Seven Triggers for Success
Improvement comes by way of correct, repeated, and consistent practice.
When you’re starting to work on improving something, it can be difficult to remember to do the thing(s) that will lead to improvement:
- You forget to consistently practice the instrument, the sport, your lines
- You forget to plan your work day
- You neglect getting up early to exercise, read, or pray
- You fail to respond to your child’s irritating behavior with patience and love
Often you would have done the task that was part of your improvement plan if you had something that reminded you to do it: a trigger to get you to take action.
Here are seven ideas for setting up triggers to consistently remind you to do what you need to do:
- Schedule it into your day / week / month: You schedule appointments with other people, and are probably careful to keep them. If the area you want to improve is important enough, schedule time for what you need to do.
- Set an alarm: Use your alarm clock, phone, watch, or computer calendar to set an alarm to remind you to do what you need to do.
- Post a note or sign: Put a reminder note in a place where you’re sure to notice. Ideally, put it in a place that prevents you from doing other things, such as on your computer monitor or keyboard. You might consider taping it across the refrigerator door in such a way that you’ll need to break the tape to open the fridge, and make a deal with yourself that you won’t open it until you’ve done the deed. If you’re posting a note consistently and find that you’ve started ignoring it, move it to a different location where you’re more likely to notice it.
- Set up automatic reminder emails or text messages: There are apps and services such as Remember The Milk (RememberTheMilk.com) that you can use to text or email you at certain times.
- Set up consequences for not doing it: Arrange to have some significant negative consequence what you fail to do what you need to do. Negative reinforcement can be a strong positive motivator. For example, tell someone you’ll pay them five, ten, twenty, a hundred dollars when then catch you not doing what you’re supposed to be doing. If you’re improving a process at work or at home, clearly communicate how to perform the new process, and consistently enforce consequences when the process is not followed.
- Mentally condition yourself: Rehearse in your mind the triggering action occurring and how you will respond to it. Studies have shown that athletes who spend a significant amount of time vividly practicing their sport in their minds gain improvements in their game that are comparable to those who actually practice physically. In their minds they run through a stream of triggers and reactions over and over again. If you practice in your mind responding correctly to trigger events, it will provide comparable benefit to actually practicing it in real-life situations.
- Ask someone to remind you: Relying on someone else to remind you to do something should be the way of last resort, but it’s better than failing to follow through. Ideally find someone who has a stake in whether you do the task. If not, find a way to make it worth their while to remind you.
What can you do today to set up triggers to remind you to consistently take the action you need to take?
