Day 1 is about the gamification of habit formation: and how we can use the four stages of building a habit – cue, craving, response, and reward - to make it easier and more likely that you will achieve sustainable behaviour change. If you put the four 'laws' I share today into practice, you’ll quickly associate the new behaviours you try out during this course with a sense of reward. Over time, you reinforce the learning cycle and you’ll be on track to build new habits to support your wellbeing and your performance.

Today's actions

Law 1: Make it obvious

Define a specific action that you can take that will support your habit. For example, if you want to improve your sleep, keep your charger plugged in outside of your bedroom, so you’re less inclined to take your phone to bed.

Law 2: Make it attractive

Trigger your dopamine-driven reinforcement learning cycle by linking an action you need to take with an action that you want to take. For example, many people find that listening to podcasts while they run on a treadmill makes it easier to exercise. They want to hear the latest podcast episode, and it can provide a welcome distraction from the monotony of exercising indoors.

Law 3: Make it easy

Choose the smallest, most simple step you can take, to build momentum for your new habit. If you want to exercise five times per week, start by committing to take a walk for ten minutes per day.

Law 4: Make it satisfying

Wherever possible, try to create quick wins. For example, logging your new behaviours on your wearable smartphone app can provide an instant sense of achievement.

If you put these laws into practice, you’ll quickly associate the new behaviours you try out during this course, with a sense of reward. Over time, you reinforce the learning cycle and you’ll be on track to build new habits to support your wellbeing and your performance.