Derval O'Rourke: The importance of small, simple changes — and my overnight oats recipe

Derval's overnight oats

A gateway habit is a small, almost insignificant action you take and it can be in any area of life. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about gateway habits and how they impact how you feel. 

Specifically, I’ve been thinking about the positive gateway habits that make a difference to your day-to-day health. I made some small changes at the start of this year and whilst they were not significant, the cumulative effect of them has made a difference to how I’m feeling. This week I’ll talk about habits and how you can make them work for you. Recipe-wise, I’m loving easy breakfast options, so I’ll share a recipe for overnight oats.

The 2 minute rule 

James Clear, author of bestselling book Atomic Habits, refers to small habit changes as using the 2-minute rule. The premise is that any habit can be scaled down to a 2-minute version, for example, reading before bed each night, becomes read just one page. He explains that we get consumed by the end goal rather than simple actions. He makes a great point that it is far better to do something than nothing at all — one press-up is far better than none.

Reducing rather than removing 

I don’t drink much alcohol, but I do enjoy a couple of glasses of wine here and there. At the start of the year, I started to reduce those glasses and now they are pretty much non-existent. It wasn’t any big plan or part of ‘dry January’, it was just a small change for me. The other small change I made was I started to drink less coffee during the day. I never tried to eliminate it, I just started to be more conscious with how much I was drinking and when. These two small changes have had a positive impact on my quality of sleep which has led to me feeling more rested.

We all struggle more with good habits than bad ones 

It's good to understand that choosing good rather than bad habits is hard. Your brain is wired to choose the option that will relieve discomfort, if the choice is between mindlessly scrolling on your phone or going for a walk it’s far easier and quicker to mindlessly scroll. Realizing that we are all inclined to choose the quick dopamine release is a good piece of knowledge to have and might help you recognise the moments when you need to really work hard to choose the healthy habit.

Understanding your blocks 

Now that you know that choosing healthy habits is hard, think about your blockages to choosing good habits for yourself. The first is often awareness. I recently got a health screening done and was asked to fill out a 5-day food diary. Afterwards, it was really obvious that when I’m busy I choose far less healthy options and that I wasn’t taking enough time to prepare for busy days. Knowing this is a blockage was quite helpful.

It’s good to consider that small, easy positive habits can have a huge knock-on effect on other behaviours and help you to feel good.

Pic: iStock

Wellness Tip: Do something today for two minutes that goes towards helping you to feel well. It could be as simple as sitting and breathing with no interruptions.    

Fitness Tip: Something is always better than nothing, whatever it is you can do to move your body is helpful.

Overnight Oats with berries

recipe by:Derval O'Rourke

An easy breakfast option.

Servings

1

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Total Time

 5 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 240 ml milk

• 60g porridge oats

• 30g frozen mixed berries

• 1 tbsp chia seeds

• 1 tbsp nuts (pecans work well)

• 1 tsp honey

Method

1. Combine the milk, oats, raspberries and chia seeds in a large bowl. Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl.

2. Cover and leave to soak overnight in the fridge. Next morning, top with the nuts and honey and serve.