TJ Walker advises that successful habits rely on automatic reminder systems—like monthly bills for utilities or seeing a toothbrush—which cue consistent behavior. He argues vague plans or tasks requiring extra motivation (e.g., watching a motivational video) often fail; instead create external cues and a simple daily checklist to prompt each habit, including content creation.
Why are large banks, cable companies, and electric companies successful? Because they have an automatic reminder to get your money. They bill you every single month, and typically we pay. If you want to be successful with your habits, you need an automatic reminder system. Now, most of us have an automatic reminder system to brush our teeth. When we see our toothbrush on the counter in our bathroom, it reminds us, ah, I got to brush my teeth. Now, you need a similar reminder for every habit you want to accomplish. That's why it's no good to say, I'm going to work out twice a week at the gym for three hours. If you need to watch a motivational video for 20 minutes to get motivated to do it, it never happens. So figure out a system. I use a simple checklist to go through every habit I want to do each day, including making a video like this.
You're Not Being Judged on Your Work Yet: What New Hires Are Really Evaluated On
