Hacking Habits

A hands-on guide to developing the habits you want quickly and effectively.

Time log studies suggest that over 40% of our time on this earth is typically spent in the same contexts, doing the same behaviors. This may sound depressingly monotonous or scary to some readers, but it also presents us with an incredible opportunity: By gaining control over our habits, we can make our lives so much easier.

We can act in autopilot mode, focus on the tasks, ideas, and people around us, and still feel good at the end of the day!

Yet how do we gain such control with minimal effort (since ain’t nobody got time for will power?). First, we understand how habits work. Then, we track our habits and strategically layer on rewards to make them stick.

Recognizing Habits

We tend to equate habits with behaviors, such as smoking or meditating, but a habit is actually made up of three stages that often take place within such a small window of time that they seem indistinguishable.

To illustrate, here is a typical situation:

Habit “loops” are made up of three stages: a cue, a routine, and a reward. These stages can be subtle or multifarious, so extricating them can be tricky. Recognizing a habit loop is the first step to changing it.

Now, breaks are totally fine — maybe you need to think or maybe your eyes need a rest — but Facebook does not help in either of these situations. To say nothing of the risk that you get distracted and, for example, decide it’s really time you change your cover photo. So you want to break this habit.

Replacing Habits

I suspect many readers already know or at least can accept that replacing a bad behavior with a healthier alternative is more effective than simply trying to ignore the cue and do nothing.

The trouble is, after subbing our behavior, we tend to ignore the reward or replace it with something much weaker.

Feeling proud of yourself for a moment after you replace a behavior is certainly rewarding and warranted. But it is forgettable, and therefore not likely to change your behavior next time.

Why do we do this? I have a few theories.

First, we forget that a reward is part of the habit equation. Second, maybe we don’t know what a better reward would look like. Third, we don’t think we need a reward. Or we think that the feeling of pride will be enough.

We do need a reward though, and the feeling of pride is not enough. Here is the difference between a weak reward and strong reward:

A weak reward is nice but forgettable — it is insufficient to pull you away from your default habit the next time you’re on autopilot mode. A strong reward is memorable. It is something you look forward to, and it is enough to kick you out of autopilot mode into consciousness.

A pleasant daydream that lasts for several minutes is memorable. Plus, it gives your brain and eyes the rest they might actually need to get back to work!

Recording Habits

The challenge, however, is remembering to do any of this in the first place. Enter the habit tracker.

By habit tracker, I mean something that holds you accountable and thus forces you to be conscious. It can be a person, a journal, a big wall calendar, or my personal preference: a habit tracking app.

An app is nice because you tend to have your phone on you most of the time so you can log immediately following the habit, and it helps to organize the information over time for maximum insights and strategizing down the road.

Fortunately, there are a multitude of apps out there to choose from. I like Way of Life for daily habit tracking and Streaks for weekly or sporadic habits.

However you track your habits, remember that recognition is the first step to change. So don’t worry about your performance — feel proud of yourself for just recording and trust that you are putting yourself in position to change when you are ready.

Rewarding Habits

On top of helping you recognize your habits, using a habit tracker also provides a mini rewarding experience. Seeing your app change color or drawing an X on your calendar feels good.

But for maximum success, layer stronger rewards on top. Thus, your tracking system also serves as a reminder. Good behavior -> Track -> Reward.

Rewards are yours to get creative with, but here are a few ideas to get the juices flowing.

• Reframe a bad behavior. Bad behaviors make for the best rewards, assuming you employ them sensibly. For instance, using social media as a reward for staying off social media is self-defeating. But going on Instagram for doing the dishes is great.
• Eschew self-doubt. I love this one. It’s perfectly healthy (in fact, many of us would benefit from more unreserved confidence), and can be powerful. Basically, wait to post something, or respond to a text/email, or whatever else you are unsure about until you want to reward a habit, and then 100% feel good about it.
• Accumulate. Instead of five minutes of daydreaming now, maybe get five minutes towards a TV show later. Or build your way to earning a purchase/shopping spree. As a bonus, delaying gratification makes us appreciate it more.
• Enjoy the behavior. Good behaviors are often rewarding in themselves — we just need to remember to savor them. This is especially true when building a new habit (as opposed to focused replacement). Looking to start taking public transit or biking to work? Relax and enjoy the ride! And for the habit of recording your habits, definitely find a system you like and have fun with it.

Concluding Thoughts

I get it. Rewarding yourself all the time can feel self-indulgent or amiss. But here’s the thing — reinforcing good habits every day is probably the single best thing you can do to improve your health, happiness, and productivity over the long term. So you truly deserve it.

As such, for making it this far, please accept this little gem/idea for something to do if you’re ever bored in a store.

Cruising reddit/r/funny is another favorite reward of mine.

Happy hacking!