Just Seven Things

Exploring why and how we do what we do, and how we can do it better

Archive for the category “Habits and Routines”

30 Jun 2008
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How the Brain Loves Simplicity

I had been looking for a while how to bring into a post reference to a column by Ed Cooke for the Times a few weeks ago.  Called Mr Memory, How not to forget your keys, there were a number of things I loved:

1. Paragraph 2: ‘Almost everyone finds it difficult to recall where they’ve left their keys. There’s no doubt that it’s just much more difficult than recalling where, for instance, you last wrestled a bear or spanked a nun’

2. It re-highlights David Allen’s comments at the start of Getting Things Done which question how sophisticated the workings of the brain can be if the best way of remembering to take something to work the next day is to leave it by the door

3. Because of the simplicity implied in 2. above, it aligns with my current thinking/ theme about change coming from the application of simple things to ‘nudge’ action as opposed to top down (mind-led) command and control

4. The imbuing of the keys (or any other object which you are attempting to avoid losing) with human traits is the main topic of the short column (apparently ‘imbue your keys with character and life’). This made me think in a different way about other snippets I’ve been reading about brand, brand ‘personality’ and the avoidance of brands ‘behaving badly’ and consumers ditching them as being misaligned with their values. It leaves me with the question about how simple we really are

5. OK, it was the nun thing really…… 

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Posted in Game Playing, Habits and Routines and tagged ,
21 Jun 2008

How Easily Simplicity Tips into Bad Habit

The interesting thing with the whole concept of simplicity is how close a bed partner it is with habits, and in particular bad habits.

I think.

The challenge I have is the apparent ease with which I can fall into bad habits vs. the challenge of maintaining a good habit. And whether the concept of ‘neutral habits’ is the answer.

Game playing and simple routines like keeping scorecards or tracking must be so close to creating a habit. I can see that when you consider the analysis of reactive and rational brains, the reactive is a blocker to a good habit vs. being acceptant of a bad habit.

As the bad habits are normally the ‘juicy morsel’, the reactive brain will be attracted to them and quickly addicted to doing the thing that gives it the reward. The reactive brain equally rejects the good habits as ‘hard’ and without the immediate reward. Our rational brains counter this with the longer-term reward. However, to turn the good habit into a routine involves a lot of battling against defaulting to the bad habit.

Does game playing lessen the ‘weight’ of the reactive response? Does it remove resistance because the new routine to be adopted is being done so as a game/ challenge as opposed to a mental challenge? It is therefore made ‘neutral’ by the game.

So in a sense, game playing and a simple response to routine accelerates the journey to the neutral point of a routine being as easy to continue as it is to stop. A route to the 21 days habit tipping point….

Hhmm. A Fooled by Randomness moment? 3 times 7 = 21?

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Posted in Conscious and Unconscious, Game Playing, Habits and Routines and tagged , , | Leave a comment

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