Tiny Habits: Difficulty of the Reminder/Cue

The notion of the “cue” is worthy of its own discussion and at the core of several of our devices/proposals for the class. Charles Duhigg suggests that the cue can be anything –a location, a time, emotional state, or pattern of behaviors. He narrowed it down to identify the time between 3:00 and 3:30 PM that was the cue for his cookie craving. Further analyzing the “routine” and “reward” mechanisms made him realize it was more about socializing and a mental break from work.

But the cue was my main problem during the Tiny Habits exercise. It was simply difficult to relate the initial cue to the task. My cues were two-pushups before every shower –I think I completed 2 of them during the week. Smile when arriving to my desk –I think I completed 1 of them. Lastly, checking my to-do list every time I check my InstaGram account.  This was the most commonly completed habit—4 times during the week. I put my Instagram icon right next to my Tasks icon, giving the visual cue.

But what really hindered my progress, I think, was the lack of reminders. It was really difficult to remember the shower-pushups in the morning. The only thing I could think of to do was to add a post-it note in the shower, but was reluctant because of my room-mates. I think the cue and reminders are worthy of their own research, how frequently do people need to be reminded, and how long does it take before an association is made. For me Tiny Habits was uneffective, and I just never got past the hard part –setting up the cues.