Atomic Habits 4/? - Make It Obvious

1st Law: Make it Obvious

Part 1 Fundamentals • Part 2 How Habits Shape Identities (Vice Versa) • Part 3 Building Better Habits in 4 Steps

The Habits Scorecard

• Over time, habit cues become subconscious and we still act on the habits

• Can be dangerous if not aware of the bad habits

• Take stock of current habits: "Pointing-and-Calling"

  • E.g. when going out the door: call out most essential items in your packing list

• More automatic → less likely to consciously think abt it → more likely to overlook things

• Performance failure due to lack of self-awareness

1. Make a list of daily habits
2. Ask if good/bad/neutral habit
3. Score depending on your situation or goals (+/-/=).

Scoring your habits

• Good, bad - not accurate

• Effective habits solve problems

• Categorize by how they benefit you in the long run

• "Does this behavior help me become the person I wish to be?"

• Don't change anything at first. Don't blame/praise yourself

• Goal: observe what's really going on

Best Ways to Start A New Habits

1. Implementation Intention

• What: plan made beforehand about when and where to act (how you intend to implement a habit)

• Cues can be in different forms, but common cues are: time and location

• Implementation intention leverages these two. General format:

When situation X arises, I will perform response Y

• Benefits:

  • Increases odds to stick with habits like recycling, studying, sleeping, etc
  • Basically, making specific plans for when and where you will perform a new habit will likely result in follow-through.
  • Helps say no to things that derail progress, distract attention

Many people think they lack motivation when what they really lack is clarity

• Once this intention is set, no need to wait for inspiration. Follow through predetermined plan

I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]

• Can use this with habit stacking

2. Habit stacking

• What: Use connectedness of behavior to build a new habit: Identify a current habit then stack your new behavior on top. This is habit stacking

• Diderot Effect:

Obtaining a new possession often creates a spiral of consumption that leads to additional purchases

• Basically, foot-in-the-door pattern. Human behavior can also follow this cycle

• No behavior happens in isolation - each action becomes a cue that triggers next behavior

• Special form of implementation intention. Instead of pairing new habit with time and location, you pair with a current habit

After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT]

• Can create larger stacks by chaining small habits together - take advantage of natural momentum (positive version of Diderot Effect)

• Once comfortable, can develop general habit stacks to guide you whenever situation is appropriate:

  • Social skills: when I walk into a party, I will introduce myself to someone I don't know yet
  • Finances: when I want to buy something over $100, I will wait 24 hours before purchasing

• Key things about your cues:

  1. Tie your desired behavior into something you already do each day
  2. Select the right cue to kick things off
  3. Consider when and where you are most likely to be successful to do this habit
  4. Cue should also have the same frequency as desired habit
  5. Be specific and clear

• Implicitly has the time and location built into it

  • E.g. if you try to add meditation to your morning routine but mornings are chaotic and kids keep running into the room, then that may be the wrong place and time.

• Works best when cue is highly specific and immediately actionable

  • E.g. Vague: "When I take a break for lunch, I will do 10 push-ups". Clear and specific: "When I close my laptop for lunch, I will do ten push-ups next to my desk"

Environment Matters

• Habits change depending on the room you are in and the cues in front of you

• Habit is context dependent

Behavior is a function of the Person in their Environment (Lewin's Equation)

• Create obvious visual cues to draw attention toward a desired habit

• Cues that trigger a habit can start out specific, but over time becomes with the entire context surrounding the behavior

• We mentally assign habits to the locations in which they occur

• Our behavior is not defined by objects in the environment but by our relationship to them

• Habits can be easier to change in a new environment - you leave behavioral biases behind

One space, one use

• If can't manage to get an entirely new environment, redefine or rearrang current one

• Avoid mixing context of one habit with another - habit mixing will occur and easier ones will win

Read more:

• Part 1 Fundamentals
• Part 2 How Habits Shape Identities (Vice Versa)
• Part 3 Building Better Habits in 4 Steps