The following process can be used for any habit you want to implement daily (meditating, exercising, journalising, writing, healthy eating, sleep, productivity, creativity etc.). Let´s see how to create a habit like “reading more books”.
Identity-Based Habits: The goal is not to read a book, the goal is to become a reader.
Two-Minute Rule: “Read before bed each night” becomes “Read one page.”
Gateway Habits: Reading one book per week is very hard. Reading 20 pages a day is moderately complex. Reading one page 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.
Environment Design: 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.
Social Environment: If you want to remember to read a book instead of looking at your phone whenever you’re bored, set your phone’s lock screen photo to be a photo of the book you’re trying to finish. Environment Design: If readers surround you, you’re more likely to consider reading to be an everyday habit.
Scaling a Habit “Goal: Read more books”
Set a book on your pillow each morning after making your bed
Read at least one page per day
Read at least 20 pages per day
Finally, you only get a punch if you finish a book”
Habit Graduation: Once you’ve mastered reading one page per day of a book, graduate reading one chapter or 10 pages. Once that’s easy, scale up again.
See my previous post about routines.
Readings and free courses: Atomic Habit, Tiny Habit
