Putting It All Together: Worked Examples of Habit-Friendly Routines
Theory is useful, but seeing these principles in action makes them concrete. Let’s walk through two short, prose-style examples of how someone might design their environment for two common goals: a peaceful evening wind-down and a focused morning primer.
Example 1: The Evening Wind-Down Routine
Sarah wants to stop scrolling on her phone before bed and read a book instead. She knows this will improve her sleep, but the pull of social media is strong. She decides to architect a habit-friendly environment for success.
Her identity goal is to be “a calm and well-rested person.” First, she identifies her minimum viable action: read one page of a book. It’s so easy she can’t refuse. Next, she conducts a friction audit. The friction for reading is high (the book is on a dusty shelf downstairs) and the friction for phone use is zero (it’s always in her hand or on the nightstand). She reverses this. She buys a beautiful novel she’s excited about and places it, with a bookmark, directly on her pillow each morning when she makes the bed. Now, the book is the first thing she sees when she gets into bed. To increase friction for phone use, she buys a simple alarm clock and sets up a charging station in her kitchen. An hour before bed, a recurring alarm on her phone reminds her: “Time to plug in for the night.” She physically walks her phone to the kitchen and plugs it in, removing the temptation from her bedroom entirely. The cue for phone scrolling (her phone on the nightstand) is gone, replaced by a new cue (the book on her pillow). The action is easy, and the reward is the feeling of calm from reading and, ultimately, better sleep. She has designed a system where her environment, not her willpower, guides her to the better choice.
Example 2: The Morning Focus Primer Routine
David wants to start his workday with a clear plan instead of immediately diving into the chaos of his inbox. His goal is to be “an intentional and productive professional.” He often finds himself reacting to emails for the first hour, which sets a scattered tone for the rest of his day.
His minimum viable action is to write down his single most important task for the day. He performs his friction audit. Currently, the first thing he does is open his laptop, where his email client automatically launches—a low-friction path to distraction. The friction for planning is high; he has to find a notebook and pen and think about his priorities while notifications are already popping up. He re-engineers this flow. The night before, as part of his shutdown ritual, he closes all applications on his computer except for a blank text document. He also places a single sticky note and a pen in the center of his closed laptop. Now, when he arrives at his desk, the first cue is not the email icon, but the physical sticky note. He takes 60 seconds to write his most important task on it and sticks it to his monitor. Only then does he open his laptop. By creating this simple, low-friction planning habit and adding significant friction to his old email habit (he now has to consciously click to open his email), he primes his day for proactive work. He is building his desired identity one sticky note at a time, thanks to a small but powerful change in his habit environment.
