Recently I finished reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. Habit is a great way of framing the actions we take and how we’re able or unable to change them.

 

In February I started forming a habit as a test to see if I could put what I learned in the book to good use. I started by waking up a little earlier in the morning. My cue was this extra time where I didn’t have anything to do. My routine was a simple set of stretches and writing a blog post. And my reward was the satisfaction of touching my toes and clicking “publish” (not at the same time).

This habit has worked, but in a slightly strange way. I often end up completing only one of the two routines in the morning, and then need to find time later in the day to complete the other. This is probably expected given I only have one cue but two routines and two rewards.