#85 Habit Containers

If I start learning a new language, I don’t aim to be good.

My only goal: integrate a daily language learning habit into my day, as a habit container, without much regard for progress.

Only when the habit container is in place, and I have built trust of completion (“Now I am the person who spends some time learning a language every single day”), the question becomes: which activities will build my skills most quickly?

I could use my language learning habit container to learn a word a day – but that won’t help me much when speaking.

Within the exact same habit container, I could also learn a chunk a day (a phrase), which I can use in conversations right away. Same habit container, same time investment, but better results.

Within my “writing habit container”, I can write something in a private notebook every day – which is an excellent habit.

But within that same container, I could also start publishing a short article every day. That changes the game.

Don’t try to be good when building the habit. First build the habit container. Once it’s in place, you can start optimizing the actions you take within that container.

First build trust in completion. Then build trust in skill.

In other words: first I become good at learning a language every day. Then I become good at learning a language.