Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation
Cognitive Offloading
Is habit tracking an external reward in itself (extrinsic motivation) or, is it a cognitive offloading strategy for intrinsic motivation (memory, motivation, pride)?
I used to think that if the habit itself wasn’t more salient than its habit tracker, then it was probably the wrong habit for me, but what if it is actually a cognitive offloading strategy for intrinsic motivation.
Environmental Habit Tracker Implementations
Something is an environmental habit tracker if it exists in your space and serves as a prompt to maintain a habit.
Common
Progress
Dashboards
Advent calendars
NFT collectibles (Yu-Gi-Oh cards & barcodes)
Big Brother ball in bowl comp
Pour water in a bowl after every habit completion → ball raises to the top → you get a prize (kinder egg, Harry Potter underwater comp)
Candles: burn while working
Burn a candle while working using scent as a habit pairing and trigger
Checkpoint Cash Ins
Make a tiered list of things to buy/ways to treat yourself after you’ve fulfilled your habits a certain number of times
Ticket Roll Pickers
NFT collectibles (Yu-Gi-Oh cards & barcodes)
Luxury Lock Box
You lock a luxury (ex bag of chips) into a lock box. You must upload a picture of your completed habit in order to receive the code to open it.
TV Series
Watch one episode of a tv series while fulfilling your habit
Vine Clips
Hang up a green string somewhere. Every time you fulfil a habit clip on a new leaf.
Planter’s Guilt
You can only water your plant after fulfilling your habit
Progress vs Gap Mindset
Mindset
Interesting to consider progress vs gap when thinking about your goals. How far you’ve come vs how far you need to go. How might each of these mindsets result in different types of habit trackers.
Streaks
Soft versions that minimise streaks