We’ve all got habits – good ones, bad ones, and every mediocre one in between. We are on our phones too much, love our sugary dessert after dinner, need that coffee before starting the day, or any other thing you do consistently – these are our habits.

Many people are under the incorrect impression that it takes 21 days to form a habit. This is probably the most popular number thrown around when someone is trying to start something new, like exercising or getting up early. I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but the truth is that that number is fairly wrong.

The 21-day saying comes from a study by Dr. Maxwell Maltz back in the 1960s. He was observing patients and how they adjusted to changes in their appearance after surgery. He noted that the average patient took 21 days to become accustomed to their new look, and this information was published in his book Psycho-Cybernetics back in the day. Even though he was studying psychological adjustments, this wasn’t specific to forming habits, but audiences took it wrong and went with it, leading to the 21-day habit-forming myth.

Now that we’ve debunked the 21 days, how can we know how long it takes to form a new habit – and break bad ones? Well, it depends on the habit you’re forming or breaking. Smaller habits tend to take around two to three weeks while larger ones will take you around 66 days. Let’s break it down into six of the most common habits and the time it takes for them to take root or be broken altogether.

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