Habits and Systems
The Necessity of Habits
Human working memory is limited1, far more limited than the RAM of modern day commercial computers. Therefore, one can only keep a few things at the forefront of one’s mind. Yet people are able to seemingly multitask and perform complicated tasks. This is where habits and long term memory come in.
Habits enable one to ingrain certain actions into long term memory and even instinct through repetition, which is a well known fact: Repetition is the mother of learning, after all. For example, we have practiced the act of walking for so long that it hardly ever takes our constant attention.
This is a very crucial point - by having habits, energy (which is a limited resource) can be conserved and spent on challenging, fulfilling tasks. In addition, habits remove the need for making numerous minor decisions that also consume time - and may lead to decision fatigue. In other words, you are removing certain choices by having a set of default actions.
This is a good general principle to always follow - via negativa2 is always going to be better in general. Or as Steve Jobs put it:
“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.”
Long term implications
If you make an action a habit, then you are, according to the Daoist tradition, on the path to enlightenment and true, superior happiness3.
Ultimately, building systems and habits, though there is a relatively steep upfront cost, will have great ROI in the (relatively) long run4.
Further reading
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Practice Analytically, Perform Intuitively by David Perell
Footnotes
A necessary clarification, because in the long run we are all dead. ↩