By: Yana Edelen

A few months ago, I was experiencing burnout that had impacted nearly all areas of my life: I felt uninspired at work, fell behind on classes, and failed to prioritize my mental health. I wanted to do the work that would surely improve my mood and health, but following through overwhelmed me—I didn’t know where to start. Thankfully, my friend introduced me to a habit-tracking app called Fabulous, which would supposedly help me establish a routine of healthy habits. 

While at first I doubted the effectiveness of a habit-tracker, I also became desperate for some guidance. 

On the first day, Fabulous prompted me to drink a glass of water first thing in the morning. After completing the task, the app congratulated me on my efforts and presented me with a roadmap that outlined my path towards building a morning routine. For the next two days, I hydrated right after waking up. Once I established this habit, the app allowed me to add a second habit: preparing a healthy breakfast. Gradually, I built my daily routine in incremental steps. Only a month earlier, I was arriving late to class and skipping breakfast. Now, I was starting each day with a renewed sense of energy and optimism. I made no dramatic lifestyle changes; I simply established a 15-minute morning routine. Starting each day with movement and nourishment uplifted my mornings, which led to a pronounced shift in my mood. 

How did the Fabulous app effectively guide me to reconstruct my routine? Backed by behavioral science, the app only allows users to add one new habit at a time and requires you to reward yourself after completing a routine. Additionally, it features a colorfully animated ‘roadmap’ that showcases your progress, gamifying the process of building habits. Fabulous embodies the core principles of building habits as explained in Atomic Habits, James Clear’s debut book. By outlining the pillars of habit formation, Clear explains how we can work with, rather than against, the nature of human behavior to establish our desired habits over time. Atomic Habits affirms that small, atom-sized actions compound into tremendous results — simply showing up is half the battle. 

After phases of burnout, I feel a burst of motivation to nourish myself and rebuild my daily routine. Eventually, however, the spark fades and I once again fall into a monotonous cycle dictated by habits that do not serve me, which accumulate and lead to burnout once again. Atomic Habits affirmed that this cycle of attempt and failure is not my fault, but rather the rule of human behavior—in fact, 92% of people fail to keep their new year’s resolutions. By now, I’ve encountered bursts of inspiration frequently enough to understand both their fleeting nature and that motivation will not cure this cycle; rather, building habits focuses on ensuring those accomplishments. 

First, it is essential to understand how habits form, which can be broken down into four stages: cue, craving, response, and reward. Cues are stimuli in our environment that predict a reward based on past experiences. When we encounter a cue, a craving arises. We do not crave the act of the habit itself, but rather the change of state that it produces. Next, the response is the completion of the habit itself. Whether or not we respond to a craving depends on how much effort a response requires and our level of motivation. Lastly, rewards arise when we complete the response, and they serve two purposes. First, they fulfill our initial craving, and second, they tell our brain which responses are worth repeating in the future. 

In order to form good habits and eliminate harmful ones, we can isolate and manipulate each of the four facets of habit formation. First, we can manipulate the problem stage of habit formation, which includes the cue and the craving. 

Unfortunately, the cues that trigger our bad habits can become nearly invisible. This is because when a habit repeats on so many occasions that it becomes deeply encoded, we only notice the cue at a subconscious level. You could, for example, walk in your dark bedroom and flip the light switch without consciously processing the cue.  In this case, the cue is the darkness of the room, and we are naturally inclined by habit to turn the lights on so we can see. It’s not an action we consciously perform, it’s just something we would naturally do in that situation. Thus, once negative habits become automatic, we have to interrupt this process. If it is not feasible to remove a cue altogether, then you can narrate your actions aloud when you find yourself pursuing a negative habit. Verbalizing our actions raises our level of awareness to the conscious level, and allows us to ‘catch’ ourselves in the act. Awareness of cues can also help form positive habits. One of the best ways to start a new habit is to attach the new habit to a current habit, i.e. an existing cue. For example, you can decide to meditate for two minutes right after finishing your breakfast, or change into your gym clothes after taking off your work shoes. 

When we perceive a cue that we associate with a reward, our brains release dopamine in anticipation of receiving the reward. One way to increase your likelihood of maintaining a new habit is to connect the habit with some pleasurable activity in order to develop a craving for the positive feelings associated. For example, you may decide to listen to your favorite podcasts only while preparing healthy meals. To address cravings for negative habits, it is important to understand that all cravings are tied to underlying motives such as winning, social acceptance, connecting with others, reducing uncertainty, or satisfying hunger. Many of our bad habits resolve these motives immediately, but produce negative consequences later on. In order to make negative habits seem less attractive, it takes a greater conscious effort to associate them with negative outcomes. For example, you may verbally remind yourself of the fact that excess spending will hurt your chances of attaining financial freedom in the future. 

We may also manipulate the solution stage of habit formation, which includes the response and reward. 

Humans are hardwired to prefer actions that require little effort in exchange for greater reward. Thus, it is important to make our positive habits easy and convenient, rather than relying on intrinsic motivation, which can fail when life gets in the way. First, ensure convenience by priming your surrounding environment for healthy habits. For example, you may keep books on your bedside table if your goal is to read before bed. Secondly, make the action itself as simple as possible. While we know that it is helpful to start small, we often still over-aim. When beginning a habit, you can follow the “2 minute rule,” where we dedicate just two minutes to the habit we want to start: reading one page of a book, writing down one thing you’re grateful for, doing 10 squats, and so on.* Eventually, the first two minutes will become the beginning ritual for a full routine. Before improving upon a habit, however, we must first establish it by showing up consistently. To establish a habit, the action simply needs to be repeated enough times to become encoded as an automatic behavior. Thus,  prioritizing action, no matter how imperfect or brief, means that we are at least taking active steps over passive planning. 

*While tiny incremental actions may seem insignificant, their effects will compound as you repeat them. We often expect progress to be linear, marked by consistent apparent improvements. In many cases, however, progress accumulates in the background until we cross a certain threshold where it ‘clicks.’ The bamboo plant exemplifies this kind of growth, as it grows underground for five years before sprouting up to its full height within the span of two months.  

Lastly, when a habit is satisfying, you are more likely to repeat the behavior the next time you encounter its corresponding cue. It is important to present small rewards immediately after completing the habit, since humans are hardwired to repeat actions that bring instant gratification. Since positive habits tend to bring delayed benefits, outside rewards can keep you engaged until a habit’s intrinsic benefits become apparent. Practices such as checking off a habit-tracker can provide a little immediate satisfaction, especially as you watch your progress accumulate over time. Through these forms of positive reinforcement, your brain can learn to repeat an action in the future, so that it eventually transitions from effortful practice to automatic routine. 

Ultimately, our habits are shaped by the circumstances, people, and environment that all reinforce our motives. By cultivating conditions that align with your desired habits, you can build a foundation rooted in self-nourishment and intentional action. Establishing this kind of foundation can increase self-trust, as well as help you progress towards long term goals. Routine also provides freedom; by making the fundamentals of your life automatic, you invite space for spontaneity and creativity. 

If you aim to create a routine that allows you to flourish, I hope this serves as a reminder to start small. Even if that just means drinking a glass of water, you are planting your roots. □

Article Credits

Yana’s Instagram: @yanamariaa

About the Writer

Yana Edelen is a senior at UCLA pursuing a BA in Psychology and a minor in Music Industry. In addition to writing for H3R Magazine, she works as an Arts and Entertainment reporter for the Daily Bruin. She loves playing classical piano, journaling, reading, and spending time at the beach. Article Credits

Sources

 Clear, James. Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. CELA, 2021.