As humans, we have a limited amount of mental storage space. When we’re busy and we have dozens of ideas, tasks, and goals to track simultaneously, things may start slipping through the cracks. Basic productivity tools such as to-do lists, calendars, reminder apps, and so forth help mitigate this mental overload. Most of us use these tools on a daily basis to keep track of our lives. However, we may not be using them to their full potential.
Suppose you have identified something that keeps slipping through the cracks – something that you wish were habitual so that you wouldn’t forget to do it. We all know how challenging it can be to form new habits and rid ourselves of bad ones. Rather than simply making a mental decision to change, approach habit change as if it were an appointment or scheduled task. Add it as an action item in your calendar at a specific time. Set a reminder for yourself. The less you have to think about it, the more automatic it will become. Eventually, your desired habit will truly become a habit (at which point, you’ll no longer need a tool to help you out).
If you’re interested in making desired habits more automatic, check out the following article published this week on the LifeHacker blog:
http://lifehacker.com/use-the-principle-of-automatic-savings-to-build-better-1686726584
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