Make It Obvious: The Power of Visual Cues and Habit Stacking

In our previous episode, we decoded the Habit Loop, learning that every habit begins with a Cue. If the cue is the starting pistol of the habit race, our first mission is to make sure that starting pistol is loud, clear, and impossible to ignore.

This brings us to the **First Law of Behavior Change:** Make It Obvious.

🔍 Law 1: Make It Obvious

Your habits are highly dependent on your environment. By making the cues for good habits visible and accessible, you drastically increase the likelihood of acting on them.

1. Design Your Environment for Success (The Power of Context)

If you want a habit to become a large part of your life, you need to make the cue a large part of your environment. Think of your environment as a suggestion box for your behavior.

• For Exercise: Lay your running shoes and workout clothes out the night before. The visual cue when you wake up makes the decision to exercise easier.
• For Healthier Eating: Keep a bowl of fruit visible on the kitchen counter and hide snacks in an opaque cabinet.
• For Reading: Place a book right next to your spot on the couch or on your pillow—wherever you spend downtime.

The Takeaway: Stop relying on motivation. Start redesigning your world so that the right actions are the path of least resistance.

2. The Most Powerful Strategy: Habit Stacking

One of the most effective ways to make a new habit obvious is to attach it to an existing habit. This technique is called Habit Stacking.

Instead of trying to remember a completely new action, you link it to something you already do automatically. The existing habit serves as the Cue for the new one.

The Habit Stacking Formula

The formula is simple and highly specific:

“After I [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].”

• Example 1 (Meditation): "After I pour my morning cup of coffee, I will meditate for one minute."
• Example 2 (Learning): "After I sit down for dinner, I will say one thing I'm grateful for."
• Example 3 (Finances): "After I open my email for the first time, I will check my savings account balance."

Pro Tip: Be specific. The time and location associated with your current habit should serve as a clear trigger for your new habit.

❌ What About Bad Habits? (Invert the Cue)

The opposite is true for eliminating bad habits. If you want to break a habit, you must make the cue **invisible.**

• If you spend too much time on your phone, put it in a different room or a drawer after work.
• If you are snacking too much, put the tempting food in an inaccessible place or simply stop buying it.

By removing the cue, you prevent the habit loop from ever starting.

🚀 Coming Up Next

We've learned how to make good habits **obvious** and bad habits **invisible**. But what happens when the habit is obvious, but you just don't feel like doing it?

In our next article, we will tackle the challenge of making bad habits disappear completely by focusing on the Inversion of the Cue.

Don't miss Episode 3: Invert the Cue: How to Make Bad Habits Invisible!