ZenGamer

Tool takes 3 min

Break a habit

Find what sets a habit off and what it gives you. Then swap it for something that gives the same.

Map your habit

Which habit?

Your answer here only changes the ideas below. It isn't saved or sent anywhere.

What does it give you?

Pick any that fit. The swap ideas below change to match.

If …, then I will …

If you slip

A slip is one moment, not the end of the plan. Decide now what you'll do if it happens.

Plans are saved with your if-then plans, on this device only, in the words you chose. Which habit you picked isn't saved.

How to use it

  1. Pick the habit. It only changes the ideas.
  2. Pick or write the moment it usually starts. Make it something you'll notice: "I'm waiting in a queue", not "I'm weak".
  3. Pick what the habit gives you: a break, a buzz, something for your hands. Most habits give you something real.
  4. Pick a swap that gives you the same thing, then save the plan. Read it to yourself once or twice.
  5. Add a plan for a slip, so one bad moment doesn't undo the rest.
  6. In the moment, watch for the cue and tell yourself "don't do it". In several studies, that curbed habits like smoking and junk food better than distracting yourself (Wood & Neal, 2016).

Why it works

Habits are actions your brain links to a situation you're often in: a time of day, a place, the thing you just did, or the people around you (Wood & Neal, 2016). When the situation comes up, the habit starts on its own. That's why this tool starts with what sets it off.

It's hard to build a habit of not doing something (Gardner, Lally & Wardle, 2012), so the plan is about what you'll do instead. Quit services give the same advice: know your triggers and change the routine around them. The "what does it give you?" step is our idea to help you pick a swap; no study we found tested it.

Give it time. In a UCL study, a new daily habit took about 66 days on average to feel automatic, anywhere from 18 to 254 days, and missing the odd day didn't undo it (UCL, 2012). That study was about starting habits, not stopping them.

Relapse-prevention research finds that blaming yourself after a slip ("I have no willpower") makes giving up more likely. It teaches people to treat a slip as a mistake to learn from (Larimer, Palmer & Marlatt, 1999).

When to use it

  • Right after the habit happened: you'll remember what set it off.
  • On a calm day, before the next tough session.
  • When a craving hits right now, use the craving delay or urge surfing first, and map the habit later.

More tools

Not medical advice. This is a wellbeing tool, not a treatment. If things feel heavy, talk to someone.