Obviously, changing some habits is more difficult than this, but the framework is a good place to start.
Once you understand how a habit operates — once you diagnose the cue, routine and rewards — you gain power over it.

Note

• Cues can be almost anything, from a visual trigger to a time of day, an emotion, a sequence of thoughts, the company of particular people, etc.• Routines can be incredibly complex or fantastically simple.• Rewards can range from food or drugs that cause physical sensations, to emotional payoffs, such as the feelings of pride that accompany praise or self-congratulation.

Cues, Routines And Rewards

There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes “What the hell is water?”
— David Foster Wallace
The water is habits: The unthinking choices and invisible decisions that surround us — and which, just by looking at them, become visible again.

Habits = water

<ul><li>Some habits matter more than others in remaking our lives.</li><li>These are ‘keystone habits’, and they can influence how people work, eat, play, live, spend, and communicate.</li><li>The habits that matter most are the ones that, when they start to shift, dislodge and remake other patterns.</li><li>For example, a common personal keystone habit for many people is regular exercise. It’s common for people who nail get that right start to sleep and eat better, drink less, etc.</li></ul>

Keystone Habits

So, if you’re trying to figure out the cue for a habit, write down five things the moment the urge hits:1. Where are you?2. What time is it?3. What’s your emotional state?4. Who else is around?5. What action preceded the urge?

How To Figure Out The Cue?

This is how new habits are created: By putting together a cue, a routine, and a reward, and then cultivating a craving that drives the loop.
To create a new habit (such as running each morning), you need to choose a simple cue (e.g. leaving your gym clothes out, lacing your sneakers before breakfast, etc), and a clear reward (e.g. a midday treat, the satisfaction of completing the run, etc).

How to CREATE new habits

We know that a habit cannot be eradicated. Instead, it must be replaced. Most habits are most malleable when the golden rule is applied:
To change a habit, you must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine.
1. Use the same cue.
2. Provide the same reward.
3. Change the routine.
Almost any behaviour can be transformed if the cue and reward stay the same.

The GOLDEN RULE of habit change

To understand your own habits, you need to identify the components of your habit loops. Once you’ve diagnosed the habit loop of a particular behaviour, you can look for ways to supplant old vices with new routines.
There are four steps to doing this:
1. Identify the routine
2. Experiment with rewards
3. Isolate the cue
4. Have a plan
Recap: All habits follow the loop of (A) cue, (B) routine, and (C) reward.

How to CHANGE your habits

Simple Strategies to Build Habits, Stay Motivated and Reach Your Goals

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • This instant classic explores how we can change our lives by changing our habits. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Wall Street Journal • Financial Times In The Power of Habit, award-winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to the sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential. At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, being more productive, and achieving success is understanding how habits work. As Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives. With a new Afterword by the author “Sharp, provocative, and useful.”—Jim Collins “Few [books] become essential manuals for business and living. The Power of Habit is an exception. Charles Duhigg not only explains how habits are formed but how to kick bad ones and hang on to the good.”—Financial Times “A flat-out great read.”—David Allen, bestselling author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity “You’ll never look at yourself, your organization, or your world quite the same way.”—Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind “Entertaining . . . enjoyable . . . fascinating . . . a serious look at the science of habit formation and change.”—The New York Times Book Review

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • This instant classic explores how we can change our lives by changing our habits. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Wall Street Journal • Financial Times In The Power of Habit, award-winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to the sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential. At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, being more productive, and achieving success is understanding how habits work. As Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives. With a new Afterword by the author   “Sharp, provocative, and useful.”—Jim Collins   “Few [books] become essential manuals for business and living. The Power of Habit is an exception. Charles Duhigg not only explains how habits are formed but how to kick bad ones and hang on to the good.”—Financial Times   “A flat-out great read.”—David Allen, bestselling author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity “You’ll never look at yourself, your organization, or your world quite the same way.”—Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind “Entertaining . . . enjoyable . . . fascinating . . . a serious look at the science of habit formation and change.”—The New York Times Book Review

Charles Duhigg is an American journalist and non-fiction author. He was a reporter for The New York Times, currently writes for The New Yorker Magazine and is the author of two books on habits and productivity, titled The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business and Smarter Faster Better.

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