Position triggers at context transitions, not within…

When This Fires

• When designing environmental triggers (Place trigger objects at eye level in routine paths…) and choosing when they should activate
• When existing triggers are being ignored despite good placement and visibility
• When planning habit chains (Place next-behavior materials where the current behavior…) and identifying optimal trigger moments
• When a reminder or cue consistently fails to register — it may be competing against a stable context

Common Failure Mode

Placing triggers within deep-focus contexts: a notification to stretch during focused coding, a reminder to drink water during an engaging meeting, a visual cue to check posture while absorbed in reading. These triggers either go unnoticed (wasted) or break flow (harmful). The same triggers placed at the transition out of these activities (closing the IDE, leaving the meeting room, putting down the book) would catch the natural attention gap.

The Protocol

(1) Identify the behavior you want to trigger and map the target person's typical context transitions: arriving/leaving locations, starting/ending activities, switching tools/devices. (2) Choose the transition that's closest in time and space to where the triggered behavior should occur. (3) Place the trigger at the transition point, not before (too early, will be forgotten) or during the next stable context (competing for attention). (4) Test: does the trigger activate during a moment of cognitive openness, or does it interrupt an absorbed state? If the latter, move it to the nearest transition boundary. (5) Common high-quality transition points: entering a room, opening/closing a laptop, standing up from a chair, finishing a meal, ending a phone call — all moments where the previous context has released attention.