The Cognitive Science of Good and Bad Habits (WIP)

I plan to write a peer-reviewed blog post on the cognitive science for developing habits (and post on sciencenonfiction.org). This is becoming increasingly important due to COVID-19 and the pervasiveness of social media, etc. There are a lot of good resources on this topic, but I hope to offer a more scientific view along with some tips that work for me. Here is just my first draft, consisting of mostly disorganized ideas and resources.

Science

Addiction is essentially bad habits. Science of addiction - dopamine and our reward circuit. Why do we like to be lazy? Short-term pleasures (least effort)> long-term consistency (More effort). Cue -> action -> reward. Action -> routine, wire our reward circuit.

Tips

Start small
Be strict
Be Consistent
Grow

(optional) remove distractions/obstacles (optional) accountability (habit tracker, partner)

Why technology is not humane

[I may write in this or another post on how companies profits from our attention and hence wants to keep us addicted and misinformed (misinformation is worth more than information) - quick resoures: Social Dilemma (netflix), Humane Technology]

Collective will vs capitalism’s addiction problem https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/04/capitalisms-addiction-problem/606769/

Personal:

My weekly schedule is developed through baby steps.

Resources:

Books (most helpful)

Atomic Habits by James Clear - a practical books where some of these ideas are based off of. I included the ones I feel are most important
Deep Work by Cal Newport - Examples and reasons for how and why single-pointed focus is producing the best work.
(optional) Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport - Tips on minimalizing time wasted on the computer, cellphone, etc. (which some of us struggle with)

Apps/Hardware (helpful at least initially)

Freedom - Schedule time for blocking non-essential/distracting websites. Currently, I block them from 10:00pm to 6:00pm M-F (20 hours). Easy to sync across devices.
Cold Turkey - Alternative to Freedom
Forest - Cellphone App (not using)
Kitchen Safe - (not using, but could be helpful)

Articles

https://www.reddit.com/r/nosurf/ https://www.humanetech.com/

Science Papers

https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00023210-200822050-00001 https://www.nature.com/articles/npp2009110 https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.88.6.918