Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything - BJ Fogg, PhD (2020)
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Tiny Habits - BJ Fogg, PhD (2020) - Notes by Sacha Chua 2024-11-11-07
- Help people do what they already want to do
- Help people feel successful.
Motivation + Ability + Prompt = Behavior
- Motivation: Motivation-ability curve: gets done, doesn't get done, start small, easy to do
- Motivation is unreliable:
- Complex
- Wavy
- Fluctuates
- → Abstract X
- Motivation is unreliable:
- Ability: Person: increase skills; Action: reduce size; Context: get tools & resources
- Prompt: No behavior happens without a prompt
- Person prompt: unreliable
- Context prompts: sticky checklists, timers, notes, …
- Action prompt: something you already do
- Keep the habit alive.
- Starter step
- Where can it fit? Match: Location, frequency, theme
- What is making this hard to do?
- Time
- Money
- Physical effort
- Mental effort
- Routine
- Skills of change
- Behavior crafting
- Self-insight
- Process: growing
- Context: redesign
- Mindset: new identity
- Habits grow or multiply
- I change best by feeling good.
- Untangling knots: positive new habits, then stop easiest old ones
- Anchor, Behavior, Celebration
- Anchor:
- Trailing edge
- Meanwhile
- Pearl Habits: transform irritants
- Behavior:
- Specific behaviors towards aspirations
- Impact, motivation
- Small
- Celebration:
- Immediate positive reinforcement
- Emotions create habits
- Celebration is a skill: being nice to yourself
- Shine
- Rehearse & celebrate
- Celebration opportunities
- Remembering
- During
- After
- Anchor:
I picked up Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything (BJ Fogg, PhD - 2020) after reading Atomic Habits (James Clear, 2022).
I like Tiny Habits's emphasis on celebration and cultivating that feeling of shine, which is something I've been thinking about lately because of parenting. It is much easier to help A+ grow when she's feeling good. In fact, it's nearly impossible to get through to her when she feels grumpy or stressed. Part of my job as a parent is to manage myself so that I can co-regulate when she's off-balance, help her improve her abilities, co-design prompts based on environment and actions, and celebrate with her.
I also want to spend some time thinking about pearl habits. There are some things that irritate me, like when A+ is bored in virtual class and wants me to interact with her when I want to focus on something else. I want to turn those moments into more positive things. She's looking for connection and stimulation. I'm also looking for stimulation and the satisfaction of getting something done, but it's not as important as parenting in that moment. I wonder how I can rewire this part of our day.
Related:
- My sketchnote of Atomic Habits, which goes a little deeper on the neuroscience behind the cue-craving-response-reward loop, the value of focusing on processes, and our feelings about progress
- This podcast episode on The Feel-Good Method of Productivity (The Art of Manliness), which also talked about how increasing willpower/motivation/discipline is rarely the answer, the importance of joy and play, and the examination of driving forces versus restraining forces.