Patrik Edblad's Blog, page 4

Trigger Removal

We tend to assume that our personality drives our behavior.

But in many cases, our environment drives our behavior even more.

So, whenever you want to break a bad habit, removing its triggers from your surroundings is a good practice.

Here are some examples:

If you stay up too late at night, remove the TV from your bedroom.If you spend too much time on your phone, turn off your notifications.If you procrastinate at work, use software to block distracting websites.

The fewer unfavorable triggers you have in your environment, the less willpower you’ll need to resist them.

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Planning

If you struggle to follow through on your intentions, there’s a surprisingly simple solution:

Make a plan.

There’s a world of difference between a vague intention like:

“I’ll get my flu shot next week.”

… And a concrete plan like:

“I’ll get my flu shot at the health clinic on Tuesday after work.”

Research shows that people who make plans are significantly more likely to follow through on their tasks.

So, if you truly want to get something done, decide exactly when, where, and how you’ll do it.

Put in your calendar and set a reminder.

The better you plan ahead, the more likely you’ll be to follow through.

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Temptation Bundling

Whenever you want to make a habit more appealing, you can use this formula:

I will only [tempting behavior] while I [desired behavior].

Economist Katy Milkman calls this strategy “temptation bundling.”

Here are some examples:

I will only listen to my favorite podcast while I work out.I will only drink my favorite coffee while I work on my report.I will only watch my favorite show while I fold the laundry.

By combining things you want to do with things you should do, you get to enjoy both immediate rewards and long-term benefits.

And that can be a very effective way to create better habits.

So, whenever a tempting behavior seems compatible with a desired one, consider bundling them together.

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Commitment Devices

A commitment device is a way of proactively locking yourself to a particular course of action.

It’s something you put in place now, so you will act the way you want to later.

Here are some examples:

Cutting up your credit cards to avoid mindless spending.Getting a long-term gym membership to work out regularly.Putting your alarm clock across the room to get up on time.Buying unhealthy snacks in small packages to avoid binging.Installing a website blocker to avoid procrastinating at work.

A well-chosen commitment device can be incredibly effective.

So, whenever you’re struggling to maintain a desired behavior, think about how to lock yourself into it.

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The Fresh Start Effect

People are much more likely to tackle their goals after “temporal landmarks” such as:

A new year, month, or week.A school semester.A holiday.

Economist Katy Milkman calls this “the fresh start effect.”

Temporal landmarks help us let go of the past and focus on the future.

So, when you’re creating a plan to accomplish a new goal, choose your start date carefully.

By beginning at a temporal landmark, you’ll boost your initial motivation and increase your chances of success.

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Social Contagion

Attitudes, behaviors, and emotions spread spontaneously through social circles.

This process is called social contagion, and it has significant implications for our lives.

For instance, fascinating research shows that:

If you share rooms with a student who has good grades, your GPA will likely increase too.If your colleagues are often late for work, you’ll also be more inclined to come in late.If you have a friend who becomes obese, your risk of becoming obese increases.

The people around you affect you much more than what it seems like.

So, deliberately surround yourself with positive influences.

With time, the way they do things will become the way you do things.

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Celebration

According to behavior expert BJ Fogg, emotions create habits.

If you want a behavior to become habitual, your brain must associate it with feeling good.

And you can accomplish that by using Fogg’s “celebration” technique.

There are many ways to celebrate, but you might for instance:

Do a fist pump.Tell yourself, “That’s like me!”Put on a big smile.

It might sound silly, but it can work remarkably well.

If you find a way to celebrate that makes you feel good, and do it every time you’ve completed a behavior, it will become habitual much faster.

So, always celebrate your wins—no matter how small they seem.

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Environment design

We like to think that we do what we do because of who we are.

But in reality, we often do what we do because of where we are.

The triggers in your surroundings are constantly nudging you in different directions.

For instance:

If you have cookies on your kitchen counter, you’re likely to eat them.If you have credit cards in your wallet, you’re likely to spend money.If you have games on your phone, you’re likely to play them.

In many ways, you shape your environment, and then your environment shapes you.

So, ensure that your surroundings support your intentions.

Make good habits easy to do and bad habits hard to do.

That way, you’ll routinely do what you want yourself to do — without even thinking about it.

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Habit tracking

One of the easiest and most effective ways to change your behavior is to measure it.

Research shows that merely asking people to track what they do immediately improves their performance in that area.

For instance, studies show that people who use pedometers will increase their physical activity by 27% and walk at least one extra mile per day on average.

What gets measured tends to improve.

So, whenever you want to make a habit stick, it’s a good practice to measure it.

You can track your progress digitally in an app or physically on a calendar.

What’s important is that you turn your daily efforts into useful data.

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Habit seeds

You can’t rely on motivation when you’re creating a new habit.

It won’t work because motivation is unpredictable and constantly fluctuating.

So, instead of trying to “get motivated,” make your habit really small.

Meditate for one minute.Do two pushups.Floss one tooth.

It’s no coincidence that the most influential habit books are named Mini Habits, Tiny Habits, and Atomic Habits.

This approach works exceptionally well.

And that’s because when you start with a tiny seed of a habit, you bypass the need for motivation.

You can do it every day—whether you feel like it or not.

And that allows you to be consistent enough that your habit can take root and grow naturally over time.

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