The importance of environment design in behavior change can not be understated.

Human beings are built on the path of least resistance. That’s how we got to where we are now. Evolution is by nature the path of least resistance in the fact that the strongest genes/animals simply don’t encounter as much friction and so survive by the process of elimination.

Add that to the fact that in our world of plenty, we automate so many of our daily tasks (remember that time you drove home from work and then realized that you have no members of the drive? Yeh, that’s automation).

Unless we create “friction” to coin a term from author James Clear we can easily become a victim of our own environment.

Working from home has its benefits I am sure, but having cupboards packed with food and often no clear boundary between work and home, we can easily fall prey to mindless snacking.

I am not suggesting that you throw out your more indulgent food items (though you likely don’t need that leftover super-size bag of Halloween sweets we keep raiding). I am however saying that we can set up some friction between us and our less efficient choices, and at the same time reduce the friction between us and our more efficient choices.

Right now in our basement, we have a sealed bag of English sweets from our recent trip home tucked away in a tote box. Though the basement is a 5-second walk from the kitchen, I haven’t had any in months because the basement stairs are just the right amount of friction. It’s far enough away, it is out of sight, and there are more efficient choices (bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter and protein bar in the cupboard) in between me and the tear and share bag of Cadburys buttons.

In order for me to go downstairs and get a snack, I have to make a conscious effort, consider other more efficient and convenient options, and then actually perform the task. Those 3 steps of mindfulness, choice and eventual action/inaction are KEY facets of behavior change but they won’t happen if we automate our environment. It’s just not how we are wired.

Take some time to think of ways you can add more friction between you and your potential inefficient choices AND remove friction between your and your more desirable and more efficient ones.

Thanks as always!