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Commit a Habit to Paper to Break It
Posted by Kevin Purdy at 12:30 AM on April 12, 2008
The Zen Habits weblog faces down the long, hard road we all take to break a habit, whether bad or just unproductive, and pulls out 13 reasons why they remain unbroken. Key among the counter-programming tools we have available are motivation, blogger Leo Babauta says, but one tip in particular helps keep your habit-breaking in league with projects and goals:
You have to write down your goal. Write a start date. Write an end date (30 days is a good time frame). Write down exactly what you're going to do. Write down how you're going to be accountable, what your rewards are, what the obstacles are, what your triggers are. More on these below. Main thing: put it on paper and stick to the plan (don't file the plan in your inbox, you piler you!
Keeping that paper in front of you, of course, is another matter, but the principal is a good one—many of us only truly remember things if we write while we think about it. How have you broken your own bad habits, and what didn't work the first time? Tell the tale in the comments.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
williethewisp
Posted 1:01 AM 12/4/08
looks like a good tip, but sticking to it will be another days work!!
might need to write out another sheet as to why i should stick to writing the first goal!
williethewisp
Hantra
Posted 2:22 AM 12/4/08
Hantra
Bing
Posted 2:47 AM 12/4/08
Someone once told me that if you haven't written it, you haven't thought about it.
I find, even if it's double work, I best remember things when I actually write them down. Committing it later to digital is fine for keeping it more organized, searchable, but I need to do that first step.
Not even typing it into a computer first works. I need that actual pencil to paper process. Anyone else like that?
Bing
jmprado
Posted 4:56 AM 12/4/08
It helps quit smoking too???
:p
jmprado
HumbleOpinion
Posted 5:41 AM 12/4/08
I write my goal in present tense, as if I had already achieved it, and I'll write it a dozen times or more every day for a month. For example, "I am eating healthy between-meal snacks." (It helps that my computer takes a few minutes to boot in the morning)
It should work on bad habits too, but I don't have any left. ;)
HumbleOpinion
Torley
Posted 8:52 AM 12/4/08
+ Watch video
Writing things down is important for several reasons, and chief among them is that it actually helps you remember it better. I feel strongly about it, and it's also why it was the 1st thing I could think of on my "13 tips to maintain & boost your creative inspiration" article:
ยป [torley.com]
Torley
Ashley927
Posted 3:52 AM 16/4/08
I am just like that....that is how I used to study in school all the time. And typing never helped. It was pencil or nothing
Ashley927
VizionQuest
Posted 4:22 AM 16/4/08
@Ashley927: I second that, the physical action of writing in pencil/pen forces you to think about what you are writing whereas typing is less cognitive.
VizionQuest