NewsLetter | The Best Ways to Change Bad Habits

In 1844, a young man named John opened a grocery store. Back then, employee theft was a headache for every company. John's company is no exception. Because each employee can easily withdraw and modify the amount of the bill. Until Dayton invented the cash register, which locked the cash and corresponding receipts for each transaction inside.

Just one night after he bought the cash register and went back to use it, the employee thief disappeared. Over the next six months, his grocery business went from loss to profit, making $5,000.

He was greatly inspired - acquired the patent rights of the cash register and embarked on the road to super rich.

Of course, we're not here to discuss John's road to riches. Let's take a look at the cleverness of the cash register, which creates a "stealing impossibility" situation where, automatically, people choose to behave more ethically. Rather than changing the employee's (person's) work motivation, technology creates a situation where it is impossible to perform a certain behavior.

This story provides ideas for changing our habits—the best way to break a bad habit is to make it impossible. In the same way, the best way to develop a good habit is to make it work automatically without you needing to be aware of it.

With the word automatic operation, people will subconsciously imagine an APP or a software coming out. Technology can certainly make difficult, annoying, and complex behaviors simple, easy, and easy. This is the most reliable and efficient way to make sure the right action is taken.

At the same time, we don't need a bunch of software, there are many ways to "automate" our good habits.

One-time action to lock in good habits

A one-time action is an action that requires only a small effort, but the value of the action will increase over time and will gradually show up.

Jeams collected these one-shots from readers (2018). Here are the most popular answers:

1. Food: Use smaller containers to reduce calorie intake.
2. Sleep: Do not put TV (electronics: computer, iPad, etc.) in the bedroom, remove it if there is one.
3. Productivity: Remove games and social software from your phone.
4. Focus: Put your phone in Do Not Disturb mode.
5. Happy: Raising a puppy.
6. Health: Buy a good pair of shoes.
7. People: Leave people who make you feel like life is garbage all the time.

According to a study, the average person spends an average of two hours a day on social media.

Jeams believes the daily social media habit can become a big problem in the long run. James' approach to social media has been more drastic. While he was writing Atomic Habits, he had his assistant reset all social media passwords every week, so he was locked out of social media from Monday until the weekend.

During this time of being actively shut out of social media, he found that he didn't need to check it frequently, and of course, he didn't need it on a daily basis. Once the old habit becomes impossible to continue, he actually has more time to devote to more creative tasks.

Social media is like mental candy, and by locking those candies out of sight, you'll have an easier time eating something good like healthier mental eggs.

So, automating good habits is essential. You use one-off actions and techniques to create an environment in which good habits run automatically—a space where good habits are the outcomes you want and are guaranteed to happen.

GYAML: 2020 is coming to an end, and I believe everyone feels the same way as I do - you never know what absurd things will happen in some corner of the world tomorrow. The pandemic has changed many lives, including me.

This year, everything but me has gone beyond imagination, unbelievably absurd. The real sense of missing, the missing parts continue to be missing, and will always be considered to go on without problems.

But there is only one thing I can be sure of, that I will come back to myself and be part of the absurd, focused on controlling all the people and things I can control.

Teacher James Clear said: General opinions affect most people, but specific opinions affect more people.

Predictably, when we go our own way, we walk into a narrow path, and we don't need to go halfway, the road will break, and then every step after that will be blazed by ourselves.

Those things that are ready-made and in front of me, I don’t hesitate to put them aside, because the things in my eyes are more precious than these, and I need to protect them more.

Life has changed since I focused on controlling what I could control.

Soon, you will feel the same way as I did. As the saying goes:

It's not going to be a worse year than 2020 anyway, so why not start changing now?