For weeks I was struggling with making a new habit. I wanted to set a traffic control of my thoughts, and take one-minute breaks after each hour.

Tried downloading a few apps, none of which functioned.

So I set the alarm in my phone after every hour.

“What’s new with this?” you may ask!

I wanted the sound to be the one I loved and not the usual alarm stuff. However, iPhone doesn’t allow the desi jugad to add external sounds.

So I purchased a sound from the iTunes store and set that as an alarm.

Result? Those one-minute alarms are working wonders!

Here’s the psychological hack: Even though I spent a minuscule amount of Rs. 15 for a tailor-made service, it would make me use it to the fullest.

The magic is not of the amount of money, rather the effort of paying it will make me use it fully. Daily. Every hour.