Small hassles and extra steps can sharply reduce action.
More quotesHabits fail in cupboards and succeed beside toothbrushes because memory is exquisitely sensitive to context and motivation gets far too much credit.
A tablet left behind a kitchen door depends on spontaneous recollection at the correct moment. A phone alarm during the commute supplies recollection when the action is impossible. Place the box beside something already used every morning and the old sequence presents the new action at a useful time.
The excerpt’s point is stubbornly physical. Stable context builds an association. Repetition belongs to a sequence: enter bathroom, brush teeth, see box, take tablet. There is no daily summit of willpower. The action becomes another link in what already happens.
This looks too small for an industry fond of goals, pledges, streaks and triumphant copy. A cardboard box beside a sink photographs badly. It also continues appearing after enthusiasm has gone home.
Disruption exposes the arrangement. Move house, travel, change the bathroom or put the replacement pack back in the cupboard and forgetting returns. The person has not suffered a sudden collapse of character. The cue has disappeared from the relevant moment.
On Wednesday the box moves beside the toothbrush. It is seen after brushing. On Saturday breakfast happens late and the sequence still works. On Sunday the pack is empty. The replacement remains in the cupboard until Monday evening.