8:40 am – Well, this is new: Woke up, did dishes, made breakfast, started writing.
I don’t think — no, I KNOW I’ve never done that before. As far as the writing goes, looks like the action trigger of setting up my browser to always open to 750words.com is working, but what about my odd kitchen behavior?
Let’s see…
- I walked in there to carry a dirty bowl that I had used last night and left near the desk, and saw a few dishes in the sink from yesterday [so the bedtime action trigger hasn’t taken hold yet.]
- Then I decided to make pancakes, but the utensils I needed for that were dirty [non-working bedtime action trigger again].
- I thought about making something else for breakfast, or waiting a while, because I felt that familiar first-thing-in-the-morning [old action-trigger] tug to turn on the computer and see what’s going on in Twitter and Gmail.
- But I decided no, I wanted pancakes.
- So I turned on the radio [action trigger] and did the dishes, then made pancakes [gluten-free, btw, and delish!]
Interesting. There was the old action trigger working, the desire to turn on the computer as soon as I get up [and it’s a very strong one that I’ve never been successful at resisting for long] but the new one overpowered it — without meeting any real resistance.
Wow. Plus I’ve just set up a new one: Pandora now opens along with 750words.com when I open Chrome. Music [without words] always helps me focus and write. That should help reinforce this new, first-thing writing habit even more. Yay!
I’m glad I analyzed that. It will help me break down other habits I want to change in the future and figure out what new action triggers might work. Of course, there are lots of other great strategies in the Heath brothers’ book [Switch], but I’ll stick with this one for now.
Ooh, and I just noticed that I made the bed this morning and don’t even remember.
Wow. Seriously, wow. This is big.
How are you doing with changing your habits? Are you struggling or starting to see some success? Let me know in the comments below so we can cheer you on!
Image credit: Elana’s Pantry
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I've gotten a few new habits going pretty well, but now I'm starting to wonder, when do I stop actively tracking them? I use http://www.rootein.com for tracking and 2 or 3 I've been doing pretty consistently for about 30 days. Supposedly 30 days makes a habit. But then sometimes I still have to talk myself into not slacking. So if I have to talk myself into doing it does it count as a habit yet?
I've gotten a few new habits going pretty well, but now I'm starting to wonder, when do I stop actively tracking them? I use http://www.rootein.com for tracking and 2 or 3 I've been doing pretty consistently for about 30 days. Supposedly 30 days makes a habit. But then sometimes I still have to talk myself into not slacking. So if I have to talk myself into doing it does it count as a habit yet?
I have to be honest and say I just glanced at the title of this post at first.
But the great thing is that something stuck with me becuase I have paid attention to a few simple action triggers today and I am definitely more productive + I have a cleaner house, laundry done, dishes done, bed made and I feel pretty relaxed.
Thanks.
Oh that's wonderful! Yay positive habits!
Welcome, Celeste! I haven't heard of rootein but after looking at it, I'd
have to say it wouldn't work for me. I've tried http://www.goalsontrack.com and
consistently ignore the email reminders. For me, action triggers work
better. Basically, that means telling myself [writing it down helps] that I
will do X when Y occurs. Could be doing dishes while I'm waiting for
something to cook or when I have the radio on in the kitchen. Anything that
will remind me and trigger the behavior I want. I'm not sure I believe that
thing about 30 days making a habit because then you set yourself up for an
all-or-nothing mindset, and if you miss a day or two, you tend to miss more.
The action trigger doesn't seem to carry any temptation for self-judgment if
it doesn't work. I just make adjustments, try different types of triggers
until one works. Of course, I haven't gone even a week yet, so we'll see if
my theory is correct!
Yay!
Thanks Samuel, I'll keep tweaking the headlines to see what gets people's
attention. 🙂
More productive + relaxed = PERFECTION 😀
I think you're right LaVonne – the 30 days makes it a habit thing might work for some people but for me, thinking about that doesn't help. Because then I'll just tell myself that after 30 days I don't have to do it anymore! I like your idea of action triggers. I just keep forgetting to implement it . . . still working on unscattering my brain I guess!
I think you're right LaVonne – the 30 days makes it a habit thing might work for some people but for me, thinking about that doesn't help. Because then I'll just tell myself that after 30 days I don't have to do it anymore! I like your idea of action triggers. I just keep forgetting to implement it . . . still working on unscattering my brain I guess!