What I’m Reading: ‘The Power of Habit’

Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business (Random House, 2012) provides an important starting point for helping students think about the effectiveness of their academic habits. In Duhigg’s view, habitual action begins from a cue, which inaugurates a routine, from which a particular reward is derived. This looped structure rotates around a specific craving.

Attempting to change the routine action is ineffective because, as Duhigg asserts, “cravings are what drive habits.” An effective model for habit change requires that one “must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert the new routine.”

Adjusting to the academic rigor of college courses is not always easy for students. One reason: They bring a set of academic habits to college that they believe are effective, but because college courses are constructed around different systems and presuppositions than high-school classes are, those habits are not always productive.

To be successful, students must evaluate and change their academic habits. Duhigg’s book provides an interesting starting point for educators and advisers to productively discuss work flow and habit with students.

Ryan Korstange is an assistant professor in university studies at Middle Tennessee State University.