Habit to Change
For this experiment, I was trying to add the habit of writing morning pages (aka journaling for 3 pages every morning). Morning pages have to happen within the first hour of waking up and I have to write a total of three pages. To measure progress, I noted down my morning activities in 15 minute increments for one hour after waking up over the course of two days.
Data
Day 1
8:30-8:45 – Texting a friend to confirm (unconfirmed) plans about going to the farmer’s market this morning.
8:45-9:00 – Watching lecture
9:00-9:15 – Watching lecture
9:15-9:30 – Getting dressed
9:30-9:45 – Farmer’s market
Day 2
7:45-8:00 – Texting a friend to confirm whether or not we are going to the gym.
8:00-8:15 – Back to sleep
8:15-8:30 – Back to sleep
8:30-8:45 – Out of bed, started writing
8:45 – 9:00 – Writing
9:00-9:15 – Starting HW
Experience
Whether or not I write in the morning looks like a result of random chance, but is actually the result of whether or not I have “made time” in the morning to write. If I don’t know my morning schedule, I will add things in (e.g., going to the farmer’s market with my friend) and remove my writing time. Alternatively, as was the case on Day 2, my morning schedule shifted—I was supposed to go to the gym with my friend and I didn’t—so suddenly I had time and “gave” it to my morning pages. I think of myself as a very organized person, so it was surprising to realize that my mornings are often actually unstructured. I also noted myself waking up with a particular emotion (e.g., stressed or in control) and making decisions based on that emotion. Based on my behavior, it is clear that although I think writing is a priority, when I have work or other activities, it quickly becomes deprioritized.
What I Would Do Differently
To encourage the habit, I would put writing time in my schedule and make a plan for my morning the day before. The goal is to avoid waking up feeling like I need to get started with my day immediately and don’t have time to leisurely write for 25 minutes. I think it’s especially important to write on days when I’m busy to disprove the mental model that the 25 minutes of writing time makes a negative impact on whether I can complete my work/activities for the rest of the day.
Models
