Example

The goal is not to read a book, the goal is to become a reader.

The goal is not to run a marathon, the goal is to become a runner.
The goal is not to learn an instrument, the goal is to become a musician.
If you
If you want
want to
to learn
write aa book, you should
new language, focus
you on becoming
should the type of
focus on becoming person
the who
type of writes
person every
who day. every
studies
day.
If you
If you want
want to
to lose
retire30
early, you should
pounds, focusfocus
you should on becoming the type
on becoming of person
the type who who
of person saves money
moves every
their month.
body
every
When day.
you say one thing you’re thankful for at the end of each day, you embody the identity of a grateful
person.
When you leave your smartphone in the other room while you work, you embody the identity of a focused,
productive person.
When you go outside for a walk after dinner, you embody the identity of an active person.
When you meditate
Whenever every
you take a deepmorning, you embody
breath instead the identity
of honking of a you
your horn, calm, centered
embody theperson.
identity of a patient
person.
Whenever you practice violin after dinner, you embody the identity of a dedicated musician.
Whenever you say “thank you” each day, you embody the identity of a grateful person.
When
If you eat fruits
you volunteer andlocal
at your vegetables each
homeless day, you
shelter, embody
perhaps youthe
areidentity
the typeofof
a person
healthy who
person.
cares about your
community.
If you create a drawing, then perhaps you are the type of person who is creative.
If you
If you read
makeyour
a spending budget,
child a book thenbed,
before perhaps you you
perhaps are are
the type of person
the type whowho
of person is wise with money.
encourages your kids to
learn new things.
When you make your bed each day, you embody the identity of an organized person.
When you write each day, you embody the identity of a creative person.
When you train each day, you embody the identity of an athletic person.
Each time you encourage your employees, you are a leader.
“Eat healthier” becomes “eat one piece of fruit” or “eat two bites of raw spinach before dinner.”
“Work on my novel” becomes “write one sentence.”
“Wake up early” becomes “wake up 5 minutes earlier.”
“Save more money” becomes “save $5 per month.”
“Meditate every morning” becomes “meditate for 60 seconds.”
“Be more productive” becomes “focus on one task with no distractions for two minutes.”
“Walk 10,000 steps each day” becomes “Put on my shoes.”
“Keep the house tidy” becomes “put one item of dirty clothing in the laundry.”
“Be a better partner” becomes “make my partner a cup of coffee every morning.”
“Get straight A’s” becomes “set my books out on the desk when I get home.”
“Read before bed each night” becomes “Read one page.”
“Do thirty minutes of yoga” becomes “Take out my yoga mat.”
“Study for class” becomes “Open my notes.”
“Fold the laundry” becomes “Fold one pair of socks.”
“Runeasy.
very three Your
miles”ultimate
becomes “Tie my
ambition running
might shoes.”
be to lose 100 pounds, but your gateway habit is to eat one bite of
spinach at dinner.
per day is very easy. Your ultimate ambition may be to read a book per week, but your gateway habit is
reading one page per day.
sitting down in a quiet spot is very easy. Your ultimate ambition might be to learn to play a full song, but
your gateway
Studying habit
for ten is picking
minutes up your
is easy. guitaryour
Opening andnotes
sittingisdown in a quiet
very easy. Yourplace where
ultimate you can
ambition practice.
might be to earn
a PhD, but
Writing oneyour gateway
paragraph habit is
is easy. opening
Writing oneyour notes. is very easy. Your ultimate ambition might be to write
sentence
a book,
If you but to
want your gatewaytohabit
remember add is writingtoone
money yoursentence.
savings account after you get paid, keep a savings app on
the homescreen
If you of your phone.
want to remember to make a green smoothie when you wake up, put chopped fruits and veggies in
the front and center of your fridge.
If you want to remember to read high-quality articles instead of browsing social media on your phone,
replace the Facebook app with the Pocket app on your phone’s home screen.
If you want to remember to practice your instrument, place the stand in the middle of the room.
If you
If you want
want to
to remember
remember to
to do
eatfive
fruitburpees
each day, placeyou
before theget
bowl of fruit
in the in theadd
shower, middle of thenote
a Post-It counter.
to the shower
door.
If you want to remember to refill your water bottle every time it’s more than halfway empty, use a Sharpie to
draw
If youawant
smalltoline at the halfway
remember to writemark on journal
in your the water
for bottle.
five minutes at 7am, store the journal on the kitchen
table so you see it when you sit down for breakfast
If you want to remember to read a book instead of looking every morning.
at your phone very time you’re bored, set your
phone’s locktoscreen
If you want photo
remember toto
gobe
fora aphoto of themorning,
run every book you’re trying
lay out to workout
your finish. clothes and shoes the night
before.
If you want to remember to practice your Spanish, lay out your flash cards on the kitchen table so you can
flip through
If you them
want to as you eat.
remember to take your medication each night, put your pill bottle directly next to the faucet on
the bathroom counter.
If you
If you want
want to
to drink
remember
more to sendfill
water, more
up athank-you
few waternotes,
bottleskeep
eacha morning
stack of and
stationery on your
place them desk.
in common
locations aroundBy
to your lifestyle. thecomparison,
house. if the gym is off the path of your normal commute—even by just a few
blocks—now you’re
like Headspace – ongoing “out of your
the homebar way”
of your to getrather
phone, there. than filling it with distractions like email or social
media.
Put together a home gym setup. That way, even if you don’t have time to get a full workout at the gym, you
can still do a few sets at home.
Use automation: Get healthy meal kits delivered to your door with a service like Green Chef or Hello Fresh.
Clear
trip to your work wipe
the store, spacedown
of distractions thatafter
the counters will take you off-task.
you finish each meal, and put dishes in the dishwasher after
eating.
Want to
Want to be
wake up organized
more early? Remove the TV fromLay
and productive? theout
bedroom and charge
your notebook your phone
or planner alongacross the room.
with your favorite pen
to write a to-do list as you sip your coffee every morning.
Want to encourage your employees to think more creatively in meetings? Set up the conference room to be
bright, spacious, and free from distractions.
Want to
Want to encourage
meditate more?
your Set up a to
children comfortable,
read more?quiet
Helpplace
them in yourahome
make where
reading nookyou practice
in their meditation.
bedroom with some
comfy pillows and plenty of age-appropriate reading material.
Want to paint more? Set up your easel, paints, and brushes beforehand so you can walk in and get straight
to work.
Want to sleep better and develop a wind-down routine? Move your phone charger out of the bedroom and
place a white
Want to draw noise
more?machine,
Put your your favorite
pencils, pens,candle, and aand
notebooks, couple of books
drawing toolson
onyour nightstand.
top of your desk, within easy
reach.
Want to
Want to improve
exercise?your
Setdiet?
out your
Chopworkout clothes,
up a ton shoes,
of fruits gym bag, and
and vegetables water bottle
on weekends ahead
and packofthem
time.in
containers, so you have easy access to healthy, ready-to-eat options during the week.
Step on the treadmill, open up your favorite book or turn on your preferred show on Netflix on your phone.
Only turn on your favorite TV show while you’re folding laundry.
Only listen
actually findtoityour favorite
easier podcast
to make when
healthy you’re
choices thevacuuming
rest of theor running
day or cooking
because dinnermy junk cravings. …
I've satisfied
At this rate, my first draft should be done just as I run out of soda.”
Only watch your favorite TV show when you’re preparing healthy meals for the week.
Only go to the movies after you have contributed to your monthly savings goal.
Only use social media after you’ve meditated for 60 seconds.
Only allow yourself to eat your favorite candy when you sit down to work on your book.
Only
for read lover
a food tabloids
likeor watch
me. reality the
By asking shows when you’re
restaurant at the
to divide mygym.
meal, my future calories are being decided
ahead of time.
Remove your television from your bedroom to lock in better sleep habits.
Delete games and social media apps on your phone to lock in better focus habits.
Enrolla.m.
5:55 in an automatic
each savings
morning. And ifplan and set he
he doesn’t, up has
automatic
a tweetbill pay to lock in
automatically better finance
scheduled habits.
that says, “It’s 6:10 and
I’m not up because I’m lazy! Reply to this for $5 via PayPal (limit 5), assuming my alarm didn’t malfunction.”
Pay for exercise classes in advance to increase the likelihood you’ll show up to “get your money’s worth.”
Use a you
When website
go toblocker to lock
the doctor you out always
or dentist, of distracting websites.
schedule Or, appointment
your next delete distracting
beforeapps
youoff yourNow
leave. phone.
it’s on
your calendar.
Leave your phone at home when you’re going to an important meeting or going to catch up with a friend or
loved one so it can’t distract you.
Hostan
Use a weekly gathering
automated of friends
savings programsothat
you’re forced
takes to tidy
money fromup at least
your once and
paycheck per week.
moves it to a separate
account every month.
You can
You can voluntarily
reduce overeating byadded
ask to be purchasing
to the food in individual
banned packages
list at casinos rather poker
and online than insites
bulktosize.
prevent future
gambling sprees.
I’ve heard of athletes who have to “make weight” for a competition choosing to leave their wallets at home
during the week before weigh-in so they won’t be tempted to buy fast food.
If you’re
If you’re excited
feeling motivated
about the to get in shape,
business schedule
you want to start,a email
yoga session and pay ahead
an entrepreneur of time.
you respect and set up a
consulting call.
Schedule a date night at a nice restaurant.
Donate to a cause you’re passionate about.
Book a massage.
Get a pedicure or manicure.
Cook a nice meal for yourself.
Get a new haircut.
Take a weekend trip to somewhere new.
Take a Friday afternoon off work.
Buy a new jacket.
Go for a walk in the woods.
Stop by the pet store and pet a dog.
Take a bubble bath.
Plan a cozy afternoon with a book and your favorite candle.
Go to a movie with a friend (or solo).
Take a nap.
Bake a cake.
Go to a concert or a sporting event.
Add a few
Hoping bucks
to do oneto a splurge
hundred fund, which
pushups you can
each day? use
Start to spend
with on whatever
ten paper you want.
clips and move one over each time you
drop down and do a set of ten throughout the day.
Need to send twenty-five sales emails every day? Start with twenty-five paper clips and toss one to the
other sideif each
Not sure you’retime youyour
taking press Send.
medication three times per day? Set three paper clips out and flip one into the
bin each time you swallow your pills.
One woman tracked how many pages of her book manuscript she wrote each day by adding a hairpin to a
container after finishing each page.
Another man tracked each set of push-ups by adding marbles to a jar.
A successful stock broker used paper clips to track his sales calls.
accomplishment every 15 minutes while continuing to work on the large task of writing a book. Each small
win
and fed
her his motivation
doctor realizedand
thedesire to keep
headaches working.
arose about one week before her menstrual cycle began. They
changed her medication to adjust her hormone levels and the headaches vanished immediately.
If you’re
If you’re surrounded
surrounded by
by productive
artists, you’re
andmore likelycoworkers,
efficient to believe you’re
it’s reasonable to create
more likely every
to develop day.
time-management
habits that help you become more productive and efficient too.
If you’re surrounded by readers, you’re more likely to consider reading to be a common habit.
If you are surrounded by fit people, you’re more likely to consider working out to be a common habit.
If your
If you’rechild
surrounded by people
is surrounded who recycle,
by friends you’re
who value more and
studying likelygetting
to startgood
recycling too.he or she will likely
grades,
develop studious habits too.
If you’re
The surrounded
comedian by jazz
Margaret Cholovers,
writes you’re
a joke more likely
or song to believe
every day. Sheit’sdoes
reasonable to play
the “song jazz
a day” every day.
challenge with a
friend, which helps them both stay accountable.
Transition to doing two 1-hour workouts and one 15-minute workout
Go to at
Read theleast
gym20and workper
pages outday
for 1 hour at least three times per week
Finally, youtoonly
Transition get a punch if you finish a book
8 minutes
Transition to 15forminutes
Write on-topic 15 minutes, then write anything for another 15 minutes
Write on-topic for 30 minutes
Switch soda for flavored sparkling water
Switch sparkling
Once you’ve water to
mastered water one page per day of a book, graduate to reading one chapter or 10 pages.
reading
Once
Once that’s
you’veeasy, scalesitting
mastered up again.
down on your meditation pillow for 60 seconds, graduate to listening to a
guide meditation
Once you’ve for 5 minutes.
mastered Once
eating two that’s
bites easy, scale
of spinach updinner,
before again. graduate to eating a full helping of
vegetables
Once you’vewith dinner. lacing
mastered Once up
that’s
youreasy, scaleshoes
running up byand
focusing on eat
stepping out more vegetables
the door, graduateat to
other meals
walking too.
around
the
taskblock
– likeeach day. aOnce
washing dish that’s easy,
right after scale
you useup again. of letting them pile up in the sink. Once that’s easy,
it instead
scale
Once up to include
you’ve another
mastered task.
saving $1 per week, graduate to saving $5 or $10. Continue to scale up until you
“feel” it, then back off a touch.
Strategy Habit
Identity-Based Habits Reading
Identity-Based Habits Exercise
Identity-Based Habits Practicing Music
Identity-Based Habits Writing
Identity-Based Habits Language Learning
Identity-Based Habits Saving
Identity-Based Habits Exercise
Identity-Based Habits Gratitude
Identity-Based Habits Productivity
Identity-Based Habits Exercise
Identity-Based Habits Meditation
Identity-Based Habits Relationships
Identity-Based Habits Practicing Music
Identity-Based Habits Gratitude
Identity-Based Habits Healthy Eating
Identity-Based Habits Relationships
Identity-Based Habits Creativity
Identity-Based Habits Saving
Identity-Based Habits Parenting
Identity-Based Habits Tidiness
Identity-Based Habits Creativity
Identity-Based Habits Exercise
Identity-Based Habits Relationships
Two-Minute Rule Healthy Eating
Two-Minute Rule Writing
Two-Minute Rule Sleep
Two-Minute Rule Saving
Two-Minute Rule Meditation
Two-Minute Rule Productivity
Two-Minute Rule Exercise
Two-Minute Rule Tidiness
Two-Minute Rule Relationships
Two-Minute Rule Studying
Two-Minute Rule Reading
Two-Minute Rule Exercise
Two-Minute Rule Studying
Two-Minute Rule Tidiness
Two-Minute Rule Exercise
Gateway Habits Healthy Eating
Gateway Habits Reading
Gateway Habits Practicing Music
Gateway Habits Studying
Gateway Habits Writing
Environment Design Saving
Environment Design Healthy Eating
Environment Design Reading
Environment Design Practicing Music
Environment Design Healthy Eating
Environment Design Exercise
Environment Design Health
Environment Design Writing
Environment Design Reading
Environment Design Exercise
Environment Design Language Learning
Environment Design Health
Environment Design Gratitude
Environment Design Health
Reducing Friction Exercise
Reducing Friction Meditation, Reading
Reducing Friction Exercise
Reducing Friction Healthy Eating
Reducing Friction Productivity
Priming the Environment Tidiness
Priming the Environment Sleep
Priming the Environment Productivity
Priming the Environment Relationships
Priming the Environment Meditation
Priming the Environment Parenting
Priming the Environment Creativity
Priming the Environment Sleep
Priming the Environment Creativity
Priming the Environment Exercise
Priming the Environment Healthy Eating
Temptation Bundling Exercise
Temptation Bundling Tidiness
Temptation Bundling Tidiness, Exercise, Healthy Eating
Temptation Bundling Writing
Temptation Bundling Healthy Eating
Temptation Bundling Saving
Temptation Bundling Meditation
Temptation Bundling Writing
Temptation Bundling Exercise
Commitment Devices Healthy Eating
Commitment Devices Sleep
Commitment Devices Productivity
Commitment Devices Saving
Commitment Devices Sleep
Commitment Devices Exercise
Commitment Devices Productivity
Commitment Devices Health
Commitment Devices Relationships
Commitment Devices Tidiness
Commitment Devices Saving
Commitment Devices Healthy Eating
Commitment Devices Saving
Commitment Devices Healthy Eating
Commitment Devices Exercise
Commitment Devices Productivity
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Immediate Reward Any
Habit Tracking Exercise
Habit Tracking Productivity
Habit Tracking Health
Habit Tracking Writing
Habit Tracking Exercise
Habit Tracking Productivity
Habit Tracking Productivity
Habit Tracking Health
Social Environment Creativity
Social Environment Productivity
Social Environment Reading
Social Environment Exercise
Social Environment Tidiness
Social Environment Parenting
Social Environment Practicing Music
Social Environment Creativity
Scaling a Habit Exercise
Scaling a Habit Reading
Scaling a Habit Meditation
Scaling a Habit Writing
Scaling a Habit Healthy Eating
Habit Graduation Reading
Habit Graduation Meditation
Habit Graduation Healthy Eating
Habit Graduation Exercise
Habit Graduation Tidiness
Habit Graduation Saving