How To Kickstart New Learning Habits Today
Make habits automatic using “do it now” prompts.
Do you know that people can be classified based on how they structure their time?
We can have deliberate/planner vs. spontaneous personalities. [1]
But nothing is ever that simplistic, don’t you think?
Everyone could be a planner if they had to.
Heck, you kind of need to be a planner most times.
These days, everything from hospital appointments to flights is scheduled way in advance.
Failing to get your ducks in a row is basically shooting yourself in the foot.
But still, sticking to regular everyday plans can be HARD.
At least for me it is.
You know what’s even harder?
Learning and maintaining habits.
By definition, a habit is an “an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary.” [2]
It’s hard to get to the point where a habit becomes second nature, especially when the habit is related to learning.
How do you get yourself to sit still every morning, staring at a bunch of dancing words till they finally make some sense and stick?
In other words, how do you regularly practice an activity till it becomes automatic?
In this article, I will focus on the use of triggers as a way to get your learning habits off the ground.
To explain what I mean, I’ll give an example.
Do you have an activity that you do every single day?
Basic stuff like brushing your teeth, taking a shower, or having your morning coffee.
Those activities are so easy because they’ve been hardwired into you unconsciously.
As soon as your morning alarm rings, you walk lethargically to your bathroom.
Right away, you spot it.
Your toothbrush is right there in front of the mirror, waiting for you to use it and move on with your day.
So how do you make your learning habit like reaching for that toothbrush?
Identifying and attaching triggers
Some habits, like those related to personal hygiene or basic survival, are instinctive.
Most adults can’t even stay awake for 30 minutes without brushing or flossing.
These are involuntary actions.
It’s ambitious and probably impossible to try and make a learning habit involuntary right away.
However, you can leverage your existing everyday habits to propel your learning.
A proven way to make this work is to latch your learning goals to an already existing situational cue.
For example:
“As soon as I have had my morning tea, I will begin my daily Spanish revision.”
“Whenever I leave my apartment for school on weekdays, I will start listening to the Duolingo Spanish podcast.”
“Right after my evening prayer at 6:30 pm, I will read a chapter of XXX book.”
Are you getting any ideas?
Stanford social scientist BJ Fogg includes triggers/prompts in the list of elements needed to execute a behavior. [3]
These triggers scream at you at specific times to go do something NOW.
It could be an alarm, a reminder on your phone, or a part of your daily routine.
Without a predefined set of triggers, it might be really hard to stay consistent with your learning habits.
Can you think of any triggers that can help you maintain your learning habit?
Implementation intentions
Here’s another important question we need to consider: What do you do when the day doesn’t go as planned?
There are mornings I wake up late and have to scurry to a meeting.
On those days, it’s just not possible to fit in my Spanish revisions.
That’s where implementation intentions come in.
Psychologist Peter Gollwitzer describes these as if-then plans that link situational cues and responses, helping you achieve a desired plan. [4]
“If I don’t complete my daily Spanish revision in the morning, then I won’t drink my sleepytime tea until I do.”
“If I wasn’t able to do my 30-minute reading at 7 pm, then I have to read five pages before I turn off the lights and go to bed.”
“If I don’t listen to the Spanish podcast on my way to school, then I must do that during my lunch break.”
I think of them as the backup plans of my plans.
A challenge
Before you click out of this article, let’s make some quick plans.
Question 1: What are you going to be teaching yourself for one hour every morning?
I recommend mornings because evenings care generally much harder to control. Sometimes, things crop up during the day. Wake up an hour earlier to be able to have your full learning hour.
Question 2: Do you already have the resources you need?
If you don’t, we will look at how to choose learning resources soon. For now, just pick a book or other resource arbitrarily and roll with it.
Question 3: What triggers/prompts are you going to latch your learning habit to? Can you set reminders as well?
Choose already existing involuntary habits — things that you already do effortlessly every day. Good examples are having breakfast, morning prayers, checking emails.
Do you have your answers ready?
How about starting tomorrow morning?
I write about how to be productive while teaching yourself a profitable skill. Receive free weekly tips here: https://electron-sink.ck.page/05909d96d7
References
[1] Deliberate/Planner vs. Spontaneous Personality Traits
[2] Dirksen, J. (2015). Design for how people learn. New Riders.
[4] Implementation Intentions — Peter M. Gollwitzer and Gabriele Oettingen
- You may encounter the term ‘prompt’ instead of ‘trigger’ when reading more about this topic. Note that ‘prompt’ is a newer term for trigger used by B.J. Fogg since 2017. However, it refers to the same concept.
