In his book Atomic Habits James Clear discusses how small changes to our habits can benefit us in big ways as we strive to achieve our goals. This article centers on his insights about developing habits intentionally by creating obvious cues that lead to specific behaviors.

Cues (especially visual) from our surroundings trigger actions that become habits over time. For instance, suppose someone puts a cookie jar next to the coffeepot in your breakroom, and each time you fill your cup you see that jar and grab a treat. Eventually, eating a cookie with your coffee becomes automatic, triggered by the association between coffee and the cookie jar.

Leveraging Human Nature

One way to take advantage of the power of environmental triggers is to create obvious cues that drive specific actions.

Consider this example: Suppose you’d like to make a habit of reading Scripture in the morning. You might do so by placing a Bible or devotional book next to your coffeepot. This creates a visual cue within your morning routine to remind you to read a passage, thus forming a new habit (reading Scripture) by springboarding off an existing one (drinking coffee).

We can also use this approach in reverse to make undesired habits disappear. For example, if you want to stop eating cookies with your coffee, put the cookie jar in a cabinet so it’s out of sight and out of mind.

Self-control is a short-term strategy, not a long-term one.   ~James Clear

Clear says that self-control and perseverance are important, but sometimes we need some extra help when making changes in our behaviors. Priming our environment with positive cues can reinforce and strengthen new habits.

Stay tuned for more tips inspired by Atomic Habits in our next newsletter. Did you miss our first article in this series? Click here!