We often struggle to pick up the simplest habits. Routines like taking vitamins sound easy but you’ll still find it hard to stick to a new habit if you’re short on motivation or ability. Luckily, science teaches us tricks that make building any habit easier.Jason Shen, who’s written about the science of behavior change on…
All posts in Habits
Habit of the Day: Reflection
“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.” ~ Peter Drucker Six months ago many of us set New Year’s resolutions. Statisticallyonly 8% of us will keep them by the end of the year. Last December we found out that the most active Lift users are 4.5x better at keeping…
Habit of the Day: Random Acts of Kindness
BART’s on strike in San Francisco, which meant that I had to face my fear of road biking if I wanted to get to work. As I nervously cycled on busy rush hour streets for the first time, Brian pedaled up next to me at a stoplight on Mission Street. He noticed my naiveté–easy to spot since…
Habit of the Day: Write Three Positive Things About Today
We were surprised last year when the Write three positive things about today habit doubled in participants in one day after Lifter Zack Shapiro blogged about it. The habit now has over 1,450 members: My @liftapp habit “Write three positive things about today” doubled in participants today. Got featured on @Lifehacker! http://t.co/glOg1oXy — Zack Shapiro (@ZackShapiro) January 15, 2013 What compelled…
Habit of the Day: Make Bed
Did you know that a small habit like making your bed can help you get through life’s rough patches? One Lift user, Dave, told us last week that making his bed helped him recover from a divorce: I’m 30 years old and have been going through a particularly ugly divorce (I suppose they’re all ugly). When I…
Habit of the Day: Why Meditation Increases Your Performance
Meditation might be the closest thing to a silver bullet for performance: regular practice reduces stress, improves creativity, and increases focus and memory. Entrepreneurs like Loic Le Meur and Evan Williams meditate to build better companies. Athletes like Kobe Bryant do it to play better on the court. Participants in our recent mediation challenge reported gains in their own effectiveness, too: 75%…
Lift Groups: Reach Your Investment Goals
Wouldn’t it be great if we all had a little more time and money to do the things we enjoy like taking a bike ride, spending time with family, taking a trip? If so, check out the Reach Your Investment Goals group that Betterment created on Lift which encourages you to do just that! Betterment’s…
Lift for Everyone
Starting today, Lift is available for everyone. Head to our new web app from any browser on any computer or smartphone. Lift is a goal tracker with community support. You can’t change what you don’t measure—tracking your progress is the first step toward achievement. Beyond goal tracking, the Lift community has grown into a powerful force…
Workout When You’re Least Productive: Productivity Tip from Evan Williams
Takeaway: You’ll get more done if you work according to your circadian rhythm instead of working 9-5pm. Evan Williams isn’t at work in the middle of the day. You’ll find the founder of Blogger, Twitter and Medium at the gym instead. The potential for productivity fluctuates at different times of the day for different people. Clue into your energy…
Experiment with New Habits Regularly: Productivity Tip from Buster Benson
Takeaway: Experimentation is the best (and only) way to learn what habits make you more productive. The godfather of behavior change apps Buster Benson learned a lot when building quantified self startups like 43 Things, Health Month and 750 Words. He discovered his most productive habit, writing, by trying new habits until he found the productivity hack that worked best for…