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Making what we’re going to do, the time and location clear is one of the most overlooked aspects of building new habits. Because to build a habit, you need to show up consistently. But “just show up” can be an incomplete message. You show up and what do you do? Staring at the screen, the blank page, or any tool won’t do it. Even if it will, it’s not a good long-term strategy, is it?
There is a certain way to handle that. And that way is making your intentions clear. James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, calls it “Implementation Intentions”, and here’s how it looks like:
I will [ACTION] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].
For example; I will work out at 8 in the morning in the kitchen, you get the idea.
That way, you don’t have to go through or check what you were going to do to no avail. If we make the habit harder, we start to resist and dislike it, which, in turn, makes us frustrated. Making it easy is one of the main laws of building a habit.
Also, Atomic Habits is highly, highly recommended. Written in a concise, understandable way, with great insights and real-life examples, and the topic is in everybody’s interest.
