Habits

Everyone has habits, good and bad, which makes this topic highly relatable. These questions work well for discussing routines, self-improvement goals, and the psychology behind why we do what we do.

Questions are organized by level from beginner to advanced. A printable PDF of all the questions is available at the bottom of the page.

Beginner (A1-A2)

1. What are some things you do every day? Tell me about your daily routine.
2. What are some good habits you have? How did you start them?
3. What bad habits do you have? Are you trying to change any of them?
4. What activities do you like to do in your free time? How often do you do them?
5. How much do you exercise every week? What kind of exercise do you do?
6. What are some things you do about once a week, month, or year?
7. What time do you usually wake up? What time do you go to bed?
8. Do you usually eat breakfast? What do you usually eat?
9. Do you check your phone first thing in the morning? How often do you check it during the day?
10. What do you always carry with you when you leave the house?
11. What is something you do every day that makes you happy?
12. What do you usually do on the weekend? Is it always the same?
13. Do you like to keep your room clean or is it usually messy? Tell me about it.

Elementary (A2)

1. What three habits will improve your life? Why are they important?
2. What are some habits that can improve your English ability? Which one has helped you the most?
3. Do you prefer to do things at the same time every day or do different things each day? What’s good about that?
4. What is one habit you picked up from a friend or family member? How did it start?
5. Who is the most organized person you know? What do they do?
6. What is the hardest habit you have ever tried to start? What happened?
7. Do you have any habits that save you money? What do you do?
8. What’s the worst habit you’ve ever had? Tell me about it.
9. Have you ever successfully broken a bad habit? How did you do it?
10. What’s a habit you had as a child that you don’t have now? Why did you stop?
11. What habit do you have that other people think is strange? Why do they think that?
12. What is one thing you always forget to do? Why do you think you forget?

Intermediate (B1)

1. What advice would you give someone who wants to break a bad habit?
2. What is something you should do every day but don’t? Why is it hard to do?
3. What is a successful life? What habits should you have to have a successful life?
4. What habits from your culture might confuse people from other countries?
5. What’s a habit that many people have but you don’t? Why not?
6. Do you prefer to plan your day or just see what happens? Why?
7. Should people try to break all their bad habits? Why or why not?
8. What do you think makes a habit ‘good’ or ‘bad’? Is it the same for everyone?
9. How does your morning routine affect the rest of your day?
10. If you could instantly change one habit about yourself, what would it be? Why that one?
11. Do you think technology has given people more good habits or more bad ones? Give me some examples.
12. Some people say it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Do you think that is true? Why or why not?
13. What is a habit that most people think is bad but you think is actually fine? Why do you think so?
14. Should schools teach students how to build good habits? Why or why not?
15. Do you think people’s habits are mostly shaped by their family or by their friends? What makes you think that?

Upper-Intermediate (B2)

1. Why do people keep doing things they know are bad for them? What makes it so hard to change?
2. How has social media changed people’s daily habits compared to ten years ago? What do you think about those changes?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a very structured daily routine?
4. Compare how people develop habits in childhood versus adulthood. What’s different about the process?
5. How is forming a habit different from developing an addiction? Where do you draw the line?
6. How are the daily habits of people who work from home different from those who go to an office? How is it different for their health and social life?
7. Why do so many people struggle to keep New Year’s resolutions? What would make them more likely to succeed?
8. How do the spending habits of younger generations differ from those of their parents? What has caused those differences?
9. Some people believe willpower is all you need to change a habit, while others say you need to change your environment. Which argument is stronger?
10. What responsibilities do companies have when their products are designed to be habit-forming? Where should the line be drawn?
11. What factors in modern life make it harder to maintain healthy habits compared to the past? How often have you experienced this yourself?

Advanced (C1)

1. Habits are deeply personal, yet entire industries exist to change them. How does the self-improvement industry shape what people consider a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ habit?
2. People often say they want to change their habits, but their behavior stays the same. What does this gap between what people say and what they actually do reveal about human nature?
3. Social media has made people’s daily routines more visible than ever. How has this visibility changed the way people think about and perform their habits?
4. Children’s habits are often shaped by parents, schools, and advertising long before they can choose for themselves. At what point does guiding a child’s habits cross into controlling who they become?
5. In many workplaces, being seen as a person with ‘productive habits’ matters just as much as the actual work you produce. How do expectations about habits create pressure to perform discipline rather than actually be disciplined?
6. Throughout history, what people considered healthy habits has changed dramatically — from smoking being recommended by doctors to today’s obsession with wellness routines. How should we think about current health habits knowing that future generations may see them as harmful?
7. Some people argue that poverty makes it nearly impossible to develop ‘good’ habits like eating well and exercising, while others say habits are a matter of personal choice regardless of circumstances. Where does the truth lie?
8. Many people describe their habits as part of their identity — ‘I’m a morning person,’ ‘I’m a reader,’ ‘I’m a runner.’ How do habits become tied to who we think we are, and what happens when we can no longer maintain them?
9. Why have productivity and self-optimization habits become so central to modern identity? What cultural shifts drove this change?
10. What tensions exist between short-term comfort and long-term well-being in habit formation? How do societies address this?

PDF: Download a PDF of all the questions