Tips for Building Habits

Intro

I’ve struggled with to-do lists my entire life. Like many others, I am very disciplined at entering tasks into a list. However, I suffer from “Todo List Blackhole Syndrome” (BS for short). Tasks go in, but they are rarely seen again.

To overcome “Todo List BS”, I’ve added another trick to my productivity arsenal: Streaking .

Streaking

Streaking is a method of tracking the number of times an activity is completed in sequence.

Sort of the productivity flavor of “number of days without an accident”.

The Science

The underlying science behind this approach is trying to create habits by triggering Dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and hormone, produced in the brain (and other parts of the body) as part of the reward system, influencing emotions, behavior, and movement. Dopamine is released in response to pleasurable experiences and also plays a crucial role in motivation and learning

For most people, when a task is completed, the brain creates Dopamine as a reward. The act of checking off a box (or hearing an audible ‘ding’ on a mobile app) is enough motivation to start the task to begin with. For others, more reinforcement may be needed.

The Streak List

My current process is to have a simple sheet of paper taped to my office door (or on my desk) that has the “streaks” I’m working on. In other words, the habits, I’m trying to build.

Each streak has a tally of the sequential times I’ve completed this behavior. I see it every day, all day. It’s not buried in email or in an app on my phone. “Prioritize Task List” is actually the first thing on my streak list… which sounds funny. But this has been a game changer to planning out goals for the day.

Building Habits

Streaking helps build stronger connections for Dopamine to do its thing. The reward/excitement of keeping the streak going reinforces the activity of “checking the streak list”. And after a period of time (hopefully) those “streaks” graduate into habits .

Habit Building Apps

I’ve tried this process before with a number of really cool mobile apps. The problem with apps is that they aren’t naturally in your face. They are great for mobile access, but for people where this strategy is needed, even habit apps can lead to “Todo List BS”.

As I’ve been playing with this approach, my ability to make new habits has gone through the roof. I’ve found that the sweet spot is between 2-4 “streaks”, since that’s all I can quickly glance at as I walk past the door. Like my task list itself, the “streaks” list changes as I build habits and no longer need the visual cue.

Summary

Streaks do not need to be big things. “Prioritize Tasks” and “Drink more water” are both always on my list.

If you’re in a rut of making Todo lists, but never checking back on the list… maybe try giving streaking a try! clothing, optional