Habit reminders are a great way to build a new routine. Write these reminders down on a piece of paper you keep with you at all times, or add them as alerts on your cellphone. These reminders might seem silly, yet they act as a great catalyst to keep repeating your replacement habit.
My favorite habit reminder app is Mind Jogger, which uses reminders to keep you on track. I prefer this tool over the regular calendar app because you don’t learn to “tune out” the reminder. You can set it to go off at random times (like anywhere between 6 to 9 p.m.), and the alert will act as a legitimate reminder because you haven’t trained your brain to ignore the message.
The key to this step is to create an alert for the replacement habit, not for the one you’re giving up. That way, you don’t get yet another reminder of what you’re trying to give up.
CASE STUDY
My habit reminder was very straightforward. Between 7 and 9 p.m., Mind Jogger would send this alert: “Put your cellphone on its charger in your office.”
In many cases, I had already completed the habit, so I wouldn’t see this message until the morning. If I forgot to do it for some reason, then the message would act as a reminder to walk into my office and put away the phone.