Cast a Vote

Inspired by James Clear · Atomic Habits Go to the source ↗

A small action is a vote for the person you are becoming, and the vote is the part you control. These are habits in James Clear's sense: one repetition at a time, made obvious, made easy, made worth doing again. Every card is something you could do today — never the person it would make you, because who you become is not a thing anyone can promise by Friday.

Choose from 11

Who does this make me?

Cast One Vote

I will do one small thing that the person I want to be would do.

I name the kind of person this is for, ask what a person like that would do here, and then do that one small thing.

Keep the Evidence

I will notice one small win from today that is evidence of who I am becoming.

What makes it obvious?

Name When and Where

I will decide when and where this happens, not only that it will.

I decide the time and the place — or stack it onto something I already do without thinking, so the thing before it becomes the cue.

Set the Environment

I will make the cue for what I want unmissable, and take away the cue for what I don't.

I leave the thing where I cannot miss it, and keep one place for one kind of work so the place does the reminding. Whatever starts the thing I would rather not do, I put out of sight.

What makes it easy?

Two Minutes Is Enough

I will scale the habit down to two minutes and let that count.

Change the Friction

I will take a step out of what I want and put one in front of what I don't.

I take one step out from between me and the thing I mean to do — preparing the space the night before, so the doing itself takes nothing — and put one extra step in front of what I would rather not do.

Do the One-Time Thing

I will do one thing once that makes the rest easier for good — unsubscribe, buy it, move the furniture.

What makes it worth doing again?

Make It Worth Repeating

I will give the repetition something good attached to it, close enough to still connect.

I do it alongside something I already enjoy, or give myself something small straight after. Where I can, I find the part I actually enjoy and finish there.

Join the Room Where It's Normal

I will spend time among people for whom this is simply what you do.

What do I do after a miss?

Never Miss Twice

If yesterday did not happen, I will make today the one that does.

If yesterday did not happen, today is the one that does. On a hard day that means the smallest version rather than nothing, and beginning again without needing to make anything of it.

Change the Setup, Not Myself

When a habit keeps not happening, I will change what is around it rather than ask more of myself.

You get your own editable copy — change anything, drop what doesn’t fit. They land in your Intentions, tagged Practice; you pull in what each day is for.