The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

In the Appendix, Duhigg provides a short guide for changing our personal habits. There is not one simple pathway to fixing a habit, he argues; there are thousands.

The Framework Duhigg describes is to identify the routine, experiment with rewards, isolate the cue, and have a plan (276). Duhigg explains that identifying the cues and cravings that ignite our habits can be incredibly difficult as they blend in with our other daily routines. However, most cues belong to five categories, making them easier to isolate: location, time, emotional state, other people, and the immediately preceding action. To isolate the cue, keep a log of what events preceded the start of that habit loop. After identifying the loop, apply the Golden Rule of habit change by switching out the routine and keeping the cue and reward.

The author provides an example from his own life in this section. When he began writing his book, he recounts, he had a habit of buying a chocolate chip cookie at the cafeteria every afternoon. The routine was getting up from his desk, walking to the cafeteria, buying the cookie, and eating it while talking with friends. Finding out the cue and rewards required some experimentation. One can start by adjusting the reward—buy a coffee, a candy bar, or an apple, go for a walk, or go chat with a friend—and see if the cookie craving is still present. To isolate the cue, log the events leading up to it. In Duhigg’s case, he learned he was looking for a distraction and a chance to socialize, not a cookie.