Hack Your Own Identity

Who do you need to be:

• At 6am?

• When you leave the house at 7:45am?

• When you arrive at work at 8:30am?

• When you pick up your kids from school at 2:45pm?

• When you get home from work at 5pm?

• When you're cleaning up after dinner at 8pm?

We all play different roles throughout our day and it's not always easy to transition from one role to another. One minute you're Peter Parker. The next minute, you are Spiderman. We're all Super Heroes in one way or another. At 6am you may be a barista and short-order cook, a meditator, a runner, a writer, a reader, a dog-walker, or something else. When you leave the house to go to work or to drop the kids off at school, are you still a barista? Are you a chauffeur? Do you find that your body is driving a car but your brain has wandered off to solve work-related problems? One way to smoothly transition between your roles and increase the chances of playing them well is to have an arsenal of alter-egos that run on auto-pilot. Your Smartphone's "Reminders" app can help you manage those alter-egos, hack your own identity, and intelligently prompt you to adopt the right mindset at the right time (or location) throughout your day. How To Hack Your Own Identity From the opening question(s), you may have picked up that our roles largely change based on the time of day and/or where it is that we are physically located. Or, a combination of the two. Alter-Ego 1: Dalai Lama (Time of Day) This is a 6am alter-ego prompt that I use to initiate my morning meditation routine.

1. Create a new reminder

2. Set the task name to the alter-ego of your choice

3. Set the time, start date, and repeat frequency

Whomever or whatever it is that you want to embody at a specific time of day, but aren't yet nailing it - create an alter-ego prompt:

• Athlete

• Writer

• Cheerful Dishwasher

• Master Meditator

Alter-Ego 2: VP of Corporate Culture (Location) This is a location based alter-ego prompt that I use to invoke the mindset I want to adopt before beginning my workday.

1. Create a new reminder

2. Set the task name to the alter-ego of your choice

3. Set a location-based trigger for either arrival or departure at the relevant address

Whomever or whatever it is that you wantembody when you arrive at or leave from a specific location, but aren't yet nailing it - create an alter-ego prompt:

• World's Best Step-Dad

• World's Best Spouse

• World's Most Courteous Driver

• World's Best Student

• World's Best Teammate

A Word Of Caution It's easy to get carried away with creating too many alter-egos. You'll end up with bunch of alerts popping up all day long. I find them to be most welcome at the beginning and end of my day when I typically have the most control over my schedule. Create one or two at a time and see how you adapt. If you find yourself acting on your intentions without the aid of the prompt, then you've probably installed the right habit(s). Delete or disable one reminder prompt and replace it with another alter-ego that can help activate and install new behaviors & habits.