How To Practice Singing Part VIII: Breaking Bad Habits Using the Inverse Laws

This is part VIII of Zac Bradford's "How to Practice Singing series". You can view the other parts of the series here:

Part I: Comparing two different practicing styles: Striving vs Contentment. 

Part II: How to practice with intention. 

Part III: Exploring the nature of identity-based habits. 

Part IV: Devising practical ways of creating practice habits for singing that promote consistency.

Part V: Making practice habits attractive and irresistible to singers through the principle of temptation bundling. 

Part VI: The idea of "friction" when building a habit and practical ways to make building practice habits easier for singers. 

Part VII: The importance of making regular singing practice satisfying.

We've learnt to create healthy habits. Now what?

In previous articles of this series, we've explored strategies for developing a vocal practice routine that sticks. While a significant part of implementing any new habit involves building the habit itself, it also requires creating an environment where the new habit can thrive. This means identifying habits that detract from your goal and strategically eliminating them to make room for the desired behavior.

By applying the inverse laws of habit formation, you can not only build a consistent singing practice but also eliminate behaviors that hinder your progress. This dual approach is often the biggest challenge students face when developing a new practice routine while simultaneously trying to reduce or break old, less productive habits.

For many, these unhelpful habits include playing video games, binge-watching shows, scrolling through social media, or aimlessly surfing the internet. While these activities can provide valuable relaxation and leisure, they often become default fillers for free time, leaving little room for focused practice.

The table below outlines the laws of habit formation and their inverse applications, offering practical guidance on breaking bad habits and establishing good ones:

*Table Reference: Clear, p.213

1. Make It Invisible

One of the main distractions that can interfere with singing practice is the constant pull of social media, video games, and TV. To break the habit of reaching for your phone or remote when you should be singing, it’s helpful to make these distractions invisible. Some ways that you can implement this rule is to: 

• Put your phone on airplane mode, "Do Not Disturb" or out of sight during practice time to reduce temptation.
  
• Use apps that block social media or entertainment during practice hours. The iPhone has this option in Settings - Screen Time - App Limits,  where you can choose which apps to apply a time limit. For instance, you can set 30 minutes for all social media apps selected (I personally find this very useful). 
  
• You can also schedule device free time to coincide with allocated singing practice time, by going to Settings - Screen Time - Downtime.
  
  
• Set up your practice space to eliminate distractions by keeping your phone in another room or turning off devices.

2. Make It Unattractive

Distractions like social media and binge-watching shows may feel immediately gratifying, but largely they don’t contribute to your long-term goals as a singer (exceptions being instructional content or watching performances, etc.). To make these habits less appealing, focus on the negative effects they have on your vocal progress. Here are a few ways to do so: 

• Learn about the impacts of excessive screen time on your health and well-being. A few resources are included in the references at the end of this article to get you started. 
  
• Increase your awareness of how much time you spend on these distractions, using tools like the "screen time" setting on your devices to check your daily average across all screens. 
  
• Use this information to reflect on the benefits of consistent singing practice, such as improved vocal health, enhanced performance skills, and noticeable progress in your voice. Reframe your mindset by comparing how rewarding it feels to advance toward your singing goals versus the fleeting satisfaction of distractions.
  
• Create a simple chart on your fridge, with two columns. The first column titled “Singing Practice” and the second titled “Distractions”. At the end of each day tally how many minutes were used for singing practice and how much time was spent on distractions. While confronting, this little exercise in combination with earlier points is likely to make the aforementioned distractions (or any other habits you wish to break) unattractive. 

3. Make It Hard

To break bad habits, you can increase the friction required to engage in distractions. By making it harder to access time-wasting activities, you create more space for productive habits like singing practice. Here are a few ways to add friction to undesired habits you want to break:

• If you’re struggling to stay focused, delete apps or log out of entertainment platforms. This adds extra steps to access them, making distractions less tempting.
  
• Restrict access to distractions by making them inconvenient. For example, keep video games and devices out of sight during practice time, or ask someone you live with to temporarily hide your phone or laptop while you practice.

This approach helps shift your attention toward habits that support your goals.

4. Make It Unsatisfying

Many bad habits are satisfying in the short term, such as the dopamine hit from scrolling through social media or watching an exciting show. To break these habits, remove the immediate reward they provide and replace it with some type of accountability that provides a healthy pressure. Similar to an accountability buddy for dieting or exercise, knowing that someone is going to check in to see how consistent you have been with practice might cause you to pause before picking up your phone over your microphone. Some ways to implement this step are: 

• Get an accountability partner who will help you stick to your practice schedule and keep you accountable for avoiding distractions. 
  
• Set up a habit contract where you commit to a certain number of practice hours each week, with consequences for not following through (i.e. doing your roommates laundry).
  
• Make the costs of wasting time on distractions public by sharing your goals with friends or family who can check in on your progress. You can do this in a specialized community, such as a singing forum. Or perhaps you share more broadly with a Facebook or Instagram post that you commit to doing once a week. 

Call to Action

Start today by applying just one of these inverse laws to eliminate distractions and make space for your vocal practice. Often trying to implement all at once is counterproductive and results in returning to old patterns of distraction. Track your progress, stay committed to your goals, and enjoy the long-term benefits of a consistent singing habit.

The Duality of Habits: Breaking Bad Habits & Making Healthy Habits

Breaking bad habits, eliminating distractions, and establishing a consistent singing practice routine is crucial for any serious vocalist. By using the inverse laws of habit formation, making bad habits and distractions invisible, unattractive, harder to access, and unsatisfying can help create the conditions for a productive, rewarding practice habit. While breaking bad habits on its own is not sufficient alone to develop a new singing practice habit, it is necessary in order for your singing practice to consistently thrive. It will also allow you more freedom to pursue other productive habits that may (or may not) complement your singing, such as piano, dancing, or acting. With consistent effort, you’ll replace time-wasting habits with focused vocal practice that leads to long-term growth and improvement.

References

• Clear, J. (n.d.). How to break a bad habit. James Clear. Retrieved November 19, 2024, from https://jamesclear.com/how-to-break-a-bad-habit
• Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: An easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. Random House.
• National Center for Biotechnology Information. (n.d.). Effects of Excessive Screen Time on Child Development: An Updated Review and Strategies for Management. PubMed Central. Retrieved December 3, 2024, from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10353947/
• Australian Institute of Family Studies. (n.d.). Too much time on screens?. Retrieved December 3, 2024, from https://aifs.gov.au/resources/short-articles/too-much-time-screens
• National Institute on Drug Abuse. (n.d.). Can Too Much Screen Time Harm You? Retrieved December 3, 2024, from https://nida.nih.gov/sites/defaulthttps://phosiscms.com/files/NIDA_YR18_INS3_ACTION_StuMag_2pg_508.pdf