By Judson Brewer

Breaking habits is hard. Put simply, reward-based learning involves a trigger (for example, the feeling of hunger), followed by a behavior (eating food) and a reward (feeling sated). These three components show up every time we smoke a cigarette or eat a cupcake. This is especially true at work. Each time we try to soothe ourselves from a taxing assignment we reinforce the reward, to the point where unhealthy distractions can become habits.

My time spent studying the behavioral neuroscience of how habits form, and the best way to tackle them, helped me find a surprisingly natural way to break habits: mindfulness.

By using mindfulness training to make people more aware of the reward reinforcing their behavior, I can help them tap into what is driving their habit in the first place. Once this happens, they are more easily able to change their association with the reward from a positive one to a more accurate (and often negative) one. The reward value of the habit decreases because it isn’t as gratifying as people remember.

Mindfulness training can help workers improve their productivity, morale and overall performance by teaching them how to overcome the habits that may be holding them back from thriving. Here’s how to get started:

Map out your habit loops

The first step to breaking a habit (no matter what it is) is to figure out your triggers.

See what you actually get out of those actions

The next step is to clearly link up action and outcome. Pay attention to how you feel when you partake in your habit.

Replace the reward with curiosity

Find a new reward that is more rewarding than the existing behavior. The brain is always looking for that bigger, better offer.

If you’re curious to see how well this might work for you, now is a good time to give it a try.

Judson Brewer is the director of research and innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center.