Neurological Strategies for Habit Forming and Breaking

Dopamine puts you into an action state and serotonin biases you toward a calm and creative state. Habits should be placed at specific times of the day based on brain states. Linear habits, ones that you know how to do and just need to do, should be done in the early part of the day when epinephrine, dopamine, and cortisol are higher. Nonlinear habits, such as creative writing and brainstorming, work best in the second phase of the day when we are calmer. Sleep is the habit to engage in the third phase. It is important to align the habits you are trying to form with the times of day when they will be easiest. Exercise should be done in the early part of the day, creative work in the second part, and developing new exploratory skills in the second part as well. Linear skills are best learned in the early part of the day. Additionally, the science of goal setting provides clear data.