Habit technique · Cues & prompts · 10–30 minutes
Remove the cue
Take away what starts the unwanted habit — out of sight, out of reach. Take away, hide or avoid the cue that starts an unwanted habit.
Level: Beginner · Free — no account needed to read
Take away, hide or avoid the cue that starts an unwanted habit.
Why it may help
A habit can’t start without its cue. Removing the cue avoids the moment of temptation entirely, instead of fighting it.
When to use it
- An unwanted habit happens automatically
- The trigger is an object or a place
- Willpower keeps losing in the moment
How to apply it
- Find the most common cue.
- Ask: can I remove it, hide it, or move myself away from it?
- Make one change today.
- Watch whether the habit happens less.
An example
Charging his phone in the kitchen removed Ravi’s bedtime scrolling cue.
The common mistake
Leaving the cue in place and relying on a rule.
Practise it
Remove one cue for an unwanted habit before the day ends.
What the evidence says
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.
Reducing exposure to cues is a recognised technique, and research on self-control suggests changing the situation beats resisting in the moment.
Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy (v1) codes: 7.3, 12.3.
Sources
- Duckworth, Gendler & Gross (2016). Situational Strategies for Self-Control. Perspectives on Psychological Science. doi:10.1177/1745691615623247
- Michie, Richardson, Johnston, Abraham, Francis, Hardeman and colleagues (2013). The Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy (v1) of 93 Hierarchically Clustered Techniques. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. doi:10.1007/s12160-013-9486-6
Problems it helps with
- “I can’t stop an unwanted habit.” — You’ve decided to stop, and it still happens — often before you’ve even noticed.
Lessons behind it
- Remove or reduce the cue — Change what you see, where you go and what’s within reach. (6 min · Beginner)