My nine-year-old daughter introduced me to Duolingo, an app that can help you learn a new language. She was learning French using the app, so I decided to install it as well. Eventually, the whole family got hooked, and we are all learning French together.
The Duolingo guys have figured out some interesting psychological hacks to make the language learning process habitual, easy, and fun.
First, they make you commit to a daily simple practice and a target number of days. This is a simple commitment device that can’t be underestimated. This is the same reason why all the personal development gurus tell us to have written goals. It’s about setting a clear, manageable task that you can stick to every day.
Then, they keep sending you notifications to remind you. This creates top-of-mind awareness so you don’t forget what you committed to.
One of the smartest features is the daily streak tracker. The goal is not to miss a day because when you do, you lose your streak, and it’s surprisingly painful. This taps into the concept of loss aversion. As your streak grows, it becomes more valuable, and you’ll do anything to avoid losing it. Currently, I am on a 90-day streak of a three-minute daily practice and hope to reach 1,000 days.
There’s also a league table where you can see how you’re doing compared to others. This creates a bit of healthy competition and peer pressure to keep up your performance. Imagine using this in the workplace to boost productivity—people naturally strive to do better when they’re being compared to their peers.
Duolingo also gives out tokens and points for good performance. These small rewards encourage you to keep going, using positive reinforcement. This is a powerful strategy in parenting and management, where rewarding good behavior can lead to lasting positive changes.
You can create a family account to encourage each other, leveraging the principle of social proof. We’re heavily influenced by those around us, so it’s important to surround yourself with supportive people.
The goal is to build a habit of learning, and these principles can be applied to many areas of life. Whether it’s studying, physical exercise, improving at work, or even managing your finances, small daily commitments, reminders, peer pressure, rewards, and social support can make a big difference and help you stop procrastinating on your goals.
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