Watch This: Refactor Yourself!

Last month, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Øredev conference in Sweden, where I gave a talk called Refactor Yourself! If you weren’t able to attend, you can catch the full talk here:

In this talk, I explored how we can refactor our own behaviours, just like we do with code. The idea is simple: if you understand how habit loops work, you can change your habits and behaviours. It’s about understanding the process and making small, intentional changes.

Here are a few key takeaways from the talk:

• Reflect on what you want to change: Consider doing a personal retrospective to understand what behaviours do you want to change, and which behaviours you want to keep.
• The power of habit loops: Habits are made up of a cycle of cue, routine, and reward. By understanding this loop, we can break bad habits and build new ones with intention.
• Small changes, big impact: You don’t need to overhaul everything all at once. Just like with code, a small, deliberate refactor can lead to bigger improvements.
• Explore how to change your behaviours: If a habit isn't working, it's likely cause part of the loop isn't right for you. There are different ways to change your habit loops: build on existing loops, replace part of the loop, create a new loop with a new cue and find new cues and new rewards. Experiment with which approach you need to take to adapt your habits.

If you’re interested in how to refactor your own habits, check out the full talk and let me know which ideas resonate with you. I’d love to hear how you're working on changing your own habits and making them stick.

Watch the talk here: [YouTube link]

A huge thanks to everyone at Øredev who joined the talk. I look forward to the next opportunity to share ideas and continue the conversation!