In this episode we discuss habit loops, how they form, and what they are, we look at why you can’t stop picking up your phone (I know that’s definitely a challenge for me), the habits and routines that research shows are most correlated with success, how to bake mental models into your brain, and much more with Charles Duhigg.

Charles is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and senior editor at The New York Times. Charles is the author of “The Power of Habit,” which spent over two years on the New York Times best-seller list, and more recently “Smarter Faster Better,” also a New York Times best seller. Charles graduated from Yale University, Harvard Business School and has been featured in This American Life, N.P.R, Frontline, and much more.

We discuss:

• Habit Loops, what they are and how they form

• 40-45% of what we do every single day is not a decision its a habit

• Emotional cue for checking your phone and "novelty seeking"

• How your brain makes that behavior automatic, becaues its delivering a reward

• How to break habits

• What Reward are you seeking? Get as specific as possible

• Figure out the REWARD, then reprogram the HABIT

• Keystone habits and how they can transform your identity and create a chain reaction

• Why it's that the most successful people work harder, they just think differently

• The rituals and habits of people who are more productive

• Why its not being smarter, its not working harder, its not going to the right schools - the research shows that what correlates the MOST with success is that the people who are most successful tend to have “contemplative routines”, habits in their lives that push them to think more deeply

• Journaling is a great example of a contemplative routine that can make you be more productive

• Being busy and being productive are not synonymous

• Thinking has alwasy been the killer "productivity app"

• The story of Quantas Flight 32

• Maintaining focus while in the middle of a crashing airplane and how to cultivate situational awareness

• How Firefighters develop ESP

• Building a story, a mental model of a situation, and how that can shape your situational awareness

• The vital importance of building mental models

Thank you so much for listening!

Please SUBSCRIBE and LEAVE US A REVIEW on iTunes! (Click here for instructions on how to do that).

This weeks episode of The Science of Success is brought to you by our partners at Brilliant! Brilliant is math and science enrichment learning. Learn concepts by solving fascinating, challenging problems. Brilliant explores probability, computer science, machine learning, physics of the everyday, complex algebra, and much more. Dive into an addictive interactive experience enjoyed by over 4 million students, professionals, and enthusiasts around the world.

You can access courses online for free right now! however, Brilliant is offering The Science of Success Listeners 20% OFF THEIR FULL SUITE of classes and course simply go to brilliant.org/scienceofsuccess in order to claim your discount and start learning these incredibly important skills today!

SHOW NOTES, LINKS, & RESEARCH

• [Wiki Page] Charles Duhigg

• [Book] Smarter Faster Better: The Transformative Power of Real Productivity by Charles Duhigg

Episode Transcript