The secret habits that control your life | Wendy Wood
Friction, the barriers to performing a habit are the key to changing them:
- distance
- time
- effort
Example of this is a study which observed the use of elevators depending on the time it took for the elevator doors to close. When it was immediate elevator use was high. It was then changed to 16 seconds, which was long enough that a third of the people started taking the stairs. When later changed back to close door immediately, elevator use did not go back to original highs. Apparently because people had made a habit of taking stairs.