I recently tried and failed at maintaining the habit of flossing my teeth. Prompted by suggestions in that thread, I purchased 2 rolls of dental floss instead of 1, so that next time I finish a roll of floss, my habit doesn’t get broken while I procrastinate on buying a new one. I think I’m about 3 days in flossing twice a day.
When I was reading the remote researcher submissions on the psychology of habit formation, I noted that trying to form a habit after a disruptive life-change like moving somewhere was considered one of the best times to do so by the researchers. I merely noted it down for later thought since I wasn’t planning to move anywhere.
Unexpectedly, I moved down to Maryland a few weeks ago, and my dentist the day before the move strongly urged me (on account of various worrisome regions on my teeth) to start brushing twice a day, flossing, and using fluoride mouthwash. I can’t do that! I thought, especially with the chaos and disruption of a move! But I decided to give it a try anyway—since it matched the literature recommendations exactly. And I’ve managed to do all 3 every day since.
Who knew that sometimes psychology could be right and practical?
Dental floss is not expensive. Why not buy many rolls? I have one in my work drawer, one on my desk at home and one in the bathroom.
I wish I could say this was motivated by clever psychological foresight. In fact, I routinely buy duplicates of consumables like dental floss, deodorant, sticking plasters, painkillers, etc., because I forget where I put the ones I already have. It actually works out quite well.
I finally just bought enough scissors so that all the places scissors go were filled up. At that point, at least one pair of scissors has nowhere to hide.
I only ever floss at home, in the morning after breakfast (if I eat breakfast) or after finishing my coffee and at night after dinner, so I don’t feel like I need them scattered everywhere. If I put them all at home, they’re taking up space and I’m not actively using them, so I feel like having 2 is enough at this point. I suppose I’m also less forgetful than you are: my dental floss has exactly one “home” so I always know where it is.
I recently tried and failed at maintaining the habit of flossing my teeth. Prompted by suggestions in that thread, I purchased 2 rolls of dental floss instead of 1, so that next time I finish a roll of floss, my habit doesn’t get broken while I procrastinate on buying a new one. I think I’m about 3 days in flossing twice a day.
When I was reading the remote researcher submissions on the psychology of habit formation, I noted that trying to form a habit after a disruptive life-change like moving somewhere was considered one of the best times to do so by the researchers. I merely noted it down for later thought since I wasn’t planning to move anywhere.
Unexpectedly, I moved down to Maryland a few weeks ago, and my dentist the day before the move strongly urged me (on account of various worrisome regions on my teeth) to start brushing twice a day, flossing, and using fluoride mouthwash. I can’t do that! I thought, especially with the chaos and disruption of a move! But I decided to give it a try anyway—since it matched the literature recommendations exactly. And I’ve managed to do all 3 every day since.
Who knew that sometimes psychology could be right and practical?
Dental floss is not expensive. Why not buy many rolls? I have one in my work drawer, one on my desk at home and one in the bathroom.
I wish I could say this was motivated by clever psychological foresight. In fact, I routinely buy duplicates of consumables like dental floss, deodorant, sticking plasters, painkillers, etc., because I forget where I put the ones I already have. It actually works out quite well.
I finally just bought enough scissors so that all the places scissors go were filled up. At that point, at least one pair of scissors has nowhere to hide.
I only ever floss at home, in the morning after breakfast (if I eat breakfast) or after finishing my coffee and at night after dinner, so I don’t feel like I need them scattered everywhere. If I put them all at home, they’re taking up space and I’m not actively using them, so I feel like having 2 is enough at this point. I suppose I’m also less forgetful than you are: my dental floss has exactly one “home” so I always know where it is.