Habits Month is about practical ways to make better digital-maintenance behavior stick.
After looking at routine triggers, the next technique is a low-tech one: physical reminders placed where they can interrupt your autopilot.
Habits Week 2: Paper Reminders
If your home, travel, or work environment allows it, you can place brightly colored reminders where you frequently go. Those reminders can be generic prompts, very specific instructions, or reminders of the result you're aiming for. For example:
- Clean email
- Organize photos
- Delete ten emails
- Close browser tabs
- Cull today's photos
- Review tomorrow's tasks
- Inbox zero
Paper reminders work especially well alongside routine triggers, particularly in places like a bathroom mirror, desk area, or kitchen. The goal is to create a visual interruption that catches your attention before you slide into your usual behavior.
For people who don't naturally rely on analog tools, paper can actually work better because it feels slightly out of place. That makes it harder to ignore.
That said, don't overdo it. If you already surround yourself with sticky notes, adding one more may not accomplish much. The reminder can quickly fade into background noise.
A better starting point is to place one new reminder in a conspicuous location that is otherwise free of reminders. Let your brain notice it as something that doesn't belong there. If that happens often enough—and you act on it each time—you start reinforcing the new behavior.
If sticky notes feel boring, get creative. The reminder doesn't have to be paper or words at all. It just has to be something deliberately out of place, such as:
- A special mug on your pillow
- A stuffed animal on your office chair
- A wire hanger bent into a star on your door
- A book opened to a specific page on your nightstand
- A Lego creation sitting in your spot at the dinner table
The possibilities are endless. The important part is making yourself notice something unusual so you remember to continue the habit you're trying to build.