The Power of Habit
-- By Charles Duhigg
(Score - 8.5/10)
This book looks at the neurological aspect of habit formation, and how habit patterns can be replaced at this deepest level. Some relevant text from the book:
Toward the centre of the skull is a golf ball sized lump of tissue that is similar to what you might find inside the head of a fish, reptile or mammal. This is the basal ganglia, an oval of cells that is central to recalling patterns and acting on them. When doing something new for the first time, the basal ganglia explodes with a flurry of activity, analysing each sight and sound in an effort to find patterns. The brain has to work at full power to make sense of all the new information. But after a few hours/days/weeks (depending on the complexity) of the same routine, the parts of the brain related to smell, or sight, or decision making or memory go quiet. It is as-if the whole routine is internalized. This is, in effect, the basal ganglia taking over and putting us in a "pilot" mode, which is effectively, the base of formation of habits. The process in which the brain converts a sequence of actions into an automatic routine is known as "chunking". There are dozens - if not hundreds - of behavioural chunks that we rely on every day. Some are simple - you automatically put toothpaste on your toothbrush before sticking it in your mouth. Some, such as getting dressed or making the kids' lunch, are a little more complex. Others, such as the act of backing the car out of the driveway, are remarkably complex.
Thus, habits emerge because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort. Left to its own devices, the brain will try to make almost any routine a habit, because habits allow our minds to ramp down more often. But conserving mental effort is tricky, because if our brains power down at the wrong moment, we might fail to notice something important. So our basal ganglia devised a clever system to determine when to let habits take over. It's something that happens whenever a chunk of behaviour starts or end. This process with our brains is a three-step loop. First, there is a cue, a trigger that tells your brain to go into the automatic mode and which habit to use. Then there is the routine, which can be physical or mental or emotional. Finally, there is a reward, which helps your brain figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering in future. At the end of the activity, when the reward appears, the brain shakes itself awake and makes sure everything unfolded as expected.
But this is not enough. For the routine to become a habit, there also has to be a craving for simulation.
Change in organizational habits is easier when there is a crisis. In fact, many leaders induce a sense of crisis or prolong a crisis to be able to drive changes in behaviours that they desire.
To be able to change habits, the key steps are:
1. Identify the routine - What are the components of your cue-routine-reward cycle?
2. Experiment with Rewards - Rewards are powerful, because they satisfy cravings. But we are often not conscious of the cravings that drive our behaviours. So if we go to drink coffee more times than we desire, is this because we desire caffeine or desire fresh air, or desire the social company and some chit-chat? You can test four or five different rewards, such as taking a walk in the part, or stopping by a co-worker's desk to speak. After each of these activities, jot down on a piece of paper the first three things that come to mind when you get back to your desk. They can be emotions, random thoughts, reflection on how you're feeling, or just the first three words that pop into our head. Then, set an alarm for fifteen minutes. When it goes off, ask yourself: Do you still feel the urge for that cup of coffee?
The reason why it is important to write down three things - even if they are meaningless words - is twofold. First, it forces a momentary awareness of what you are thinking or feeling. And later, it allows you to recall and analyse your thought patterns. And why the fifteen minute alarm? Because the point of these tests is to determine the reward you're craving. If, fifteen minutes after stopping to talk to a colleague, you still feel the urge to drink coffee, then your habit isn't motivated by the craving to seek social company. On the other hand, if you find it easy to work after fifteen minutes have passed, then that means that you've identified the reward - temporary distractions and socialization - that your habit sought to satisfy. By experimenting with different rewards, you can isolate what you are actually craving, which is essential in redesigning the habit. Once you've figured out the routine and the reward, what remains is identifying the cue.
3. Isolate the cue: Experiments have shown that almost all habitual cues fit in one of five categories:
> Location
> Time
> Emotional state
> Other people (who else is around you)
> Immediately preceding action
So if you write down these five things the moment the urge of drinking coffee hits you, you will be able to figure out the cue that kicks in the habit.
4. Have a plan: Once you have figured out your habit loop, you can begin to shift the behaviour You can change to a better routine by planning for the cue and choosing a behaviour that delivers the reward you are craving. What you need is a plan. To re-engineer the habit, we need to be making different choices. And study after study has shown that the easiest way to do this is to have a plan.
