Foundation

〜ようにする

To make an effort to (do something); to try to make sure that...

One complete lesson from Foundation. Try the exercise yourself in the Practice tab.

Formation

Form	Rule	Example
Verb (dictionary form)	+ ようにする	食べる → 食べるようにする
Verb (ない form)	+ ようにする	食べない → 食べないようにする

なるべく早はやく寝ねるようにしている。

I try to go to bed early.

Implies a conscious, ongoing effort to change behavior or establish a habit - not a one-time attempt (that would be 〜ようとする)

FormalityNeutral

Describes habitual efforts or behavioral changes. Common in health, daily life, and workplace contexts. Often paired with 〜ています for ongoing effort.

Confusing with 〜ようとする, which means 'to try to (do something)' as a single attempt, not a habit
Forgetting that the negative form (〜ないようにする) means 'make an effort NOT to do'
Using with stative verbs where 〜ようになる would be more natural

〜ようとする
〜ようとする = attempt/try to do (one-time). 〜ようにする = make an effort / establish a habit (ongoing).
〜ようになる
〜ようになる = to come to (do something) - describes a change that happened naturally. 〜ようにする = actively making an effort.