Habits part 2

In last week’s issue about anxiety, I outlined the 4-7-8 Breath Method which one doctor referred to as “the most powerful anti-anxiety measure I’ve ever come across.”

… and all it takes is 1-2 min of focus, 2x per day!

It got me thinking…

For all the time I’ve spent tracking and trying to optimize my life, why haven’t I focused on something as simple as a daily 4-7-8 habit?

I’ve tried various breathing techniques before, but I never stuck with any of them consistently for weeks on end.

• 🚫 It’s not because it’s difficult. It’s easy to understand and do.

• 🚫 It’s not because it’s time consuming. It’s literally < 3 min per day!

• 🚫 It’s not because I don’t see the value in it. I’ve tried all sorts of breathing techniques, and I’ve experienced firsthand how they can change my state.

• ❓ It might be because I wasn’t sure which breathing technique is best for me to use at different times… but isn’t any better than none?

• ❓ It might be because it’s the last thing I want to do when I’m heads down focused on something… but isn’t that when I most need to “sharpen my sword” so I can stay in the zone longer?

• ❓ It might be because it simply wasn’t a priority… but it only takes a few minutes per day. Surely I can spare that right?

This seemed like a perfect challenge to put my learnings on building sustainable habits to the test.

Refresher on Habits

A few months ago, in a previous issue of this newsletter, I dove deep on the strategies and tactics in James Clear’s book Atomic Habits.

I outlined Clear’s framework for creating a good habit:

1. CUE — Make it obvious 

2. CRAVING — Make it attractive 

3. RESPONSE — Make it easy 

4. REWARD — Make it satisfying 

I also outlined 26 concepts from Atomic Habits that you can leverage (think of these as tools in a menu of options we can pull from as needed).

For more details, here’s a link to that blog post:

FOCUS

How will I put my learnings to the test?

Over the coming weeks, I’m planning to use half of the 26 habit building concepts I summarized in that previous newsletter as part of an experiment to see which work best in helping me develop a sustainable daily habit of 4-7-8 breathing.

Below are the 13 concepts I selected to use as a starting point. Each is listed under one of the four elements of Clear’s framework (CUE, CRAVING, RESPONSE, REWARD), along with my initial plan of how I’m applying them to my environment and routine.

My goal is to help bring the concepts to life and make it easier for you to build your own habits… while holding myself accountable to document my learnings.

Here they are:

CUE - Make it “obvious”

1. Implementation Intention: “I will (practice 4-7-8 breathing) when (I wake up and go to sleep) in (my bed) so that I can become (a more patient and focused person).” Additional context: I will not look at my phone before doing 4-7-8 breathing in the morning, nor after doing it at night.

2. Habit Stacking: “Before or after (eating lunch), I will (practice 4-7-8 breathing).

3. Environment Design: I wrote “4-7-8” on a white board next to my desk and on a notecard on my nightstand to act as visible cues that serve as a reminder.

CRAVING — Make it “attractive”

4. Temptation Bundling: If I (crave something sweet after dinner), I will (practice 4-7-8 breathing) before I eat dessert.

5. Motivation Ritual: When I take a walk in my neighborhood park, I will sit on a bench and practice 4-7-8 breathing as a way to soak in the nice weather and enjoy being outside.

6. Positive Mindset Reframing: After practicing 4-7-8 breathing, I’ll give myself a positive affirmation, ideally out loud when I’m by myself, such as: “Nice work! That’s a vote for the type of person you want to become. You’re changing your identity.” I also wrote this on the notecard on my nightstand.

RESPONSE — Make it “easy”

7. Two-minute rule. By doing only 4-6 breath cycles at a time (of the 4-7-8 technique), it won’t take longer than 2 minutes.

8. Prime the environment. At the end of every day, I will clean off my desk and white board, which will remove distractions and make it easier to spot the “4-7-8” reminder on my white board.

REWARD — Make it “satisfying”

9. Habit tracker. I downloaded James Clear’s habit tracking app: Atoms. to see if it makes it easier to track the habit on a daily basis. But I’ll also periodically log the results in my spreadsheet I use to track my progress over time.

10. Never miss twice. Even if I forget to do the 4-7-8 breathing one day, my real goal is to never miss two days in a row.

11. Accountability partner. I recently reconnected with an old friend who is also working to constantly better himself. We have a weekly call to touch base, so I will ask him to hold me accountable each week.

12. Habit contract. By publicly stating my commitment here, I’m hoping the social pressure from you will also be a powerful motivator.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS (additional recommendations from Clear)

13. Master one thing. Rather than tracking multiple habits like I have in the past, I’m making this habit my #1 priority to increase focus and master one thing before moving to another. Side note: on average it takes 2+ months for new habits to become automatic behaviors.

LOOK BACK

How have I done so far?

I started tracking this habit last week, and here’s how I’ve done so far.

*Note: each # under the “Results” column indicates a set of 4+ breath cycles of 4-7-8 breathing in a single setting.

In a future issue, I’ll keep update you on my progress—and reflect on which of the 13 habit building concepts worked best for me, and how I’ll approach it different next time.

Want to share this issue?

It’s a breeze to send via text or email, or even to share on social media. Just copy and paste this link:

https://growthmeditations.com/p/habits2

Thanks for reading!

Until next week, keep growing in all directions « 🙂 »

Scott

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