Redesign a loop

Self-Help · Intermediate

Apply the habit loop (cue, routine, reward) to transform a behavior you want to change, following Charles Duhigg.

Micro-habits to get started

Small actions of a few minutes to start this habit:

Isolate the cue

When the urge for the habit you want to change appears, note the time, where you are, how you feel, who's around and what you did just before.

Triggers almost always fall into one of those five categories.

2 min

Find the real reward

Try a different alternative when the cue appears and see whether it settles the same craving. That's how you discover which reward you were really after.

We often think we know the reward and get it wrong (the sweet, or the break?).

3 min

Swap the routine

With the same cue, run a new routine that delivers the same reward. Write the plan: 'when X happens, I'll do Y'.

A habit isn't eliminated, it's transformed: same cue and reward, new routine.