If one spends more than an hour in my presence (in person, video call, whatever), one is likely to witness the following ritual:

• Five minutes before each hour, Plumbago (my smartphone) chimes distinctively.
• I put down whatever I'm holding in my right hand and make a motion like particles drifting in air.
• I say out loud (though sometimes quietly under my breath) the word, "Sparkles!"
• I then reach for whatever beverage I have nearby, usually water.

This started as a reminder to self that I am, in fact, a unicorn... and that carries with it at least some amount of grace, dignity, and poise. Picking up a new habit was a big challenge in the past, yet this took root within a couple days – almost certainly because I had an audio prompt, both verbal and somatic responses, and the help of family joining in here and there because it's just so gosh-darn cute.

It was only a couple months after establishing this that I got the idea to attach a much-needed positive habit to it, thus tacking on the "grab a drink" part because hydration is important. It took almost instantly because of one sentence I internally connected it with: "Sparkling is thirsty work."

I overcame immense internal resistance to good habits and trained myself in a set of positive behaviors by hacking them into an hourly magic spell.

Because unicorn! ✨ 🦄 ✨