Habit Launch Author’s Case Study: Comparison vs Doing Nothing
This is the fourth post of the Author’s Case Study series. Click for the third, second and the first post.
In the previous posts, I described how I picked forming mourning exercise routine as my goal, and how I began to verify if that’s the correct choice. Today I will show you how I compared the chosen habit to solid alternative of doing nothing.
Three methods to compare habit and doing nothing
In Habit Launch book, I described three methods that, in my opinion, are most suitable for the validation vs doing nothing. These are:
- comparison by feeling
- the Value Matching Approach (VMA)
- the Estimated Value Calculation (EVC)
Comparison by feeling is the most common technique, used by many people. Going by your gut is simple and doesn’t require explanation, but unfortunately only a few have such a strong intuition that quick scanning over the lists of benefits and costs can give them the right evaluation if the battle is close. In my case, the choice is easy, as the chosen habit clearly destroys doing nothing. However, often VMA or EVC are more suitable for the job, so I will show you how to perform them for reference.
In order to perform Value Matching Approach, I connected the benefit entries from the habit and doing nothing lists. Each connection contains records of the same perceived value (subjectively for me) on each side. I finished when untied entries left only on one side. That side is the winner, and the number of benefits not tied up is the margin of the victory. See below how it all looks and what wins.
| Habit | Doing Nothing |
| Better strength, stamina, fitness, muscle elasticity | More time for sleep or relaxation |
| Better health | Less fatigue
Feeling that I care more about family than myself Conserved willpower |
| Feeling of control (take my health in my hands) | No preparation needed
More time for other activities Topic to brag |
| Faster wake-up | Feeling that I respect my laziness
More energy (temporary) |
| More energy (long distance) | Margin of victory |
| Feeling that I care about myself | |
| More confidence | |
| More energy to play with kids | |
| Better mental relaxation | |
| Chemical secretion |
To perform Estimated Value Calculation, I wrote down how much every entry is worth for me in the preferred currency (I chose exotic shells, but you could opt for anything else). For the most accurate result, my estimated value reflects a fixed time of twelve months. When I had all values projected, I simply calculated and compared the sum for the habit and the sum for doing nothing (notice that the value of each cost is negative). See below how it looks and what wins.
| EVC | Habit | Doing Nothing | EVC |
| 100 | Better strength, stamina, fitness, muscle elasticity | More time for sleep or relaxation | 100 |
| 200 | Better health | Less fatigue
Feeling that I care more about family than myself Conserved willpower |
100
50
50 |
| 60 | Feeling of control (take my health in my hands) | No preparation needed
More time for other activities Topic to brag |
25
25 10 |
| 50 | Faster wake-up | Feeling that I respect my laziness
More energy (temporary) |
25
25 |
| 200 | More energy (long distance) | ||
| 50 | Feeling that I care about myself | ||
| 200 | More confidence | ||
| 200 | More energy to play with kids | ||
| 100 | Better mental relaxation | ||
| 100 | Chemical secretion | ||
| -25 | Time for ether activities | Less energy (in long distance) | -200 |
| -100 | Relax or sleeping time | Felling that I am more sluggish that smart lazy | -50 |
| -25 | Energy (temporary) | Feeling of lack of control | -200 |
| -50 | willpower at the start of a day (temporary) | Foggy mind | -200 |
| -25 | Sore muscle (temporary) | Worse health | -200 |
| -10 | Possible injuries | ||
| -50 | Possible wife’s opinion that I care too much about myself (temporary) | ||
| -25 | Some time for preparation that could be used on different activities (one-time cost) | ||
| -25 | Risk that potential failure discredits my book (Habit Launch) | ||
| 925 | SUM | -440 | |
Next step
As my chosen habit easily passed the comparison vs doing nothing, I can move on to optimization, which is briefly described in the next article of this case study series.
Want more?
This article supplements my book: “Habit Launch: 10-Step Formula to Tailor Routines You Love to Perform and Skyrocket Your Well-being” by Gregor Moniuszko. For checking it out, click here.
Click Here for the next post of the Author’s Case Study series.
Leave a Reply