Module 3 · Build better habits · Research-supported

Choosing a cue

Time, place, a preceding event or a person — and which kind fits your life.

6 min read · Level: Beginner · Free — no account needed to read

The problem it solves

What should actually start your habit?

The concept

A good cue happens every day (or every time the habit is due), is easy to notice, and comes at a moment when you can actually act. There are four common kinds: a time (“at 7am”), a location (“when I sit at my desk”), a preceding event (“after I pour my coffee”), and a person (“when my running partner messages”).

Preceding-event cues are often the strongest because they’re already built into your day and happen at a natural break. Time cues work well if your schedule is steady; location cues work when you’re reliably in a place.

The best cue is the one that fits your real life. If your mornings vary, “after I brush my teeth” beats “at 7am”.

Why it matters

Implementation-intention research shows that linking a behaviour to a specific situation helps people act on intentions. A randomised trial found routine-based and time-based cues worked similarly — so pick the one that is most reliable in your days.

Research-supported: Good studies support it, but there are fewer of them, the effects are modest, or they come from a narrow set of situations.

See it happen

Elif plans to meditate “sometime in the evening”.

The ordinary first approach

The evening is flexible, which should make it easier to fit in.

With the idea

She picks a preceding event that always happens: right after she washes her face at night, on the same cushion.

What changed

A vague window became a specific moment that shows up every night.

Easy to get wrong

• Using “when I have time” — that isn’t a cue.
• Picking a cue that only happens some days.
• Choosing a moment when you can’t actually do the habit, like “when I get to work” for a home activity.

Try it now: List your daily anchors

1. Write five things you do every day without fail — wake up, make a drink, brush teeth, sit down to work, get into bed.
2. Next to each, write a habit that could fit right after it.
3. Pick the pairing that feels most natural.

Apply it to one of your habits

For one of your habits, choose one cue — time, place, preceding event or person — and write it down.

Reflect

• Which kind of cue fits your life best — time, place, event or person?

Go deeper — evidence & sources

• Gollwitzer (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.54.7.493
• Keller, Kwasnicka, Klaiber, Sichert, Lally & Fleig (2021). Habit formation following routine-based versus time-based cue planning: A randomized controlled trial. British Journal of Health Psychology. doi:10.1111/bjhp.12504
• Rogers & Milkman (2016). Reminders Through Association. Psychological Science. doi:10.1177/0956797616643071