Quit waiting on motivation; change your environment!

(The following article is my interpretation and commentary based on information provided in James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits in chapter 6: “Motivation is Overrated; Environment Often Matters More.”)

I struggle to get (and stay) motivated. Do you often feel the same way? It can be anything from smaller things such as doing the dishes to larger-scale goals such as being financially successful (and disciplined) with writing and art.

Author, James Clear, begins his chapter on motivation by giving an example of a physician who desired to improve the eating habits of thousands of staff and visitors without trying to change their personal willpower or motivation. Sounds kind of crazy, right?

Well, the idea was to simply change the location(s) and availability of healthy food and drink options within the cafeteria layout. They didn’t come up with some healthy eating campaign or even an incentive program. They made simple changes that basically went unnoticed and yet had a significant positive impact. According to Clear, over the next three months the number of soda sales dropped by 11.4% and the sales of bottled water increased by 25.8%. In three months!

All of this and the people who frequented the hospital cafeteria were none the wiser. Crazy. The change was in the environment not the level of individual motivation to make healthier choices on their own.

Another example given is the concept of a communal food table/area at work. Think about it. If you have told yourself you are going to really try hard to make better food choices, but a co-worker brought doughnuts and left them in the break room for everyone—chances are much higher that you will decide to “cheat” given it’s right there in front of your face. You’ll grab a doughnut “just this one time and then get on track.” Mmmhmm…

Countless people are also trying to make smarter financial choices/stretch their hard-earned money (especially in this rough economy!) Think about when you are in the grocery store shopping. If you have stopped in after work you are likely tired, possibly frustrated from the workday and just ready to get home. Right? You trudge down aisles and grab things you need that are right at eye-level. Everything is expensive these days and you figure you have to suck it up and grab what you need anyway. Now, most of us know that the cheaper items and/or off-brand versions are often on the bottom shelves. If you need to improve your financial situation, take the extra few minutes to look for a cheaper version—even if that means bending down low to grab the item or pulling up the store’s app to scan for coupons. The grocery store environment you are in is not one that serves your best interest. The grocery store purposely positions things to make a profit—it is their business after all. However, your “business” is making the best choices for you whether it’s to be healthier, save a buck or both.

According to Clear, you don’t have to be a victim of your environment. You can also choose to be the architect of it.

In closing, I want to share with you a few ways Clear specifically tells us we can work towards redesigning our environments to make the cues for our preferred habits much more obvious (and therefore, more attainable):

• If you want to remember to take your medication each night, put your pill bottle directly next to the faucet on the bathroom counter.
• If you want to practice the guitar more frequently, place your guitar stand in the middle of the living room.
• If you want to remember to send more thank-you notes, keep a stack of stationary on your desk.
• If you want to drink more water, fill up a few water bottles each morning and place them in common locations around the house.

My final thoughts: When our environment is altered to put what we want to achieve in front of our face we can worry less about the required motivation and allow for things to become a natural habit. When things don’t feel forced on us, we feel more in control. Being more in control is the gateway to better habits leaving less pressure to feel and be motivated.