also aligned with our intentions. This means that if we set out to create a positive habit—whether that’s around better sleep hygiene, or nutrition, or general wellbeing improvements—we can rely on an internal autopilot to take over and help us maintain those habits.” (source)
Read that again. An internal autopilot working for you.
Not willpower. Not constant vigilance. Not beating yourself up for lack of motivation.
Habits.
This is especially powerful as we age. Energy becomes more precious. Decision fatigue is real. The days when we could power through everything on sheer determination are behind us—and that’s okay.
Because habits don’t require willpower once they’re established. They just... happen.
A Different Approach to Change
The traditional approach to change goes something like this: “Try harder. Use more willpower. Don’t give up.”
But this research points to something different—and frankly, kinder.
Professor Benjamin Gardner, one of the study’s authors, puts it this way: “For people who want to break their bad habits, simply telling them to try harder isn’t enough. To create lasting change, we must incorporate strategies to help people recognize and disrupt their unwanted habits, and ideally form positive new ones in their place.” (source)
It’s not about forcing yourself. It’s about understanding how your brain actually works and designing your days accordingly.
You don’t need superhuman willpower—you need to work with how habits form, not against them.
The Habits That Serve You
So what does this look like in real life?
It means recognizing that small, repeated actions in familiar settings become automatic over time. With daily repetition, habits typically form in about two months—though it can range from as little as four days to nearly a year, depending on the behavior and the person.
Two months. That means by March, the positive changes you start now could be running on autopilot.
Here are some habits worth building:
Water first thing (keep a glass by your bed)
Gentle stretching before coffee (just 5 minutes)
Taking medications with breakfast (same time, same place)
Walking after lunch (even just around the house)
Standing during phone calls
Putting devices away an hour before bed
The key is small, consistent, and tied to something you already do.
Breaking the Habits That Don’t Serve You
What about the habits that aren’t serving you?
The research is clear: willpower alone won’t cut it. When we’re distracted, stressed, or fatigued, it’s harder to resist the pull of old habits.
The good news: there are smarter strategies than “just try harder.”
Effective Ways to Disrupt Unhelpful Habits
Identify and avoid triggers. If you always snack while watching evening TV, try knitting or doing a puzzle instead—something that occupies your hands.
Make the unwanted behavior harder to do automatically. Move the cookie jar to a high shelf. Delete tempting apps from your phone’s home screen.
Replace, don’t just remove. Instead of trying not to do something, give yourself a positive alternative. After dinner, go for a short walk instead of heading straight to the couch.
Change your environment. Sometimes the smallest shifts—sitting in a different chair, taking a different route, rearranging a room—can disrupt old patterns and create space for new ones.
Remember: You’re not broken if old habits are hard to break. Your brain is doing exactly what it’s designed to do—running efficient patterns. You just need to teach it new patterns.
You’re Not Too Old for New Habits
I know what some of you might be thinking: “This sounds great, but I’ve been doing things the same way for decades. Can I really change now?”
The answer is absolutely yes.
Your brain remains capable of forming new habits throughout your life. It might take a bit longer than it did at 30, and you might need to be more intentional about the process, but new habits are absolutely within your reach.
In fact, your life experience is an advantage. You know yourself better now. You understand what truly matters to you. You have the wisdom to choose habits that align with your values, not just what society says you “should” do.
Starting Small, Thinking Big
The mistake most people make with New Year’s resolutions is trying to overhaul everything at once.
A better approach? Pick one small habit to start. Not three. Not five. One.
Maybe it’s drinking a glass of water when you wake up, taking a 5-minute walk after lunch, doing three deep breaths before meals, or putting your phone in another room at bedtime.
Choose something so small it feels almost silly. That’s the point. You want it to be so easy that you can’t not do it.
Once that habit is running on autopilot (remember, about two months), you can add another.
Small changes, given time, become the foundation of a completely different life.
What’s Coming Next
This Sunday, we’ll explore exactly how to use this fresh start energy. We’ll talk about the psychology of new beginnings and practical strategies for building habits that stick—not just for January, but for life.
Because this is the catch: January offers us something special. Not magical thinking, but a natural disruption in our routines, a collective sense of possibility, a chance to pause and ask: Which of my autopilot behaviors are serving me? Which ones need to change?
And this time, you’ll have the science and strategies to make changes that actually last.
Your Turn
As you move through today and tomorrow, I invite you to simply notice: What are you doing on autopilot?
Not to judge. Not to immediately change everything. Just to observe with curiosity and kindness.
Which automatic behaviors are supporting your health and happiness? Which ones might be worth reconsidering? What small habit could you start that would make your daily life just a little bit easier or more joyful?
The magic isn’t in perfection. It’s in awareness, and in the incredible capacity we all have to reshape our automatic behaviors, one small choice at a time.
Because independence isn’t about doing everything perfectly—it’s about finding ways to keep doing the things that matter, comfortably and sustainably.
And when your habits are aligned with the life you want to live, something wonderful happens.
Change stops feeling like a battle... and starts feeling like coming home.
Here’s to a year of good habits taking root, growing strong, and carrying you toward the life you want to live. ❤️