Difference between revisions of "Habits"

Revision as of 10:13, 17 December 2018

A habit is a behavioural routine that is repeated regularly and tends to be carried out unaware, sometimes even almost unconsciously. Normally, the habit is started under a condition called trigger, which can be an event or a situation. The process by which new behaviours become automatic is called habit formation. The main method of habit formation is repetition, which sometimes breaks old habits. Another method is transfer, which is actually not a method of creating a habit, but of reusing and relinking a habit. Success is closely related to good habits, and working with habits is essential for your daily life and your work towards success.

Habits work since humans are habitual creatures. Most of our daily activities are based on habits and are performed unconscious and automatically. The main reason behind habits is efficiency. Unwanted effects are lack of awareness, unintentionality and uncontrollability. This implies that one should review ones habits every now and then in order to assess whether they are still valuable habits given the situation and the goals you are aiming at. It is impossible to live without habits, so the aim will be to select and learn good habits.

Habit formation is the process by which a behaviour, through regular repetition, becomes automatic. The habit seems effortless, however the habit formation is a tedious process, even more so if old habits have to be broken or reversed. In order to establish a habit, the same behaviour should be performed on a daily basis over a period of at least 21 days. Normally, it is recommended to perform the behaviour over a period of 4-6 weeks. The automaticity increases with the number of repetitions.

The number of repetitions needed depends on the distance of the new habit to already exisiting habits. Small distances indicate few repetitions, medium distances indicate many repetitions. Large distances are normally impossible. The Tiny Habits Method of habit learning advocates to split all new habits into tiny pieces and to learn those within a few days. All the tiny pieces together would then achieve the complete new habit.

It is easier to establish habits if you can link them to a trigger, that is already an established habit, for example to an existing element in your evening routine. The brain will create a new connection between the trigger and the new behaviour, and will strengthen the connection with each repetition. It also helps if you feel positive about the times you perform the behaviour, and avoid feeling negative about the times you missed the behaviour. The positive emotion connected with performing the new habit to be, will reinforce the connection. This process of habit formation can be slow and tiresome.

The easiest method of habit learning is transfer. In this case you establish a trigger for the new habit that starts an old habit. Then you only need to adapt the old habit to the new situation. For example, when you have a habit of cleaning the table after a meal, then you can transfer it to making your bed after sleeping. You just need to try to make the end of the sleeping similar enough to the end of the meal, and adapt the cleaning of the table to the "cleaning" of the bed.

Read more in:

• Wikipedia on Habits
• The Tiny Habits Method of habit learning
• Hacks to create habits
• Zen Habits.

Sample habits

For your inspiration, here are a few habits that might prove valuable for you. Make sure that you take small steps. Do not try to establish more than one habit at a time, and try to establish the habit in its most simple form, with least difference to the current state.

There is a good Mind map for focus at Learning fundamentals that can give some input for good habits.

• check email only once per day
• spend time with your kids and partner on a daily basis
• sleep enough every night
• focus on the tasks at hand
• work on 1-3 task towards your goal (important tasks) every day
• have a break after each finished task
• once per day, say Yes to something you normally would say No to
• once per day, say No to something you normally would say Yes to

Apart from these tips, there are two more general ideas you can follow. First, it might be a good idea to find out your ideal daily schedule. What should happen on a perfect day? Once you have such a schedule, you can use habit formation to turn your current schedule into the perfect one.

Furthermore, in the book The four agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz proposes Four habits that will change your life completely. These habits are the following.

• Be impeccable with your word. It implies to speak with integrity, and to use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love. Do not gossip or tell lies.
• Don't Take Anything Personally. This is not easy to turn into a habit because of its negative formulation. As a habit, always remember that what others say and do is a projection of their own reality, and not related to you.
• Don't Make Assumptions. Again, a negative formulation that has to be turned positive. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Make clarity in communication your highest priority.
• Always Do Your Best. Make sure to do your best in the current moment - not more and not less. This will be different in each situation, for example when you are healthy as opposed to when you are sick.