Charles Duhigg on habits and habit formation: ’tis all about cue, routine and reward

The Context Of Things

In a way, habits are everything in your life — and Charles Duhigg is getting a bunch of attention recently for his book The Power of Habit, which talks about basic issues like “How are habits formed?” and “How can we change them?” There is a requisite amount of Malcolm Gladwell-esque “pop psychology” in there, because that type of stuff ultimately ties an average reader back to a more complicated work. Example:

While working as reporter in Iraq, he closely observed how one army major studied the habits of crowds in an effort to reduce rioting. After recognizing that food vendors placed within a busy plaza increased public gatherings (and potential problems) near dusk, the major met with the town’s mayor to suggest removing these vendors. Within weeks the crowds would gather, but quickly break apart as they discovered there was nowhere to eat.

Here’s the whole idea behind…

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