Introducing…
Hexis: The Art and Science of Professional Habit Development
A biweekly newsletter from Aaron Massecar
This issue contains a brief overview on habits. We’ll look at some of the most interesting and influential thinkers on habits - who they are, what they’ve said about habits, how we form habits, and how habits form us.
Books on Habits
The current fascination with habits started with Charles Duhigg's book The Power of Habit. Here are some key quotes from that book:
First, there is a cue, a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habits to use. Then there is the routine which can be physical or mental or emotional. Finally there is a reward, which helps your brain figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future. Over time, this loop--cue, routine, reward; cue, routine, reward--becomes more and more automatic.
But countless studies have shown that a cue and a reward, on their own, aren’t enough for a new habit to last. Only when your brain starts expecting the reward--craving the endorphins or sense of accomplishment--will it become automatic to lace up your jogging shoes each morning. The cue, in addition to triggering a routine, must also trigger a craving for the reward to come.
Cravings are what drive habits. And figuring out how to spark a craving makes creating a new habit easier.
A few years later came along James Clear with his book Atomic Habits:
A habit is a routine or behavior that is performed regularly -- and in many cases automatically
The backbone of this book is my four-step model of habits -- cue, craving, response, and reward…
... the framework that I offer is an integrated model of the cognitive and behavioral sciences.
Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.
You get what you repeat
If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.
Ultimately it is your commitment to the process that will determine your progress.
I couldn't let contemporary writers get all the credit without a reference to Aristotle:
For the things we have to learn before we can do, we learn by doing, e.g., men become builders by building and lyre-players by playing the lyre; so too we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.
It makes no small difference, then, whether we form habits of one kind or of another from our very youth; it makes a very great difference, or rather all the difference
Articles/Blogs on Habits
From Zen Habits. Here's how to tackle each habit:
Write down your goal.
Post it up somewhere visible.
Keep a log and make sure you write in it each day, noting whether you were successful or not for that day.
Post your daily results on your blog or on an online forum, or email to family and friends.
Reward yourself for each day of success.
Give yourself electric shocks if you fail that day (just kidding!).
Actually, if you fail that day, take a minute to see what went wrong, and how to correct it. Now forgive yourself for failing, and tell yourself that you will do better starting now!
Find a way to keep yourself focused on this goal for at least 2-3 weeks.
Celebrate when you’re done.
12 habits of the most productive people
They have set routines: When you make the more mundane aspects of life routine, you free up brain power and time
12 Habits that are making you less productive
Multitasking. Only 2% of the population can multitask.
Putting Habit Theory into Practice
I read somewhere that 50% of our lives are governed by habits. That would mean that most of our actions are not actually directly under our control, but are based on the habit loops that we have consciously or unconsciously built up from our previous experiences. I think 50% is too low. I think it’s probably closer to 80-90% when we take into consideration all of the choices that we make every day. Even the times that we think we’re making choices, those choices are conditioned by previous choices and previous habits that we have built up. So how do we regain control?
One of the first things that we need to do is to become aware of the habit loop, the cue, routine, and reward that is guiding most of our activities. Once we become aware of it and the fact that it is more in control than our conscious selves, then we can start to modify our habits. We can remove the possibility of the cue, we can substitute the routine, or we can starve it out by removing the reward.
For example, at around 3pm every day, I start to get tired. I find myself scrolling through youtube or staring blindly into the cupboard, hoping that I'll find something good to eat. I started timing myself to find out exactly how much time disappears in these moments, and it's about 20-30 minutes before I step out of the fog. Since it happens so regularly, I was able to circumvent the process by one of two things: when 3pm rolls around, instead of waiting to see if I'm hungry or to see if I really do want another set of bicycle tires, I take a break and either eat the apple that's on my desk if I'm hungry or grab a 10 min nap if I'm tired. These two things are faster than the normal break period that I would take and are certainly more rewarding than the alternative. By recognizing the pattern in advance and taking the steps necessary to modify the routine, I am able to achieve the outcome that I would like.
Quick Tip
Want to feel better quickly? Write a quick note of thanks to someone for something. Can be hand-written or through text or a phone call. All that matters is that it's genuine. It's amazing how it can lighten our mood and make us feel just a little bit better.
Coming Next
This issue was meant to be an introduction to the basics of what habits are and how they function. In upcoming issues, we’ll be looking at the neurobiology of habits, habit development strategies, learning habits, and decision making habits.
