“Making tiny, sometimes unnoticeable, changes in your life can and will lead to extraordinary results.” - James Clear, author of Atomic Habits
Have you ever tried to start a new habit, but after just a few days or weeks, you’ve already stopped doing it? Even simple habits like flossing or taking daily vitamins can be difficult to take up—mostly because we simply don’t know how to start habits.
In James Clear’s Atomic Habits, he outlines several reasons why and how we develop habits. One of the easiest ways we develop new habits is by having easy access to whatever that habit is. Let me give you a few examples.
If you’re addicted to junk food, I’d be willing to bet that you can walk over to your fridge or pantry right now and grab some unhealthy food items. If you’re a smoker, I’d be willing to bet that you can walk to somewhere in your house (or your car sitting outside your house) and easily grab a cigarette. If you exercise daily, I’d be willing to bet that your gym or running shoes are sitting somewhere in sight, not tucked away in a closet.
What do these scenarios all have in common? You have easy access to that habit.
We know of out-of-sight, out-of-mind—that works great for trying to break a bad habit. But we can use in-sight, in-mind when trying to develop a good habit.
I’ve always strived to take my vitamins every single day, but I used to be so bad at it—I would maybe take them once or twice a week. After learning this trick, I started putting my vitamins out on the bathroom counter, where I could see them every single time I went into the bathroom. Guess what? I’ve taken my vitamins nearly every day for over 2 years. (On a side note, I highly encourage you to take daily vitamins, especially in the world of covid.)
If you want to quit eating so many donuts, try putting your donuts in a part of the pantry you rarely touch, maybe on the top shelf that you can barely reach, behind all the healthy foods. That way, when you want a donut, you have to think about all the trouble you have to go through just to get one.
If you want to run or walk more often, leave your tennis shoes out in plain sight. Leave them right by the front door or by your bedroom door. That way, every time you leave your room or leave the house, you have to see your tennis shoes. It’s both a reminder of the habit you’re trying to develop, as well as reducing the difficulty of doing that activity.
It’s all about friction. Add friction to bad habits, reduce friction from good ones.
There are many other ways to create good habits and break bad ones, but for me, this has by far been the best tactic. I encourage you to try this out for yourself and see what habits you can make or break.
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