If you eat a chocolate bar every morning, acknowledge it, almost as if you were watching someone else. Don’t praise yourself for your successes. Observe your thoughts and actions without judgment or internal criticism. The goal is to simply notice what is actually going on. Where to Go From HereĪs you create your Habits Scorecard, there is no need to change anything at first. Habits that conflict with your desired identity are typically bad. If you’re still having trouble determining how to rate a particular habit, here is a question I like to use: “Does this behavior help me become the type of person I wish to be? Does this habit cast a vote for or against my desired identity?” Habits that reinforce your desired identity are usually good. Smoking a cigarette may reduce stress right now (that’s how it’s serving you), but it’s not a healthy long-term behavior. Generally speaking, good habits will have net positive outcomes. When completing your Habits Scorecard, however, you can categorize your habits by how they will benefit you in the long run. All habits serve you in some way-even the bad ones-which is why you repeat them. The labels “good habit” and “bad habit” are slightly inaccurate. Scoring your habits can be a bit more complex for another reason as well. It all depends on what you’re working toward. For someone who is trying to bulk up and add muscle, the same behavior might be a good habit. For someone who is trying to lose weight, eating a bagel with peanut butter every morning might be a bad habit. The marks you give to a particular habit will depend on your situation and your goals. If it is a neutral habit, write “=”.įor example, the list above might look like this: Once you have a full list, look at each behavior, and ask yourself, “Is this a good habit, a bad habit, or a neutral habit?” If it is a good habit, write “+” next to it. Here’s a sample of where your list might start: To create your own Habits Scorecard, start by making a list of your daily habits. That’s the origin of the Habits Scorecard, which is a simple exercise you can use to become more aware of your behavior. We need a “point-and-call” system for our personal lives. This helps explain why the consequences of bad habits can sneak up on us. One of our greatest challenges in changing habits is maintaining awareness of what we are actually doing. Many of our failures in performance are largely attributable to a lack of self-awareness. We’re so used to doing what we’ve always done that we don’t stop to question whether it’s the right thing to do at all. We assume that the next time will be just like the last. And when we’ve done something a thousand times before, we begin to overlook things. The more automatic a behavior becomes, the less likely we are to consciously think about it. Whenever we are preparing to walk out the door for a trip, she verbally calls out the most essential items in her packing list. 3 Because the train operators must use their eyes, hands, mouth, and ears, they are more likely to notice problems before something goes wrong. Pointing-and-Calling is so effective because it raises the level of awareness from a nonconscious habit to a more conscious level. 1 The MTA subway system in New York City adopted a modified version that is “point-only,” and “within two years of implementation, incidents of incorrectly berthed subways fell 57 percent.” 2 Pointing-and-Calling Your Habits Pointing-and-Calling reduces errors by up to 85 percent and cuts accidents by 30 percent. It seems silly, but it works incredibly well. This process, known as Pointing-and-Calling, is a safety system designed to reduce mistakes. Before each train departs, staff members will point along the edge of the platform and declare, “All clear!” Every detail is identified, pointed at, and named aloud. Out on the platform, other employees are performing similar actions. When it’s time to leave, the operator will point at the timetable and state the time. When the train approaches a signal, the operator will point at it and say, “Signal is green.” As the train pulls into and out of each station, the operator will point at the speedometer and call out the exact speed. If you ever find yourself riding a train in Tokyo, you’ll notice that the conductors have a peculiar habit.Īs each operator runs the train, they proceed through a ritual of pointing at different objects and calling out commands. The Japanese railway system is regarded as one of the best in the world. This article is an excerpt from Atomic Habits, my New York Times bestselling book.
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