Master Habits, Master Life: The Science of Cues, Routines, and Rewards

Improving just one percent per day will lead to nearly 38x growth in just one year.

For years, my mornings followed a predictable script - alarm goes off, smash the snooze button, leap into a fast shower, quickly down a coffee, and walk briskly just to get to work just on time. The first hour at the office I was still waking up. I wasn't fully present in meetings. It took an hour to get close to anything resembling deep work.

"If you win the morning, you win the day." - Tim Ferris

Working at a startup made me feel like I needed to find a way to be twice as productive as usual just to operate at the level that everyone around me was. My co-workers were younger than me and would regularly stay at the office from 9am until 7pm. I wanted to get home at a reasonable hour to make dinner for my partner, so I needed to find more hours somewhere. I remembered a quote from Tim Ferris - "If you win the morning, you win the day." I decided that I could find more time in the quiet hours of the mornings.

I started waking up at 3:30. The sun wasn't up yet, but after 30 minutes of caffeination and watching the sun rise, I could get a couple hours of work in before starting my "usual" day. The first week was tough (I am not normally a morning person), but results came quickly. By the time morning standup rolled around, I had already finished several of the days tasks. It was addictive. I was getting more done and leaving at a reasonable time. My morning hours added more productivity for me than most of my co-workers could add using extra hours at the end of the day when they were tired. These two actions made the biggest difference:

• Setting a Routine - The morning as my time to get ahead. I would set clear goals the night before and was completely focussed on getting them done before the day started.
• Avoiding Distractions - in the mornings, no one is awake, so I had time for deep, focussed work. The work day is filled with meetings, and getting ahead of my tasks meant that I could be more present in those times since I was less distracted at both ends of the day.

Not a morning person? Quiet, focused time—whenever it works for you—is key to improvement. For some, this can mean working late at night (I have had some success with that as well). Night time work can be dangerous though as it leaves you tired during the day.

The Power Of Habits - Cue, Routine, Reward

Scientific research shows that habits are formed through a loop of cues, routines, and rewards. If you are looking for a deep dive, check out "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg. The cue triggers a specific behaviour, the routine is the behaviour itself, and the reward reinforces the habit by releasing dopamine in the brain. Studies in behavioural neuroscience reveal that consistent cues—like a specific time of day or a visual prompt—activate the basal ganglia, the brain region responsible for habit formation. Over time, this process becomes automatic, requiring less conscious effort. Importantly, the anticipation of the reward, whether it’s a feeling of accomplishment or a treat, is just as crucial as the reward itself for solidifying the habit. This cycle is why small, well-structured habits can lead to lasting change with exponential benefits over time.

For me, the cues for my habit were very clear. Alarm goes off, and I make coffee. By the time the coffee is done, I get into the routine. I have a list of goals that I made the day before that I want to finish before getting dressed at 8:30. The reward for my early morning effort is that I could enjoy myself at work more. I was more alert (since the morning was more like mid-day for me) and I could chat with co-workers or enjoy meetings guilt free since I had already accomplished a day of work.

The unexpected upside of this new habit was that I actually ended up getting even more done at work during the day since I was inadvertently developing a habit of getting into deep work quickly using my checklist approach. The same approach can be used to get rid of bad habits. Identify cues for those habits, and replace the routines and rewards that follow them.

"Imperfect action is better than perfect inaction" - Harry Truman

I had a powerful desire to be the absolute best developer that I could at my job. My environment was positive and filled with high performing individuals. I felt no small amount of imposter syndrome, but I was determined to prove everyone wrong and outperform even the best of my co-workers. In hindsight, I know that way more people were rooting for me to succeed than fail, but that was hard to see from the inside. I stuck to my new habit for a full year, and saw massive growth in my productivity and confidence.

If you are looking to form a habit or make powerful changes in your life, I would also recommend checking out "Atomic Habits" by James Clear (I love reading - can you tell?). His advice - start small. Forming a new habit should take less than two minutes to start. You need a trigger to let clearly differentiate your time and change your mindset. For me, I am trying to develop a new habit of writing more. In order to get pen to paper (or hands on keyboards).

The Good Stuff - Prompts for Productivity

I love tools that make things easier. For my habit-forming own journey, I have set up a personal accountability reminder that includes an affirmation reminding me that I am the type of person that prioritizes effective communication and writing. Here's the prompt I use:

Send me a message every day at 8am as my accountability 
coach with some encouraging words to keep me motivated 
with my habit of doing more writing. 
Include some links form around the web for inspiration.

My "coach" (which is an AI that knows about my preferences) send me this to read when I wake up:

Good morning! Remember, your words have the power to inspire 
and connect. Keep writing and stay committed to your craft! 
You've got this!

Here's some great articles I found to get your creativity 
flowing:
(list of links here)

Shifting my focus to my desired identity as a great communicator starts my day off in the right mindset. This replaces saying something like "I want to exercise" with "I am the type of person who prioritizes health" - and may seem silly, but shifts your thinking in a way that can have a powerful effect on habit formation.

Weekly Check-ins

Many jobs have daily check-ins built (eg: morning standup meetings). Working solo, I find adding something like this helpful to keep on track so I also use my digital assistant to message me once a week. Since it has access to most human knowledge, I simply ask it to use the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound) for setting goals that will move me forward.

Send me a message every Sunday to ask how last week went, and 
remind me to set measurable goals for the next week. Use the 
SMART framework to keep me honest.

The combination of daily affirmations and a weekly checkin has been very motivating for me personally. I prefer to use an automated process for this because it feels more comfortable than talking to an actual person. It also has near perfect memory so it gets better the more it knows about me and my goals.

Take-away Lessons

To make big changes, and alter my trajectory, I needed a few ingredients:

• Quiet Time for Focused Work
• Clear Goals of What to Accomplish
• Focus on a Desired Self Identity

If you want to improve your habits, focus on cues, routines and rewards. Find a way to leverage planning and repeatable tasks and prepare for setbacks. External motivation can drive consistency so set up some kind of reminder for yourself and make sure that you celebrate your success. Rewards can reinforce those neural pathways and keep you on the right track.