Another 5-Day Tiny Habits® Session

This week of June 11 through 15, I introduced several folks new to (or have heard of but never tried) BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits method. Interested? Sign-up here with me. Read on for more about my approach.

I donate my time to these introductions.  This is one of my favorite things to do – donate my time for hosting Habiteers, the community for which folks are part of when they join the 5-Day.

January 2018 was a banner week. In January 2018, I hosted more than one hundred Habiteers (and actually more than 200 Habiteers during the first two days). I was BJ’s featured coach for his Habiteer community. It was very fulfilling! In fact, yesterday I heard back from January Habiteer that he has continued to do is tiny habits! 5 months in the running! YAYYY!

BJ introduced me to Habiteers in January. Here is an excerpt of what BJ shared about my background –

To move things forward, I want to introduce you to a fantastic coach I’ve trained in my Tiny Habits method. Her name is Shirley Rivera. (She is cc’ed on this email.)

Shirley will guide you in learning Tiny Habits. Stay tuned for an email from her outlining your next steps.

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In the coming week you’ll see new videos and content I’ve created to make my method easier to learn. You’ll also benefit from Shirley’s skills in coaching and in making things fun.

About Shirley Rivera

• Shirley is a June 2012 alum of my Behavior Design Boot Camp.

• She was one of the first people to become a Tiny Habits® Certified Coach.

• Shirley was also part of my Stanford lab’s “Design for Dance” event.

• In addition to her full-time work, Shirley coaches people every week in Tiny Habits.

Choose Your Own Coach Adventure for 5-Days with Me

What does this mean? I have learned Habiteers have different expectations for their 5-Day experience.

• Get in, get out – Some Habiteers want a hands-off, get in, get out 5-Day experience, and some may (or may not) have read BJ’s material. These Habiteers are good to go with the daily emails and checking-in. This is like an independent, self-paced approach.
• Dig in, dig deep –  The somewhat opposite approach, and often a smaller percentage, are Habiteers who not only have read but continue to re-read BJ’s Tiny Habits material and (maybe even) his behavior design work. Often, these Habiteers enjoy more information and welcome frequent interaction.
• Discover – And then there are the in-between Habiteers who want some guidance but not too much information or who want a “quick fix” of a few of their tiny habit(s). Some are not yet sure because it is all new, and it’s a learning and discovery process.

Nevertheless, any Habiteer is a good Habiteer – someone who is looking to learn how to create lasting habits, quickly and easily.

My lesson learned – Ask permission. What does this mean for me? Ask a Habiteer how much they want to engage in the material and with me.

Last year and earlier this year, I was a bit heavy-handed in providing direct coaching during some sessions. I acknowledge this. I sent extra emails. This often meant that some Habiteers did not apply my coaching. Even more so, folks did not read my added coaching emails that were specific to their tiny habits. They were long emails in the 3-minutes to 7-minutes of more (optional) reading (excluding hyperlink information and video watching). This is not the intention of the introductory 5-Days with BJ’s method. Keyword – introduction.

That said, this week, I asked my Habiteers. Early on in the week, I asked Habiteers how they would like to proceed (e.g., a kind of Choose Your Own Coach Adventure) during their next 5-Days. I asked each Habiteer if they wanted more feedback or less feedback. Only a few Habiteers chose the “deep dive”, working out well because I have very much enjoyed the exchange with the Habiteers. It’s an opportunity for me to continue learning how I can better serve Habiteers and to discover new perspectives from them.

My new idea – try out, with the next few sets of Habiteers, having them decide among these three options –

• High Fives! – Generally more hands-off, I support the Habiteer as part of their daily check-ins, suggest revisions (if needed) to consider, and reply to questions and feedback.A Habiteer who liked this approach said it was their version of a self-paced program while having me around if needed.
• Handshakes – In addition to the High Fives!, I reinforce select learnings from BJ’s material, The Habiteer can use this information to consider when designing or redesigning a tiny habit.A Habiteer who liked this approach said it encouraged them to revisit BJ’s material throughout the 5-Days, especially when redesigning their habit(s). It also helped them “connect the dots”, e.g., applying BJ’s method of crafting their tiny habits.
• Hug it out!, aka Navigator – This adventure includes High Five!, Handshakes, and quite a bit more support. I am like a Habiteer’s navigator or GPS throughout the 5-Days – suggesting tiny habit recipe options. I shared with this week’s Habiteers that this deep dive would include –
  • Habit Deconstruct – For each tiny habit, I provide what I call my “habit deconstruct”, additional considerations for further refinement.
  • Reinforcing, Revising, Refining – Depending on how the Habiteer is adapting to BJ’s Tiny Habits method, I customize additional feedback not only for a habit but also for the further understanding of BJ’s teachings.
  • The Behavior Designer in Me – Also trained by BJ during his boot camp, I may provide behavior design-based ideas, as well as other references, as part of this deep dive.

What’s the fee for digging deeper? Someone asked whether there were additional fees for a new person who wants a more involved 5-Days approach with me. No, there is not. No additional fees for those new to BJ’s Tiny Habits method. None. Will there be additional fees in the future? Yes, as part of my 3-week specialty coaching areas. For now? No.

Who wants to choose a coaching adventure for 5-days with me, learning BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits method? Sign-up with me.