Fogg Behavior Model

• Introduced to me by [[M. B.]], who shared https://www.deprocrastination.co/blog/how-to-stop-procrastinating-by-using-the-fogg-behavior-model
• Behaviour = Motivation + Ability + Trigger. Missing any of the three can cause [[procrastination]]; a failure to reach a planned behaviour.
• Motivation
  • Motivation must be built.
  • Motivation is felt [[qualia]] when we feel how an action is meaningful or valuable and we believe we can take it.
  • Remind yourself of the why. Try to remember in vivid detail why you thought you needed to do it.
  • Try to link the task to a personal goal that you want to achieve.
    • "Write a thesis" -> "Write a thesis to deepen your understanding of a subject and get recognized by others in your field."
• Ability
  • When everything seems hard, it’s easy to succumb to procrastination. Email is (boring but) easier than work. But procrastinating won’t make task easier; perhaps it’ll achieve the opposite.
  • Focus on small steps to manage difficulty. Break it down. How is often not obvious. Identify the distinct parts that form the whole.
    • "Create a presentation" -> research topic + find images + create slides + rehearse.
  • Create a simple [[timeline]]
    • Start with the due date.
    • Go back day by day, or week by week, and write down what you’d like to have done by then, until you arrive at today.
    • Put the timeline in full view.
    • Start working on the first item.
    • "Deliver a presentation" -> Day 10 rehearse and present; Day 9 list sources and add finishing touches, …, Day 1 make a list of at least 10 articles and resources to use.
• Trigger
  • Sport coaches motivate, cultivate ability, and give triggers. Modern work often doesn’t have built-in [[triggers]].
  • You need to self-trigger. Often we just leave this to circumstance; the only default circumstance in most projects is the deadline. So the deadline becomes the only trigger we obey.
  • Add triggers. The key to an effective trigger is a sense of "I’m supposed to be doing this, right now."
    • Create a cue.
      • When you sit down to work, give yourself 5-15 minutes to decide which task to start with. If you don’t know which one you should take after the time expires, choose at random. Then start.
      • At the end of one work day, determine where you want to start the next day and put it in your calendar.
      • Be creative: leave things on your desk that serve as cues to start work on a project — meaning by default sitting down and deciding which task to start with.
    • Define a specific task to do, at a specific place, at a specific moment in time — and make sure you can’t miss the cue.
• Build up motivation by finding meaning. Break down complex tasks and plan them in a timeline. Define concrete triggers that will help you start working.