As many as half of our daily actions are habitual. From a psychological standpoint habits are not just those things we do frequently. Habit is a process which leads us to perform behaviors automatically: we don’t make a conscious choice. When we encounter a situation in which we have performed an action many times before, unless something stops us, we repeat this behavior again. The minute we are under any form of pressure because we are stressed, tired or distracted, habits dominate over our previously expressed intentions. It’s why you might intend to start cycling to work but when the morning comes around, and you’re focused on getting the kids ready, feeding the dogs and answering that urgent email from your boss, you suddenly find yourself in your car halfway to work before you even remember that you’d planned to make a change. So how to stop this automatic override? Here are five tips that help you form sustainable new habits.