Habit book notes · BJ Fogg · 2019

Tiny Habits — the big ideas

Behaviour as motivation, ability and a prompt meeting at one moment; start with a tiny version anchored to an existing routine, and celebrate.

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From the founder of Stanford’s Behavior Design Lab. It argues that behaviour happens when motivation, ability and a prompt meet, and that the most reliable way to change is to start tiny, anchor to an existing routine, and celebrate.

The big ideas

Behaviour = motivation + ability + prompt

When a behaviour isn’t happening, one of the three is missing. Increasing ability (making it easier) is usually more reliable than increasing motivation.

Start tiny

Shrink the behaviour until it’s easy to do even with low motivation; it can grow naturally once it’s established.

Celebrate

Create a small positive feeling right after the behaviour to help it take root.

Key concepts

• Fogg Behavior Model
• Anchor moments
• Tiny behaviours
• Celebration
• Motivation waves

Limits

• The method itself has little independent trial evidence; its principles fit research on cues, ease and reward.
• Very tiny habits can feel pointless to some people — the right size is personal.

What the research says

• Fogg (2009) — Proposed that a behaviour happens when motivation, ability and a prompt come together at the same moment; when it is not happening, one of the three is missing. Limits: A design model from a conference paper, later developed into the practitioner method Tiny Habits.
• Judah, Gardner & Aunger (2013) — People asked to floss after brushing (rather than before) tended to form stronger flossing habits and, eight months later, still flossed more often — suggesting the end of an existing routine is a good place to attach a new behaviour. Limits: A small, exploratory study of one behaviour; the authors call for more rigorous tests.
• Woolley & Fishbach (2016) — How much people enjoyed an activity while doing it predicted how long they persisted better than how much they valued its delayed benefits — so making the activity itself more enjoyable helps. Limits: Short-term studies of persistence.

Apply this idea

Write one tiny habit as “After I [anchor], I will [tiny behaviour]”, and choose how you’ll celebrate the moment you finish.

Described in our own words with the source named — not a summary of the whole book.