Read this if you are trying to quit something

Everyone talks about the moment you decide to quit a habit. No one talks about the next moment when you sit there thinking...

So what am I supposed to do now?

Doomscrolling, YouTube loops, gaming spirals, Netflix binges. Whatever your version is, the result is the same. 

Quitting that default habit creates an empty space in your head. 

Let's call this the vacuum.

In the vacuum, you're forced to make an active choice of what in the world to do instead. And unfortunately, active choices require effort and imagination. And that’s a lot of work! 

So, your brain tries to escape the discomfort the fastest way it knows how… the old shortcut you swore you'd stop using.

So how else to fill this vacuum? Don’t worry, the answer is not “more discipline”!

The answer is to build a menu of active things you actually do.  NOT hypothetical hobbies. Not the things you wish you did more of. I am talking about a list of actual actions you've done even once.

How will this fill the vacuum?

Logging the things you do gives you a growing list of real alternatives that don't feel abstract. When you have 10 logs of sketching or 3 logs of yoga or even 1 log of baking, that becomes a menu of options that actually feels doable.

When you're bored or tempted to slide back into an old habit, you can look at this archive of moments you've already lived. That familiarity lowers the barrier. 

The more you do them (and log them), the easier it gets to do it again and start feeling like it's part of your identity. This is the Snowball effect.

At some point, you stop thinking about the thing you quit because you're busy doing things that actually interest you. 

The vacuum fills. And the old habit stops being the obvious answer.

That's the snowball effect. 

No options yet? Steal. 

If you're early on and you don't even have any logs to look back on, that's normal. Most people quit long before they have anything to replace the old habit with.

That's why Snowball shows you what other people are logging.

Sometimes you just need to see that someone else baked banana bread today or tried calligraphy or went for a short run or practiced the ukulele. 

One concrete example is often enough to break the vacuum.

And if nothing sparks anything, there are over 500 activities in the app. You only need one to start.

It’s not you, it’s them.

People aren't incapable of spending their time on things they care about. They're just surrounded by apps designed to keep them passive. 

That’s why starting is hard. Staying consistent is harder.

Snowball's job is to make both easier by reminding you of everything you're capable of doing.

So the next time you feel yourself slipping back into an old habit, open Snowball and look at your profile. Look at the real moments you've collected.

That's you. That's your identity taking shape.

And that's what makes quitting stick.

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P.S. 'Keeping an archive of the things you do' is a general method. Snowball simply makes it easier, but the method itself matters more than the tool. You can use anything that works for you, even pen and paper. I would love to know if this approach worked for you. Feel free to email me about your experience.

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