The Tension between Habit Making & Habit Doing
Building a new habit from scratch takes both a habit maker and a habit doer. The Maker is the designer: what is the routine? when will you do it? how to get you to do it again? The Doer has the job of playing out the habit.
One reason why you struggle with 'installing' new habits? Both of them are the same person: You. Habit models tell us that habits are made of cues, routines, and rewards. But they don't tell you how the Maker & Doer can separately make use of these elements.
The maker says: 'Wouldn't it be nice to...'. In excitement, it designs a routine on the back of a napkin: when you should do it, and how this will help in some blurry future.
But it turns out the doer preferred staying in bed. Design refuses to turn into action.
This is particularly true of 'complex habits' such as reading, writing, posting online for social capital, networking etc. Each time, you set out to do this, it's a little different: a different page, a different prompt, a different person.
Here's where the maker can try simplifying routines, and introducing enticing rewards.
But it's not always the doer's fault. Sometimes the doer is all for a habit, but the maker wasn't involved. The result? The lack of a system that prevents desire from becoming action.
This is true of 'simple habits': drinking water, eating fruit, checking in on family. It's the same, well-understood routine each time. But what if there's no bottle at hand? Or the basket is empty? Or if you just forgot about your daily call?
Here, if the maker picks good design choices like relevant reminders and appropriate spaces, the doer is happy to get going.
Like with the famous model of System 1 & System 2 thinking, both Habit Makers & Habit Doers reside within us, have complementary roles to play in installing new habits, but pull in different directions. If you're struggling to foster a habit, revisit the situation with the mind of a Maker and the heart of a Doer.