Hello Brains!
I'm super excited today!
I'm starting to feel comfortable with my new routines
which means it's time to start my new habit!
Ukelele, check!
Enthusiasm, check!
Fingers, check!
Yay, a new habit! Let's do this!
(rumbling sound) Woah!
Stop!
(breathing heavily)
(Jessica) Whoa! Where did you come from?
(dramatic music)
(Future Jessica) The future.
(intro music)
(coughing)
(Jessica) Future me! Wow!
How far in the future? Cuz, you look good!
(Future Jessica) About three weeks.
(Jessica) Oh.
Then what's with the silver?
(Future Jessica) Oh. It's laundry day.
(Jessica) Oh yeah, I remember that jacket.
(Future Jessica) Yeah, it was buried in the back of the-- oh!
I-- wait. I'm not here to talk about our wardrobe. I'm here to stop a terrible disaster from happening!
(Jessica) Cool, need help? (Future Jessica) No!
(Jessica) What?
(Future Jessica) That's the terrible disaster I came back to stop from happening!
(Jessica) Hey, I'm getting better.
(Future Jessica) No, I don't mean you playing the ukulele, I mean you starting a new habit.
You're not ready. Just put the ukulele down and trust me. (Jessica) But--
(Future Jessica) I'm from the future.
(Jessica) What happens if I don't?
(suspenseful music)
(Future Jessica) I'll tell you what happens.
One strum reminds you Ukuleles aren't something you can just pick up and play.
You'll need to tune it first, but you can't find your tuner.
Eventually you find it in your freezer.
(Jessica, relieved) Oh. Thanks.
(Future Jessica) You start to play it for a bit, but then your fingers hurt.
You mean to practice tomorrow.
(Jessica) I am gonna practice tomorrow!
(Future Jessica) When?
You totally forget.
The next time you remember to practice your Ukulele, you're in the middle of cooking dinner.
You decide to do it anyway.
Dinner gets burned. So do your fingers. (Jessica gasps)
(Future Jessica) By the time the bandages come off, you're already discouraged
but you're determined to push through it.
You actually sound worse.
The next day, you see your Ukulele, but you don't pick it up.
Why does it matter? You're not getting any better.
And you're starting to wonder if you have any musical talent at all.
Over the next week, the Ukulele haunts you every time you walk past it,
asking, "Why Jessica? Why won't you play me, Jessica?"
Until you finally take it out back and turn it into firewood!
(Jessica gasps) Really?!
(Future Jessica) I may have exaggerated a bit at the end there.
What did I say?
(Jessica) So, I don't give up on it?
(Future Jessica) Oh. No, no you totally do. I have no idea where that Ukulele is.
(Jessica) Oh.
(sad music)
I guess the Ukulele really isn't for me.
(Future Jessica) But it could be.
(Jessica) How?
(Future Jessica) If you want to create a new habit, create a habit loop.
I don't have much time so you're gonna want to write this down.
If you want a new habit to stick, first you'll need to figure out when you'll do the habit.
Not necessarily what time, but what will cue you that it's time to do it.
That cue can be an alarm you set, a visual reminder--
(Jessica) Oh, another habit you do first!
(Future Jessica) Whatever works for you!
But it's helpful if the cue is clear (you won't miss it, even if you're in a hurry)
and consistent (it's the same cue every time).
It's also helpful if the cue happens where you can actually do the thing.
A reminder to practice your ukulele at 4 PM won't help if you're in traffic at 4 PM
(Jessica) Yeah. This is why I've started ignoring my alarms.
(Future Jessica) Yeah, same.
(both) Yeah...
(Jessica) Okay, so my cue to practice my Ukulele could be when I sit down on the couch after work.
I do that at least five days a week.
I'll be in a place where I can play, and I'll put my Ukulele by the couch as a reminder so I won't forget.
(Future Jessica) Great! (Jessica) What's next?
(Future Jessica) Practicing the Ukelele!
(Jessica) Really? I'm ready to start?
(Future Jessica) Not quite.
First, what does practicing the Ukulele mean to you?
(Jessica) Uh, I pick it up and play?
(Future Jessica) I thought that once.
(out of tune strumming)
(Jessica) I need to tune it first.
(Future Jessica) Then what?
(Jessica) Play! (Future Jessica) Play what?
(Jessica) Yeah, I hadn't really thought this through.
(Future Jessica) Right? Most people tend to think of habits as just one thing,
but within each habit is its own little routine
and figuring out what that routine might look like ahead of time
means avoiding more of the obstacles that can discourage us along the way.
(Jessica) Like having no idea what to play.
(Future Jessica) Exactly! So what are your goals for this habit?
(Jessica) I want to write songs for the channel.
(Future Jessica) Great! What kind of songs?
(Jessica) Good ones!
...that have chords?
(Future Jessica) Great, maybe you can learn a new chord each day.
What kind of songs do you think are good?
How do you write a song?
(Jessica) I'll do some research.
(Future Jessica) Hang on, you don't need to know everything before you start,
otherwise you'd never get started.
You can build learning that stuff right into your routine.
So now, instead of just 'practice the Ukelele when you sit on the couch after work',
you have this handy-dandy routine to follow.
And you'll know what you need to be able to start it.
Like any new routine, you'll probably have to tweak it as you figure out what works best for you.
This just gives you a place to start.
(Jessica) This seems like a lot.
(Future Jessica) You could start smaller then.
Maybe just download a chord chart and learn one chord per day until you're ready to add more.
(Jessica) Done! I feel so prepared. Let's do this!
(Future Jessica) Not yet!
(Jessica) I have been very patient.
(Future Jessica) True, but the future of that Ukulele, friend or firewood, rests on one final thing.
(Jessica) What? (Future Jessica) Your brain deciding it wants to practice the Ukelele again and again and again,
until it finally becomes a habit.
(Jessica laughing)
(Jessica) I have no control over what my brain wants to do.
(Future Jessica) Not true. Why do you use a fork every time you eat?
(Jessica) It keeps my fingers clean.
(Future Jessica) Why do you write these episodes week after week?
(Jessica) I get to learn new things, and it feels good to make a difference.
(Future Jessica) Why do you go to the gym?
(Jessica) I like tracking my progress, and I get to watch Netflix while I'm on the Elliptical.
Sometimes I get a smoothie.
(Future Jessica) Right, and that is the final piece in the habit loop: reward.
(Jessica) I don't need a reward.
(Future Jessica) Yeah, we tend to tell ourselves that.
We don't need rewards! We should just do it because it's important!
But the research is clear: the habits that stick are the ones that reward our brains for doing them.
Sometimes those rewards are intrinsic.
The enjoyment of doing the thing, or the satisfaction of getting it done, makes you feel good enough
that your brain decides, "That worked out well! Sign me up again!"
But a lot of the time, especially for ADHD brains, the intrinsic motivation just isn't strong enough.
So, sure, you could just keep hitting yourself over the head with a bat labeled
"I should just do this! It'll pay off someday! I don't need rewards!"
(Jessica) Ow, ow, ow!
(Future Jessica) But a more helpful solution is to do like your brain do.
Reward it for doing the thing.
It doesn't have to be a big reward, but it does need to happen quickly enough
that your brain associates doing the thing with getting the reward.
That's why working out today to get a beach body in six months doesn't work.
The beach body's not now. Donuts are now.
But tracking your progress in your bujo today, or getting a smoothie, can work.
(Jessica) Unless you don't like tracking.
Or hate smoothies.
(Future Jessica) Right?
What works is going to be different from person to person and even from habit to habit,
But here are a few ideas that might work for practicing.
(Jessica) You have had a lot of time to think about this.
(Future Jessica) Yep!
Remember, it's a process of trial and error, so just experiment until you find the thing that convinces your brain:
"This is good. I want to do this again"
Save.
(wormhole opening) (dramatic music)
That's my ride.
(Jessica) Wait! If I do all these things, does that mean I'll definitely stick to practicing Ukelele this time?
(Future Jessica) I'll let you know.
Oh, uh,
can you leave that somewhere I could find it?
(Jessica) Oh, sure. Uh, does the description of this video work?
(Future Jessica) Perfect.
Woah!
That's it for this week.
I've also linked to some helpful articles on how to choose cues and rewards in the description below.
If you want to learn more, check out 'The Power of Habit' by Charles Duhigg,
where he goes more in depth about the habit loop
and also talks about how to exchange bad habits for good ones.
Thank you to my brain advocates and all my Patreon brains for making it possible for us to create cool videos like this.
If you haven't already, check out our behind the Brains
videos on Patreon to see how this episode was created.
If you're ready to create a new habit, comment below with the cue, routine, and reward you'll be trying out so we can encourage you along the way.
Like, subscribe, I've heard there's a bell.
Click all the things! And I will see you next week.
Bye, Brains!
Question time! What happened to the finger person? Did she ever get a name?
Yes, she did! If you guys watched the ADHD and dogs video,
it was there in plain sight! You just had to look around!
Her name is Addie H. Dee,
and the middle name is Heili, which is Icelandic for brain.
So she can literally say, "My middle name is Brain."
And, uh, by the way, her nickname is 'Fidget.'
So this was the product of a lot of you guys. A lot of different ideas.
You know who you are. We'll be reaching out to you shortly as soon as we figure out what the prizes are.
Thank you guys for playing!