Simple pictures to help you develop the right habits

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The achievers invented by Natasha and Vitaly Babaev have already helped many children and adults. Someone, thanks to these funny pictures, makes lessons, and someone pumps the press or learns English.

Birth of an idea

Natasha Babaeva is a mother of two children. Like many, her family periodically had everyday difficulties: the son did not brush his teeth or the adults argue over who did not wash the dishes and take offense at each other.

Then Natasha and her husband Vitalik came up with achievers.

The achievers helped with brushing teeth, lessons, reading, and in general with training children's willpower. The issue of washing dishes was resolved. And today Vitalik pumps the press on the achievers.

In the fall of 2016, Natasha spoke on Facebook about this method and invited volunteers to participate in the experiment.

My daughter and I fit in. In a month, she learned how to make a bed in the morning without 100,500 reminders. Then it became a habit, and the achiever was no longer needed. The adult participants set different goals: drinking 1.5 liters of water every day, doing a bar, drawing - and for the most part they successfully achieved them.

Therefore, I asked Natasha for permission to tell on Lifehacker about achievers, how it works and what pitfalls should be taken into account.

General principle

Achievers will help you see every step on the way to your goal. Hang the picture in a prominent place and decide what counts as an achievement (for example, morning exercises). Color one element of the achiever after each completed task.

Come up with a prize that you or your child would like to receive. You can receive a reward every day or at the end of the week. Didn't paint over the picture - the prize is postponed for a day. Children should make small indulgences depending on the situation.

You can accumulate bonuses to earn something more solid. But it's better to start small and take longer distances over time.

The achievement is not immediately, but it helps to develop the child's patience for passing the marshmallow test. This is a famous study according to which impatient children who eat a small marshmallow instead of waiting for a large chocolate bar are less successful in life.

Types of achievers

Adventurer with planets

Simple achiever for beginners (picture was above). There is no time limit: you can paint over everything in one day or take a break for a week and then continue. Got to the last planet - the prize is yours.

Treasure

You can compete with a friend, child or spouse. Whoever gets to the bottom of the chest first will receive a prize.

Asterisks

Print out the stars to develop five habits at once. One ray - one habit. An asterisk is a day. Three or four habits should be simple: like brushing your teeth. One or two more are more difficult. This is the most difficult achievement.

How not to hate an achiever

1. Do not impose a prize on your child (or yourself) … Understand what you really want. Sometimes you think that a child dreams of a big and cool toy, and he will willingly brush his teeth for a simple typewriter.
2. Abstract target doesn't work … Do not start painting over the achiever before the dreamer is selected.
3. Hang the accessory in a conspicuous place … The leaflet should hang where the task is being performed. In order not to forget about him.
4. Paint over immediately … The pencil should lie or hang next to the piece of paper.
5. Show by example … The best way to train your child to be an achiever is to fill it in yourself. Natasha and her husband use the “Klad” competition achiever for washing dishes, and the children can see it.
6. Do not use achievers for your child's favorite activities … All the best in the world was created for nothing. The achiever is suitable for "non-listening" tasks, when it just doesn't work out.
7. Don't use achievers for creative assignments … It is difficult to objectively assess the quality in creative assignments. The child can do them blunder. In other cases, set clear quality requirements: for example, brush your teeth for three minutes. Or do your homework like a human, without stretching one word to the entire line, so that you can finish it quickly.
8. Don't equate planets and stars with money … The child decides that he can buy anything for achievements.
9. Make sure that the tasks are not repeated … Once Natasha noticed that her son Yaroslav was painting over several rays of the stars a day for working only with scissors and glue. It's great if the child loves crafts, but there are other tasks. Try to explain it.
10. Use read accessors carefully … It is more correct when the child reads for pleasure, and not for the sake of a prize. In some situations, though, achievers are useful. There was a stage when Yaroslav already knew letters and knew how to add syllables, but still did not understand the meaning of what he was reading. It turned out to be a vicious circle: he did not like to read, because he did not understand what he was reading about. And I didn’t understand because I hadn’t read the volume for conscious reading yet. The achiever helped to bridge this gap.
11. Do not overdo it … It may be wrong to sew a child's life with something too systemic. Especially if he's just a toddler. Natasha uses no more than two achievers for her son at the same time. For the school - one.
12. Catch the moment when the achiever is no longer needed … If you've overcome a barrier or developed a habit, train a new one.

Start changing your life

Some psychologists criticize these techniques. They believe that prize motivation crowds out interest in the real goal. For example, a child begins to do homework without much interest, for the sake of another toy. While the ability to solve problems in math, writing and other subjects is the best reward. Brain and willpower develops.

Of course, this is worth considering. But we don't even start many things, we constantly postpone them.

If a piece of paper with a pencil helps you do exercises or learn English when something else doesn't work, that's cool!

In the beginning, you will motivate yourself by painting stars and prizes. It's hard to love what doesn't work. For example: I once taught a friend to roller-skate. He could not understand why I liked it, because his legs hurt, he fell and felt like a clumsy idiot. Therefore, moral compensation was needed.

But when you start to succeed and you like it, then the real goal will become the main prize.

Important postscript

Sometimes a person cannot develop a habit, not because he is lazy and stupid. For example, a child has a spelling problem. If he has dysgraphia, the achiever will not help. A neurologist and other pediatric specialists will help.

Sometimes it is useful for adults to be examined too. The body can be more exhausted than its owner thinks. Hence fatigue and decreased concentration.

In general, take care of yourself and develop good habits!