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In marketing, we use very often a concept called "Call to Action". Serving a message or making a service or product known isn't enough, it is about convincing people to actually act upon it. Today, I'd like to present you how to turn this concept of Call to Action into a personal tool to create and maintain good habits.
What is a call to action exactly? I am not going to turn this post into a marketing class, but here are simple examples which you can find in your daily life. It is, simply, the "See Now" button at the end of an online advertisement or newsletter. It is the "Buy" button at the bottom of a product page. Basically, the concept is to make it easy for you to take action after seeing the communication: buy the product, browse the sales section, join a contest...
What I'm interested in today, is to explain why this Call to Action makes it easy to act upon the ad, and how to create a similar concept in your daily life to make easy habits easy to act upon as well.
A Call to Action is Concrete
In a newsletter or on a website, the call to action usually materializes with concrete words "Browse", "Join", "Buy", "Register", "Add to Basket"... It points you toward a very simple and concrete action, something very clear for you to understand. For example, say you receive a newsletter from a clothing brand that presents you their new Spring/Summer collection. A call to action would be as concrete as "Buy this style" or "Browse the lookbook".Similarly, if you are to set up your own call to action for a new daily habit, it has to be concrete. Instead of just saying "meditate", it could say "Use headspace now". Instead of saying "read more", it could say "find the closest library".
A Call to Action is Immediate
The concept of the call to action is to make you act now, while your attention is still on the newsletter, website etc. If you say 'Come back tomorrow to check the new collection', chances are that tomorrow you'll be busy doing something else, and they'll have lost you. It has to be "Browse Now". For example, in the video game industry where we often communicate on games which are not yet released, the call to action wouldn't be "remember to buy it on February 15", but rather "Pre-Order Now".It is the same for your daily habits - you have to set up a trigger that makes you engage in the habit now. For example, meditate every morning right after you brush your teeth. After you're done with brushing your teeth, you'd be like: "meditate now". It is way more efficient than keeping the habit blurry "meditate every day", yes, but when? As far as I'm concerned, it ends up being never.
A Call to Action is Easy
The idea is to get the customer to take action, and if they have to go through several websites, enter some codes, find an information at the bottom of the page and all, they will just give up. Usually, a call to action materializes as a big fat button you can't miss, and the only thing you have to do is click on it. Have you noticed how quick it is to buy something on Amazon for example? Once you have an account, it's like two clicks and one confirmation. The easier it is, the more people will go through with it.Again, it is the same for habits. As Nerd Fitness presented it in their "Bat Cave for Habit Change" post, you have to make it easy for you to preactice your good habits. Keep healthy snacks in the fridge, your current book on the nightstand or in your handbag, your DIY tools in a visible spot... The easiest it is to engage in the habit, the less willpower you will need to make it happen.
Some Examples
In case the parallel between this "Call to Action" and implementing good habits was still too abstract for you, here are a couple of examples for you to make it more concrete and easier to apply to your own habits.- Playing the violin habit: I have set weekly lessons with a teacher (concrete), play at least half an hour right after coming back from work (immediate), and keep the violin on a stand in the middle of the living room (easy). (this works for any creative/skill/DIY habit)
- Eating Healthy: I have a weekly list of ingredients to buy and corresponding recipes to cook on Sundays (concrete), I keep apples and nuts in my bag in case of hunger (immediate) and only keep healthy food at home (easy).
- Writing Habit: I have my manuscripts on a dropbox account to be able to access it from any computer (concrete), set up a daily trigger of writing right after I finish my morning coffee (immediate) and keep my notebooks, ideas and drafts in an A4 box just next to my kitchen table (easy).
I hope this little analogy was useful to you and that you'll be able to use this tool as a way to improve your habits. What are your tricks to make good habits stick to your daily life?
Loved this! I've actually been thinking of something similar, witch is to slowly set up an environment that makes it as easy as possible to do the things I want to be doing, and harder to do the things I don't want to be doing, but end up doing so when I'm exhausted. The addiction of a call to action can definitely make a positive impact in our daily lives, I'm reviewing my environments to be sure I use them right.
ReplyDeleteOh I think this totally ties in with creating an environment that foster good habits! If everything is ready to make good habits easier, all you need is a trigger to decide when to start. Also, it's probably the kind of adjustment that requires trial and error, we probably all respond to different types of calls to action :)
DeleteI am also triggering new habits after an old habit, but also i am trying to keep things simple. I have decided after many years that i could not spend 30 minutes a day for exercise so i found that i can do 10 minute exercises and it is working. For the side projects that i dreamed about, i always thought that i need more time. But recently i decided to start simple so after work till my son sleeps i am playing with him. But as soon as he goes to sleep i prepare a cup of tea and sit in front of my computer. Sometimes i just read blogs, sometimes i just read an article related with my job, but sometimes i work on my side project and it takes 20 minutes. I just promised my self everyday to allocate 30 minutes totally. I have so many goals to achive every year but this time i decided to pick only two of them.
ReplyDeleteAh that's an interesting concept indeed. I agree that it's always better to go ahead with a small and simple thing, rather than failing at maintaining a bigger or more challenging habit. It's also a very good motivator, starting small, succeeding, then increasing little by little... I'm really admirative that you manage to keep some time aside for personal project despite having a son - when I listen to my parent colleague's schedules, I wonder how they keep up at all :)
DeleteI second the "make it easy" for yourself idea.
ReplyDelete- Park your running shoes near the door. Put socks, hat on top. Hang up shirt and leave pants somewhere visible in my bedroom; no frantic searching the next day.
- I bring running shoes to work. I also have an extra hat that I leave at work. If I can't run that day, I can walk during break times.
- For those of us with cars--I like to put my sports paraphernalia in a Rubbermaid tub in the trunk. This and some canvas tote bags mean I can assemble a "gym bag" whenever, wherever. I also keep a spare change of clothes in an overnight bag, which I've used a few times.
Make a schedule
- Doesn't matter when it's accomplished, but at some point during the week I try to run 2-3 times, one being a long run; and I try to (rock) climb once a week. Plan fitness around engagements and work, but get it done.
- Every bit counts. If it's not a full workout, some is still better than none. Too tired to run? Go for a walk? Muscles hurt? Stretch and do something light.
- Schedule in rest days as well, and observe them (I'm bad at doing this. If I feel energized I want to go, go, go and it ruins the rest of the week because I'm dead tired.)
Now if I could be as motivated as this for other parts of my life, like reading (fiction, non-fiction, news/current events)...I'm trying out a new service that aggregates world and domestic news. So far at least I'm spending 5 minutes a day on news. Better than nothing.
One thing at a time can be a good advice as well - you seem to have set yourself a very positive environment for fitness, that's great. Maybe you can start to focus on one other area now? When I try to tackle too many things at once (you know, the "new years resolutions effect", it usually doesn't work out very well because I try to divide my willpower into too many pieces and end up proceeding with no project at all. But once I manage to make one project easy, and integrate it in my habits, I can focus on something else. There is always the risk of falling back once you don't focus much on it anymore, but I guess that's life, ups and downs with a general, long term progression, no?
DeleteI'm trying the "don't set yourself up to fail" method. I eat fairly healthfully however I can get into bad snacking habits. This week I've decided not to snack at work. I bring my lunch to work but no snacks. If I don't have food in my bag or in my desk then I can't eat it! It's worked for three days in a row now. Haven't figured out what my weekend plan will be though.
ReplyDeleteI guess this goes back to the temptation thing - the best way to avoid bad habits would be to avoid exposing ourselves to temptation as much as possible? I guess it requires trial and error (work is a hard place for me when it comes to healthy eating as there is always someons who brings cakes and all) - maybe one thing for the week-end could be not to have any unhealthy snacks at home? I personally found that keeping some of the snacks I like as a special treat works out pretty well - for example I love Nutella but don't buy any, and enjoy it occasionally during a crête party or on a waffle in a fair... It makes the moment all the more enjoyable because it's a rare treat, and also removes the guilt, as it is only unhealthy if it's too regular. If it makes any sense...
DeleteYour way of making ideas and goals accessible is fantastic! You've done all the thinking for us and provided formulas to follow. Thank you! I truly needed this inspiration right now.
ReplyDeleteThank you for these kind words! I'm very happy to hear that this kind of articles is helpful for you :)
DeleteI can concur with the other commenters' ideas on exercise and healthy eating. I have to schedule exercise rather late in the evening, after (a light) dinner and then waiting two hours for easy digestion... It's far from ideal, but it's what I can manage to fit in. Anyhow, I have made it a principle to change into my workout gear immediately after dinner, so that I'll be less likely to give in to the temptation of staying home after having sat down on the couch for a while... Also my gym bag is always standing ready.
ReplyDeleteAs for food, I too have long learned not to bring unhealthy snacks to work. We have no access to snacks at our company (no vending machine or even shops nearby), so if I don't bring it, I can't eat it. The only recent challenge is my new colleague who's always bringing sweets in to share, because she doesn't want to eat them all herself! It's so hard to resist what's sometimes literally held under your nose...
Anyway, I had a lot of use from your advice on habit formation in a post of last year, so am in quite a good place now. However this is a nice new way of framing it with extra helpful tips!
Haha I have quite the same problem of snacks circulating in the office! Between well-meaning colleagues who bring some stuff to share, or agencies and partners who send boxes of chocolates or other sweets, temptation is around us in the open space. Also, food is in the French culture so that's to be expected I imagine. I'm happy to hear some of my posts could help you form habits to yourself, that's very motivating for me ;)
DeleteThis is really interesting. I always have almonds in my bag to snack on so I'm not tempted to buy chocolate, and pack my bag for yoga the night before. I'm definitely going to apply this to other areas of my life too. Thanks for this. Hannah x
ReplyDeleteAlmonds are a health saver aren't they? ;) Thanks for your kind word, I hope it works out for other areas of your life too :)
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