From deciding to doing it automatically
The basal ganglia are a group of structures deep in the brain; the largest part is the striatum. When you first learn an action, it depends on deliberate, goal-directed control. With repetition in the same context, control shifts toward circuits in the striatum that link a cue directly to the action. That's a habit. Established
How long it takes
A study following people building a new daily habit found it took a median of 66 days to become automatic, with a huge range, from 18 to 254 days. Missing a single day did not meaningfully set people back. Established
Why the same time each day
Habits attach to context: a place, a time, a preceding action. Your reminder goes out at your usual listening time, and the session only unlocks once a day, at 04:00 local time, so the practice finds a stable slot. Established
Missing days
A missed day doesn't reset anything. You can complete a level with 24 of 30 sessions. Come back the next day and carry on.
Sources
- Graybiel, A. M. (2008). Habits, rituals, and the evaluative brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 31, 359-387. doi:10.1146/annurev.neuro.29.051605.112851
- Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998-1009. doi:10.1002/ejsp.674
- Wood, W., & Rünger, D. (2016). Psychology of habit. Annual Review of Psychology, 67, 289-314. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033417