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Create triggers from "summary" of Atomic Habits by James Clear
Creating triggers can help us form new habits and break bad ones. Triggers can be used as reminders, cues, or alarms that help us take action and make progress towards our goals. They provide structure and discipline that can help us overcome the difficulties of making and sticking to changes.- Connect triggers to external reward systems - like giving yourself a special gift after completing a task - as an additional incentive to staying motivated.
- Place your reminders in areas where you know you will notice them – setting yourself small cues in order to stay on track with changing your habits.
- When creating triggers, keep their number at a minimum - having too much clutter can cloud your focus and make success harder.
- Once a trigger is set up, practice noticing when it is activated and use momentary awareness to propel yourself into completing the desired behavior.
- Start by working out the potential times, contexts, or situations when you can set up a trigger for your desired habit. Consider how you can trigger yourself to start and finish the habit each time you want to do it.
- Think about the environment in which you already feel successful; that is probably where you want to set-up your triggers.
- Make reminders stickier by making them more concrete - try using vivid imagery as part of the cue to help you remember what action needs to take place next.
- Aim to build associations with your new habit. Associate it with something you already find enjoyable so that you look forward to doing it.
- Preload triggers whenever possible; like setting aside the material you need before working on the task, minimizing the amount of thought necessary to commence the task.
- Structure tasks around existing habits - slotting new activities into current routines can ensure they become second nature.
