Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life
Gretchen Rubinamazon.com
Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life
Questioners resist anything that seems arbitrary;
Gretchen Rubin • Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life
By contrast, when we don’t get any treats, we feel depleted, resentful, and angry, and justified in self-indulgence. We start to crave comfort—and we’ll grab that comfort wherever we can, even if it means breaking good habits.
Gretchen Rubin • Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life
when I set my UP band to vibrate whenever I sit still for forty-five minutes, I learned that I was doing a lot more sitting than I’d assumed.
Gretchen Rubin • Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life
I should monitor whatever is essential to me. In that way, I ensure that my life reflects my values.
Gretchen Rubin • Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life
When I face values that seem to conflict, I first remind myself to consider whether this conflict might be a false choice. Can I choose both?
Gretchen Rubin • Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life
I now pay very close attention to the first few times I do anything because I know those decisions will shape my baseline habits; to deviate from them will feel like a deprivation or an imposition.
Gretchen Rubin • Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life
Although treats make it easier to stick to good habits, if we make a habit of a treat, it may stop feeling like a treat. In “treat creep,” a rare treat gradually turns ordinary, or a small indulgence grows larger over time.
Gretchen Rubin • Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life
Pairing is effective—sometimes, too effective. It’s easy to allow a bad habit to form by creating a pair. Some familiar bad-habit pairs: “I always get drunk on Saturday nights.” “I always read an email as soon as I get it.” “I always go shopping when I’m traveling.” Once the pair is formed, breaking it up feels like deprivation.
Gretchen Rubin • Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life
Questioners sometimes espouse red-herring habits when they’re not actually convinced that the proposed habit is sufficiently justified to deserve follow-through. Obligers claim red-herring habits when they feel the pressure of others’ expectations, but with no framework of accountability to push them into action.