2. “If you made a New Year’s Resolution for 2015, how
would you describe your success thus far?”
Very successful
Somewhat successful
Unsuccessful
I did not make any Resolutions this year
January was a long time ago and I don’t
remember.
Poll Question!
3. …is how we live our lives.”
We can break down how we live by a series of
behaviors and habits.
Intentionally, or unintentionally, these small
behaviors and tiny habits accumulate to form who we
are, including our health, accomplishments, and life
outcomes.
“How we live our days…
4. One mistake we often make is setting outcome goals
without making appropriate behavior changes.
I can set a goal to lose 10 pounds, but if I don’t change
certain behaviors that lead to weight loss, I will most
likely fail. I can’t “think” the 10 pounds away.
We must identify behaviors that we can either modify or
create that help lead to the desired outcome.
Outcome goals are what we want. Behavior goals are
how we achieve outcomes, so focus on setting, and
following, behavior goals.
Behaviors and Outcomes
5. Outcome goal: Lose 10 pounds
Behavior changes to achieve goal:
Drink water instead of sugar-containing drinks
Eat breakfast
Bring your lunch to work instead of going out
Take the stairs instead of the elevator
Go for a walk around campus on your breaks
Get 150 minutes of exercise per week
Focus on what to do instead of what NOT to do!
Behaviors and Outcomes
6. …if you want to actually follow them.
Changing behavior/Creating new behaviors is difficult.
Tie to an anchor
Create a trigger if necessary
Start small
Make it easy
Remove obstacles
The rules of behavioral goals…
7. Anchors are behaviors that are already happening, or
can be external triggers.
Examples: Brushing teeth can be an anchor
Reading the morning newspaper might be an anchor
Getting out of bed may be an anchor
Logging onto your computer
Pouring the morning coffee
Parking the car at work
Walking the dog
Assignment: Write down 3 or 4 anchor behaviors in
your daily routine.
Anchors, Habits, and Triggers
8. Once you list anchors, you can begin to attach
desirable behaviors to them.
Brushing teeth & flossing
Reading paper and eating breakfast
Eating breakfast and taking a supplement (i.e. vitamin or
fish oil)
Pouring morning coffee and cleaning
Parking the car and taking deep breath (relaxation)
Getting out of your chair for a stretch break when your
hear the Bell Tower
Anchors, Habits, and Triggers
9. Triggers elicit responses. Triggers tell us, “do something
now!”
Behaviors only happen with a trigger
Examples: A cellphone ring is a trigger.
Walking through the kitchen may be a trigger (to eat).
TV commercials are intended to be triggers.
Calendar reminders/alerts on our computers or phones.
Pop-ups
Senses
Smells
Donut River
Visual
Shiny Things
Anchors, Habits, and Triggers
10. Avoid an “all-or-nothing” mentality.
Small changes create inertia, and lead to better
outcomes.
Example: Flossing. Instead of flossing all your teeth,
just floss one. Brushing is an anchor, and we
attach the desired “tiny” habit.
“When I brush my teeth, I will floss one tooth.”
“When I pour my morning coffee, I will wipe the
counter.”
Start Small
BJ Fogg, 3 Tiny Habits
11. Getting in shape
If you workout zero days a week, don’t set a goal to workout
6 days a week
Start with 2 or 3 days. Goals have to be realistic and
manageable
Improving diet
A complete diet overhaul is overwhelming and impractical
More practical:
Include a fruit with breakfast
Choose whole wheat bread instead of white bread
Practical Examples
12. Handling stress
“When I park my car before work, I will take 3 deep breaths.”
“When I go to bed, I will turn my cellphone off (or to silent).”
“When the clock tower chimes, I will do 2 stretches.”
Have a designated meditative minute (find appropriate anchor)
Financial
“When I receive change, I will put it in a Piggy Bank for the
entertainment fund.”
“When I receive my paycheck, I will put $25 into my savings
account.”
“When I receive my tax refund each year, I will designate X% to…
Practical Examples
13. Timed, focused work
25 minutes
5 minutes of break/rest
Repeat as necessary
The Pomodoro Technique
14. Make the habit something easy.
Good: When I pour my morning coffee, I will wipe down the
counter.
Not as good: When I pour my morning coffee, I will clean the
entire kitchen.
Good: When I park my car at work, I will take three deep
breaths.
Not as good: When I park my car at work, I will meditate for 10
minutes.
Good: When I hear the bell tower chime, I will get out of my
chair do three stretches for 10 seconds each.
When I put my breakfast on the table, I’ll place my vitamins
down beside my breakfast.
Make it Easy
15. Examples
Water bottle on desk
Fruits & vegetables washed & visible
Smaller plates for portion control
Workout clothes laid out for the morning
Make it Easy
16. For a habit to form (much less stick), we must remove
obstacles.
Part of making things easy is setting ourselves up for
success. Remove any barrier to your desired
behavior.
Example: the Sunday food prep ritual.
Example: the night before the morning run/walk.
Example of a Fail: the guitar.
Example of success: my Journal
Remove Obstacles
17. Think of behaviors in terms of time.
Dots: Behaviors that happen once.
Spans: Behaviors that happen for a designated
period. One week, one month, etc.
Paths: Behaviors that happen for life.
Brushing your teeth.
Washing your hands.
Dots, Spans, and Paths
BJ Fogg Behavioral Model
18. When instituting new behavior, dots & spans are
advantageous, because we can handle them.
Montana Moves & Meals Challenge of the Month:
Ask us a question—dot.
Last month: tracking weekly intense exercise—span.
www.tinyhabits.com Practicing 1-week span
behaviors, using many of these concepts.
Dots, Spans, and Paths
BJ Fogg Behavioral Model
19. Write down your goals.
“It’s not a goal unless you write it down.”
Share your goals.
Track your behaviors!
Online Incentive Program (Limeade)
Smartphone apps
Journal or logbook
Measure outcomes
periodically
Write it! Track it!
20. It’s a law of physics, and it applies to us!
Objects in motion tend to stay in motion/objects at rest
tend to stay at rest.
Start small, and gradually build momentum.
Celebrate victories!
Do a dance.
Say, “I’m awesome.”
Inertia and Momentum
21. Rewarding yourself reinforces habits.
Don’t reward yourself with something counterproductive
to your outcome goals
Example: I worked out today so I can have a bowl of ice-
cream. (But maybe one spoonful if you are disciplined?)
“Know Thyself”
Neal’s two post-workout rewards:
Recovery drink
Uploading results
Cristin’s reward:
Gossip magazines!
Inertia and Momentum
22. Lose the “All-or-Nothing” attitude!
This is about learning new behaviors one step at a time.
If you slip up or have a bad day, just get back on track
the next day (or meal).
Or, if you don’t have a great breakfast, it doesn’t mean
the rest of the day is lost.
Consistency over time is what matters.
“How we live our days is how we live our lives.”
Don’t beat yourself up!
24. Create three new behavior goals for yourself.
Choose your specific desired behaviors
Keep it simple, make it easy, remove obstacles.
Attach desired new behaviors to existing anchor
Establish a trigger if necessary
Pick a span of time to commit to this new behavior
Celebrate your victories!
Remove a trigger for an unwanted behavior
Visit www.tinyhabits.com to interact with BJ Fogg’s
behavior model. It’s free, and only lasts a week!
Homework
25. BJ Fogg Behavior Model and 3 Tiny Habits
www.bjfogg.com
The Essentials of Sport and Exercise Nutrition, John
Berardi and Ryan Andrews
References
