The difficulty of setting habits
For two days, I've been at a kick-off north of Stockholm to plan 2022.
For two days, I lost my reference points about writing.
For two days, I completely forgot to write!
What comes to mind for me about missing these two days?
Habit structure.
More concretely - Charles Duhigg's theory on habits: Cue, Routine, Reward.
My set-up before kick-off:
- Cue: Shutting down my computer for the workday and looking at my Sunsama planning. "Time to write!"
- Routine: Look at my calendar that day, see what comes to mind to write about.
- Reward: Press publish and feel a bit of accomplishment, pride of doing this, and self-trust for following through.
Going to the kick-off, my cue disappeared.
My days completely changed and I did not use my Sunsama planning.
My environment completely changed.
There was so much going on: visiting a skiing resort, new bed, new food, spending time with colleagues, interesting discussions, walks in the sunny snow landscape.
The cue disappeared, the routine didn't take place, the reward wasn't needed.
So what's next?
Well. First of all - whatever. It really doesn't matter that I skipped two days. I'm ok with it, it doesn't negatively affect anyone else, I learned something + I'm already back on track.
Let's do this. Again ✌️