Habit Building, Part 2

Last week we shared 3 ways to set up your habits.

This week we will explore 3 more tips from James Clear, author of bestselling Atomic Habits, to continue to build your practice of starting a new habit. These habits revolve around your environmental design, reducing friction, and priming your habit environment to spur you forward to building successful habits.

I.               ENVIRONMENT DESIGN

Sometimes we can have a strategy, our implementation intention is all set, and even our two-minute rule in place, and we still forget to do the habit we want to create. I had the exact same problem as Clear did with flossing. I wanted to create the habit of flossing regularly. I intended to implement the habit 5 times a week before I brushed my teeth at bedtime. But I still forgot! Environment design has helped me become a more diligent flosser. I keep 5 flossers right beside my tooth brush in the medicine cabinet. This way, every time I pick up my toothbrush, I see my flossers. At the end of the week, I can see how many times I have flossed. Boom! The environment tipped the habit in my favor.

Here are a few more examples of how you can use environment design to strengthen your habit-building:

-       To remember to move more through the day, add a post it note to your desk to get up and go for a walk every 50 minutes.

-       To remember to write in your gratitude journal, keep it where you sip your coffee in the morning.

-       To remember to exercise, lay out your workout clothes in your closet or on a chair where you will see them when you wake up.

-       To remember to read your non-fiction book or study for your test, put your book in a spot where you know you can’t miss it.

-       To remember to do yoga, put a note on your phone at night and don’t take it off until you’ve done your stretches the next morning.

The idea is to make sure your habit is fully exposed so that you cannot miss it.

II.              REDUCE FRICTION

As you make your habits more convenient, you reduce the friction around getting these tasks done, and your successful implementation increases. It’s hard to start the habit of healthy eating with a pantry full of sweet and salty snack foods. It is challenging to write a paper or get your work done with a cell phone that’s beeping or email alerts distracting you. It’s hard to drink 100 ounces of water each day out of a small glass. Eliminating the friction can help set you up for success. Trash or hide what you don’t want to eat. USE your DO NOT DISTURB button on your phone. Find a 24 ounce or larger water bottle and give yourself a tick each time you fill it. Find simple ways to set yourself up for success. Create an environment with less friction that makes your new habit easier.

A few ideas that might help to reduce friction:

-       Put your phone and computer in do not disturb mode as you get your work or writing done.

-       Invest in some dumbbells and a yoga mat so if you can’t make it to the gym, you can do a short (BOOTIES!) workout at home.

-       Try some healthy meal kit delivery services like Hello Fresh, or create a meal plan each weekend that will incorporate lots of vegetables for your meals.

Optimize your environment to assist you in building the habits you desire to create. Use technology where you can. Use services that will support you as you build.

III.            PRIME YOUR ENVIRONMENT

To make your future habits easier, prime your environment, so that’s it is easy and inviting to implement your new habit. I like to sip my coffee and journal in the same spot each morning. I keep my meditation cushion and candle in my closet where it is quiet and cozy. I keep my fruit bowl in sight and my sweet and salty snacks hidden in the cabinet to encourage my healthy eating habit.

Examples:

-       To boost the meditation habit, create a cozy, inviting environment for meditation.

-       To increase your creative habits, leave your paints, knitting, clay, or instruments out where you can easily see and use them.

-       To improve sleep, create a dark, soothing, cool, comfortable, and electronic-free bedroom.

Giving a designated space a purpose that encourages your desired behavior primes the environment for you to act in accordance with your intended habit.

To summarize this second group of habit tips:

1.     Design your environment in a way that your intended habit is fully exposed so that you can’t possibly forget or miss it.

2.     Figure out ways to eliminate blocks to accomplishing your habits by reducing the friction from external sources.

3.     Prime your environment in a way that makes your hopeful habit more enticing, easy, and obvious.

Do you have any habit hacks that you are particularly proud of?