New addiction: sleep

I've gone through probably the first half of my life under the misapprehension that everything that's bad about me is a bad habit. And the corollary that I need to break those bad habits. I've learned that breaking habits is hard ... possibly impossible. Will power is fleeting; no one else cares to keep me on track; I don't care to endure the process after the first week (if that).

So I give up. I label myself a failure at another thing. I identify as weak-willed. But wait ... what about all the things I do manage to do? All the things I've learned and understand?

I'm discovering that the trick is to figure out what I need to *do* to make the change I want to see. That's about making a new habit, not avoiding an old one. I can't quit a bad habit because "don't" doesn't work. "Do" is the solution. So I need to define the habit I want.

But aren't habits hard to make? Hah! How long did it take me to make a habit of checking email on my phone every time it beeps?

Why don't I apply the things I know to the way I live? How do I turn one-time hacks into daily routines?

So let's deconstruct what a habit is:

Trigger → Action → Reward (Repeat)

("They" say it takes 21 times to make a habit. That's a myth, but it does take practice.)

• Trigger: I hear that cheerful arcturus bleep.
• Action: I pull my phone out of my pocket and swipe the notification.
• Reward: I make a connection with someone.

So Google has me trained.
(Note to self: turn off email notifications.)

What do I want to do? Let me start with health ... and that starts with getting a good sleep.
Old behaviour: staying up til I fall asleep on my keyboard and yawning all the next day

New habit:

• Trigger: schedule screen light to dim at 11 using f.lux, bedroom temperature to raise and computer room temperature to drop with my programmable thermostats
• Action: get changed into favourite cozy housecoat and turn down bed/turn reading light on
• Reward: 2 minutes with Headspace meditation as I drift off

Let's see how this works. I schedule a reminder into Google Calendar and a check-in for Day 21.

Day 1 begins now.

Your science moment: how your brain works