How to break my habit of over‑salting dishes and other stubborn kitchen sins?

I'm sick of turning every decent recipe into a salty mess because I can't stop sprinkling salt like it's confetti. Same with other ingrained crap: using a blunt chef's knife until the food looks like mush, crowding the pan so everything steams instead of sears, and never letting a piece of meat rest because "I need it now".

What concrete steps actually work to unlearn these habits? I need a routine or a mental trigger that actually forces me to pause and think, not just another vague "taste as you go" cliché. Anyone got a proven checklist or a technique that has actually stopped you from falling into these patterns? I’m willing to try weird hacks if they stop the constant kitchen facepalm.

Also, how do you keep yourself from constantly cleaning as you go – that’s a habit I’ve built to "save time" but it just slows everything down and makes me forget the next step. Advice, tips, proven fixes, or at least a rant about how ridiculous these habits are would be appreciated.