Make your Habits More obvious in April-

The 1st Law of Behavior Change is making it obvious.

I have a streak counter on my phone. I have to read the books of the month every day for about 20 minutes.

This week, I had a five-day streak, but Friday came with a pattern disruption that scattered my whole structure. I want you to keep this in mind as we explore this law.

Let me welcome you at this junction. This is a series on habit-changing This stuff is the first step to a life-changing path!

I have written this so that you can just take the concept here and implement it.

Two words you need to keep in mind as we explore:

🔑 Cue: A cue is a trigger or prompt that initiates a behavior or habit. It's the first step in the habit loop

💡 Obvious: For a new habit to stick, the cue triggering it needs to be obvious and noticeable in your environment or routine.

Since we know that a cue directly leads to a craving, we can explore this. Our brain has evolved to be constantly looking for cues.

Take, for instance, the case of a nurse who figured out that her father-in-law was about to have a heart attack just by looking at his face. Well, it turns out...

When major arteries are obstructed, the body focuses on sending blood to critical organs and away from peripheral locations near the surface of the skin. The result is a change in the pattern of distribution of blood in the face, and this was the cue she picked up on.

Now, let's talk about how we can make the cues for our new habits obvious.

HABIT SCORECARD

Before you build a new city, you have to evaluate the current structure!

Remember, we talked about how habits totally rule our lives, regardless of our intentions? So, look inward, take a piece of paper, and try to write down the things you already do. When I did this in 2021, I was surprised at the undesirable habits I had filled my time with. I recommend you have two lists: work days and non-work days.

As a 9-5 worker, I truly recommend you do this for habits you do throughout your day including traffic times, and what you do when you get back home. You'll be surprised at what you notice.

Once you have your full list, look at each behavior and ask yourself, "Is this a good habit, bad habit, or neutral habit?" Place a (+) beside good habits, (-) beside bad habits, (=) beside neutral habits.

Here is a short example:

- Wake up (=)

- Turn off alarm (=)

- Check my phone (-)

- Go to the bathroom (=)

- Brush my teeth and take a shower (+)

- Transit to work (=)

- Check social media for 2 hours during transit home (-)

- Eat dinner (=)

- Watch Netflix (-)

- Family time (+)

- Sleep (+)

To avoid overwhelming yourself, when you do this at first, the goal is to simply notice what is actually going on. Observe your thoughts and actions without judgment or internal criticism.

Then, decide if they are effective for your goals and in the long run. Does this behavior help me to become the type of person I wish to be?

Does this habit cast a vote for or against my desired identity?

After you have answered this question, you can now proceed!

Implementation Intention

This has been a tool that has really helped me, and I have a higher success rate of doing tasks when I use Implementation Intention.

Here's how it works:

Design a clear plan for when and where the habit will occur.

Okay, let's explore further.

The cues that can trigger a habit come in a wide range of forms—the feel of your phone buzzing in your pocket, the smell of chocolate chip cookies, the sound of ambulance sirens—but the two most common cues are **time** and **location**.

Here's a formula:

*"When situation X arises, I will perform response Y."*

"When it's 12:00 PM, I'll leave my desk, walk to the back office, and journal for 15 minutes.

Yes, this is something I do on most days.

Hundreds of studies have shown that implementation intentions are effective for sticking to our goals, whether it's reading two hours daily or working on that side business or sending out your CV for a better chance. They increase the odds that people will stick with habits like recycling, studying, going to sleep early, and stopping smoking.

That's all the time we have today. Next week(Sunday), we'll talk about habit stacking and environment design 🌳

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🪙RESOURCE SECTION

📽️Video of the Week: Runnin' Down a Dream: How to Succeed and Thrive in a Career You Love - Bill Gurley:

📕Book Recommendation : Atomic Habit- James clear

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Dave♦|TheGrowthProject

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