{"id":18251,"date":"2020-06-16T13:35:40","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T11:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/?p=18251"},"modified":"2022-07-26T17:32:41","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T15:32:41","slug":"tiny-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/en\/tiny-habits\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Tiny Habits to change behaviour"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1658849556580{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]When it comes to problemsolving and innovation, you will often have to influence people\u2019s behaviour. Making people change their habits is not easy. Force rarely works. Luckily there are more positive ways of changing behaviour. One particularly powerful technique is using Tiny Habits.<\/p>\n

In earlier posts, we\u2019ve written about nudging<\/u><\/a>, gamification<\/u><\/a> and other psychological tricks to help people change their behaviour for the better. In this post, I\u2019d like to talk about another behavioural design principle: using Tiny Habits.<\/p>\n

Before I go into detail about how you can start using Tiny Habits to change behaviour, let\u2019s take a look at the theory behind it.<\/p>\n

B = MAP<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The \u2018Tiny Habits method\u2019 was developed by BJ Fogg, the founder and director of the Behavior Design Lab<\/u><\/a> at Stanford. Fogg figured out that simplicity is the key to successfully changing behaviour.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his book \u2018Tiny Habits<\/a>\u2019<\/u>, Fogg describes how shrinking your habits down to small actions allows you to create new habits or to stop the ones you\u2019d like to get rid of. Fogg describes the principle behind this as \u2018B = MAP<\/em>\u2019. Behaviour only happens when motivation, ability and a prompt come together. You have to be triggered to do it, want to do it and be able to do it, otherwise it won\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

While ability can be improved and a prompt can be designed, motivation is problematic. Some days you will be motivated to do something, but at other times motivation will be low. You can\u2019t rely on motivation and willpower to change a behaviour. Just ask all those people who really want to stop smoking or eating unhealthy snacks.<\/p>\n

Motivation and willpower are not reliable. Tiny actions, however, don\u2019t rely on either.<\/p>\n

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“Simplicity changes behavior” – BJ Fogg<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If you make the desired action small enough, there won\u2019t be any reason not to do it. In other words, you won\u2019t need a lot of motivation to make yourself take action. Doing a full workout in the morning will take some discipline, but doing one single pushup against a wall after waking up won\u2019t be much of a challenge. While ridiculously small actions like this might seem insignificant, they can be used to naturally grow<\/em> a new behaviour. After all, the more you do something, the easier it becomes and the less motivation you\u2019ll need to do it. One pushup against a wall becomes a normal pushup on the floor, which becomes a set of two pushups, etc.<\/p>\n

In his book, Fogg focuses on changing your own behaviours. However, the principles in the book are equally useful in changing the behaviours of others.<\/p>\n

The Tiny Habits ABC<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Using Tiny Habits to change behaviour consists of 3 steps: an A<\/strong>nchor, a tiny B<\/strong>ehaviour and instant C<\/strong>elebration.<\/p>\n

A: the Anchor moment<\/strong><\/p>\n

You need a trigger to prompt people to start doing the new behaviour. The trigger can be an existing routine or an event that happens. It\u2019s basically a reminder to do your tiny behaviour.<\/p>\n

A trigger can be as simple as a push message. Remind your target audience to do the desired behaviour.<\/p>\n

A great example of such a trigger is the \u2018Papier hier!<\/em>\u2019 (\u2018Paper here!<\/em>\u2019) exclamation you hear in the Dutch theme park De Efteling. To keep visitors from soiling the park, interactive waste bins have been introduced, shaped like a hungry man; Holle Bolle Gijs. While walking in the park, you\u2019ll regularly hear variations of this hungry man request paper to eat. A great trigger for children (and adults) to throw in their waste paper.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/papier-hier.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Holle Bolle Gijs, the ever-hungry waste bin. Watch a full overview of all the variations here<\/span><\/a>.<\/small><\/em><\/small><\/em><\/p>\n

B: New tiny Behaviour<\/strong><\/p>\n

Make the behaviour you want to promote a simple as possible. You can do this by scaling down the behaviour you\u2019re after, or by starting with the first step. This first step is the tiniest move in the direction of the desired behaviour. The idea is to make your tiny behaviour so small that there is no reason not to do it (even when motivation is low).<\/p>\n

Do you want your colleagues to start using a new IT system? Simply ask them to open the application when they start their day. Or even better: let the program open automatically when they start their computers. Grab their attention and chances are that they will spend more and more time exploring the program.<\/p>\n

A great example of a starter step is the message you see when you create an account on Facebook or Linkedin. One of the first things that will pop up is a message asking you if you\u2019d like to invite your friends. Notice how this act requires very little work. Most of the work has been done for you. You basically only have to press the \u2018send\u2019 button. In fact, Linkedin will keep making recommendations for people you might want to add to your network and pages you might want to follow. You only have to click the \u2018connect\u2019 or \u2018follow\u2019 button. It doesn\u2019t get any easier.<\/p>\n

C: Instant Celebration<\/strong><\/p>\n

By celebrating, you tell your brain to associate the sequence of behaviours with a positive feeling. You\u2019re creating positive emotions to link to the new behaviour. For this, it is important that the \u2018reward\u2019 happens during or directly after the desired behaviour. Make the person who completed the action feel successful.<\/p>\n

Many apps use variations of small celebrations to make you want to keep using the app. By letting you unlock items, displaying achievements or awarding you badges, you keep feeling successful and will be more inclined to keep going.<\/p>\n

And remember the talking waste bin in De Efteling mentioned above? When a visitor deposits some trash in the gaping mouth of the humanoid bin, a satisfied \u2018Thank you, thank you\u2019 sounds. This is not only a fun way to make people feel successful, it\u2019s also a great incentive and a new trigger to throw in more. Children will gladly run off to collect more trash that might be lying around!<\/p>\n

https:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/papier-hier-dankuwel.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

A very polite trash bin indeed – view original video<\/span><\/a>.<\/small><\/em><\/small><\/em><\/p>\n

Make it as easy as possible<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before you start designing for the new behaviour, analyse what makes the behaviour hard to do.<\/p>\n

Some questions you might ask yourself:<\/p>\n