habit-loop
Cue-routine-reward sequence
A habit-loop is the neurological cycle underlying automatic behaviors: a cue triggers a routine, which delivers a reward.
The term comes from behavioral psychology and productivity literature.
Understanding the loop helps in breaking bad habits or forming good ones—you identify the cue, change the routine, keep the reward: I replaced my afternoon candy bar with a walk, same energy boost.
Trigger for action
- routineRegular sequence of actions
- rewardPayment for service
- triggerWhat initiates action
- cravingPowerful urge to have
automaticity · repetition · pattern · conditioning · stimulus · response · reinforcement · unconscious
Powerful urge to have
- dopamineReward-linked neural messenger
- withdrawalAct of taking away
- relapseReturn to former illness
- toleranceWillingness to accept difference
urge · dependence · spiral · escape · substance · gambling · scrolling · binge
Placing items vertically
- atomicOf elemental particles
- streakUnbroken series
- consistencyReliable adherence to standards
- willpowerMental strength resisting impulse
discipline · goal-setting · tracking · journaling · accountability · friction · default · system
Forceful interruption of process
- substitutionExchange of one for another
- awarenessState of perceiving reality
- mindfulnessAwareness of the present
- interventionPurposeful involvement to change course
replacement · friction · obstacle · tapering · accountability · commitment · delay · distraction
cue
Trigger for action
craving · automaticity · repetition · pattern · conditioning · stimulus · response · reinforcement · unconscious · automation
craving
Powerful urge to have
- dopamineReward-linked neural messenger
- withdrawalAct of taking away
- relapseReturn to former illness
tolerance · urge · dependence · spiral · escape · substance · gambling · scrolling · binge · compulsive
stacking
Placing items vertically
- atomicOf elemental particles
- streakUnbroken series
- consistencyReliable adherence to standards
willpower · discipline · goal-setting · tracking · journaling · accountability · friction · default · system · ritual
disruption
Forceful interruption of process
- substitutionExchange of one for another
- awarenessState of perceiving reality
- mindfulnessAwareness of the present
intervention · replacement · friction · obstacle · tapering · accountability · commitment · delay · distraction · reframing
habit-loopdeliberate choice
Decision made on purpose
conscious decision · executive function · reflective thinking · self-regulation
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