Yeah so I didn't think about writing a blog about this until I was mid-way through the audiobook, so you're going to have to deal with my memory.
What do you identify as?
Someone who is "trying to quit smoking" still identifies as a smoker. Someone who is quitting but says they're not a smoker will have a better chance at quitting because of the identity.
SO it's better to identify as a healthy person. Being healthy means you exercise more and eat better. Opposed to if I eat better and go to the gym, I will become a healthy person.
What are your habits? Log them
Wake up > turn off alarm > scroll for an hour > get out of bed.
Now you've identified your habits, you can choose to correct them.
Reduce friction to form good habits, increase friction for bad
If you want to learn guitar, keep it in the middle of the living room. If you want to eat better, hide your snacks in a cupboard and leave fruit in a bowl on the bench.
Make a statement
An example being: "As soon as I close my laptop for lunch, I will do 20 pushups by my desk".
It's an exact time. It's an exact task. It's an exact location. And attached to an existing habit: closing the laptop lid for lunch.
Point and yell
If you want to give up something, call it out. "I have pulled my phone out of my pocket to scroll social media. Is this the best use of my time?"
Habit stacking
Attach the new habit to an existing one. Wake up > get out of bed > get dressed in active wear> brush teeth > go for a run. You've reduced the friction around going for a run by getting dressed in running gear. And you associate brushing your teeth with going for a run straight after.
Do and reward
Set yourself up with something like "I can watch 5 episodes of a Netflix if I write 1 blog post"
NEW ADDITIONS
QUALITY OVER QUALITY
He refers to a photography course. Half is marked on the amount of images they take - 100 photos = 100%. The other half only had to take one image.
The quantity group took better photos. The reason is practice. They got to experiment vs being paralyzed to make every correct decision.
"Doing the reps" is shorthand here. Do more reps in the gym, the stronger you will be
TWO MINUTE RULE
Start your new habit with something that takes no more than 2 mins. A marathon starts with putting your shoes on and/or getting into activewear.
The next step might be going for a 2 min run. 10min walk. Something easy. The intention is to stop BEFORE the task becomes a chore
This is where I'm up to.