This has nothing to do with forming a habit. It’s just a couple of my sketchbook pages.

It’s time to make a habit.

Habits are stupid and awesome. They’re obnoxious because we tend to have a lot of bad ones and they’re awesome because we don’t have to figure out exactly how we want to brush our teeth each day.

Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit suggests that habits are actually incredibly simple to understand. There are just three steps. Cue, Routine, Reward.

So let’s fill in the blanks. Obviously, our Routine will be practicing art (we’ll get to how to practice in a bit). One down.

Our cue really depends on… you. It could be when you first wake up in the morning. When you have your first cup of coffee for the day. When you listen to a certain album. When you first sit down at your desk.

Let’s say it’s that last one. Every day, you’re going to sit down at your desk, and your materials for your studies will be waiting for you. Your paper will be clean, your pencil will be sharpened, your reference will be prepared. You’ve set up your Cue to practice.

Last up: Reward! This is a fun one. Find a way to kick your dopamine into gear and have some happy fun times. I personally get a kick out of sharing what I’ve just made, even if it’s just a quick study. It’s probably for the same reason that when we were kids we all showed our mom what we had just drawn. The internet is the new fridge to put your art on.

For a while I was doing studies when I first got hungry in the morning. Breakfast was my Reward, hunger was my Cue.