Build or Break Habits

Build Good Habits...

1. Cue: Make it Obvious

  • Make the cue obvious. Change your environment to do this.
  • Have a implementation intention: "I will BEHAVIOUR at TIME in LOCATION".
  • Habit stacking. "After CURRENT HABIT, I will NEW HABIT"

2. Craving: Make it Attractive

  • Temptation Bundling: Pair an action that you want to do with the new habit you are trying to build.
  • Join spaces where the desired behavior is the normal behavior.
  • Motivation Ritual: Do something you enjoy before starting the difficult habit.

3. Response: Make it Easy

  • Reduce friction. Reduce the number of steps needed to take before the desired behavior.
  • Prime the environment to make future actions easier.

4. Reward: Make it Satisfying

Break Bad Habits

Inverting the above method...

1. Cue: Make it Invisible

  • Reduce exposure: Remove triggers from the environment.

2. Craving: Make it Unattractive

  • Reframe your mindset to highlight benefits of avoiding the bad habits.

3. Response: Make it Difficult

  • Increase friction: Increasing the number of steps.
  • Commitment device: Restrict your future choices to only those that benefit you

4. Reward: Make it Unsatisfying

  • Accountability partner: Ask someone to monitor your behavior
  • Habit Contract: Make the cost of bad habits public and painful.

Reference

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