2020-09-13 Habits work in 3-step

In 2006, a study found up to 40% of what we do happens on autopilot. That means we spend 6 of our 16 waking hours each day doing things we’re unaware of!

That’s a lot of driving in the dark, and so it’s worth trying to understand what’s going on here. Duhigg discovered all habits consist of a simple, 3-part loop: cue — routine — reward.

Let’s take your daily coffee habit as an example.

The cue is what triggers you to do the habit, for example sitting down at your kitchen table every morning at 7 AM.

The routine is the behavior you then automatically engage in, which, for drinking coffee, might be to go over to your coffeemaker, turn it on, and press the “large cup” button.

Lastly, you’ll receive a reward for completing the routine. In this case, you’ll get the rich smell of your coffee, the hearty taste of a hot, bitter drink, and maybe even a nice view of the sunrise. You’ll also feel alert and awake from the caffeine.

Your brain’s activity only spikes twice during this loop: at the beginning and at the end. First, your brain must figure out which habit to engage in. Then, the routine happens with little brain interference. Finally, the spike at the end reinforces the link between cue and routine.

That’s why habits become stronger the more often we do them, and why habits we’ve had for a long time are hard to change — but it’s always possible.