How often are you certain you'll remember to do something good for yourself, and then you just don't? The fix is usually not more willpower. It's better habit cues.
Why Your Brain Prefers Cues Over Good Intentions
A pattern that keeps showing up in behavior research and habit books is this: we seriously overestimate our ability to remember things we “intend” to do.
“I’ll remember to stretch tonight.”
“I’ll definitely go for a walk after work.”
“I’ll just eat healthier this week.”
And then life happens, your attention gets hijacked, and those good intentions drift off into the same place missing socks go.
Cues work differently. A cue is something concrete that nudges your brain at the right time. Instead of relying on your memory in a random moment, you tie the habit to something you will definitely see or do. In How to Change by Katy Milkman, and in other things I’ve read over the years, this idea of linking actions to cues shows up over and over. The basic move is simple: form an association between two things so one reminds you of the other.
How Habit Cues Work in Real Life
Think about something like putting an umbrella by the door. You might not remember “check the weather” while you’re getting ready, but you will see the umbrella on your way out. Even if it's not going to rain, that little visual poke is enough to spark the thought.
You can use the same idea for health decisions. Want to walk or run after work? Don’t keep your shoes hidden in the closet, three rooms away. Put them somewhere you basically can’t ignore when you get home. Right in the hallway or near the door. Even in a slightly obnoxious spot so you’d have to step around them to get to the couch.
That way, the moment you walk in, you get a built in reminder to move before your body fuses to the nearest soft surface. You’re giving your future, tired self a little nudge right when it matters.
Cues For “Do” And “Don’t”
You can think about cues in two directions: things you want to do more of, and things you want to do less of.
For “do more” habits:
- Put your walking or running shoes where you’ll see them when you come home.
- Leave a water bottle on your desk where your eyes naturally land.
- Keep your book on your pillow so you see it before bed.
The idea is to make the desired action the most obvious, friction free choice in that moment.
For “do less” habits, you flip the logic. You don’t have to ban junk food from existence, but you probably don’t want it front and center in your visual field.
For example:
- Put chips, candy, and other “grab and go” snacks in a cabinet instead of on the counter.
- Keep healthier options visible and easy to reach, like fruit or cut up veggies in clear containers.
Healthy food usually doesn’t punch your brain in the face with cravings the same way ultra processed snacks do. If the first thing you see is something neutral or healthy, you get a moment to decide instead of just reacting.
Let Your Environment Do Some Of The Work
The main point is that your environment is already influencing you, whether you notice it or not. Cues are just a way of making that influence intentional.
You don’t have to turn your home into a lab, but a few small tweaks can make a big difference:
- Put reminders where your future self will actually see them, not where your current self feels organized.
- Make the good choice visible and convenient.
- Make the less helpful choice a little more out of the way or out of sight.
Your brain will still be human and imperfect. Mine is too. But if you line up the right cues, you don’t have to rely quite so much on willpower and memory. You’re setting up little versions of “past you” to tap “present you” on the shoulder at just the right time.