Social networks have become a major part of our daily existence, so a great way to harness these friendships is to ask for support on your habit change goal.
Nobody wants to look bad. Post updates of your habit change on social media account to get encouragement from your friends. Create a simple tweet or Facebook post, or use a mobile phone app like Lift.do. Lift automatically updates your account with progress reports.
Never underestimate the power of social approval. Simply knowing you have to be accountable for your actions keeps you focused on a habit change.
Part of the reason this works can be explained by a concept called the Hawthorne Effect.
The term Hawthorne Effect was coined in the 1950s based on a series of experiments originally conducted in the 1920s.
During an industrial experiment to see whether factory workers were more productive with a greater or lesser amount of ambient lighting, researchers found that the productivity of both groups increased from the control amounts. After further experiments, it became clear that this happened because the test subjects knew they were being studied.
The lesson here?
When people are being observed, they want to look good and perform well.
It is human nature. If we know we’re being watched, it’s natural to increase our performance and give that little bit of extra effort.
The Hawthorne Effect shows that we do better when we know we’re being watched and reviewed by others. So to improve your chances of success, simply put yourself out there to be observed by others.
You can do this by making public declarations in five ways:
1. Tell your family and friends about your goals.
2. Post updates on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
3. Join habit-related online groups and find accountability partners.
4. Use habit-building apps (like Lift.do).
5. Start a blog or podcast that chronicles your habit change journey.
You’d be surprised at how well public declarations work. When you know you’re being observed, you’re more likely to follow through with a promise. Otherwise, you risk looking like a failure.
CASE STUDY
My “public declaration” for the cellphone sabbatical was this book. Last May, I set a goal to write a step-by-step process for breaking bad habits, and within this book, I wanted to provide a real-world example.
By committing to this goal, I knew I had to follow through with breaking a specific bad habit that I had at the time. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have enough material to provide to you—the reader. Whenever I felt like slacking off, I reminded myself that one failure could become a slippery slope that prevented me from achieving my goal. This alone kept me focused on building the replacement habit.