< shift/library / habits

Environment Design

habits · easy · 30-60 minutes for initial setup; 5 minutes for ongoing adjustments

What is Environment Design?

Restructure your physical and digital environment to make good habits obvious and easy, and bad habits invisible and hard. The most powerful lever for behavior change that requires no willpower.

Is there evidence for it?

EVIDENCEstrong

How do you do Environment Design?

  1. 1.For good habits: make cues visible — place running shoes by the door, put healthy food at eye level, keep books on your pillow
  2. 2.For bad habits: add friction — delete social media apps, put the TV remote in a drawer, keep junk food out of the house
  3. 3.Design your workspace for the behavior you want: clear desk for focus, separate spaces for work and leisure
  4. 4.Use the 'one-touch' rule: arrange your environment so the desired behavior takes fewer steps than the undesired one
  5. 5.Audit your environment monthly and adjust based on what behaviors are succeeding or failing

How long does it take?

30-60 minutes for initial setup; 5 minutes for ongoing adjustments.

Is it hard to start?

easy.

> how Shift handles habits and addiction

Source: James Clear (Atomic Habits, 2018); BJ Fogg (Tiny Habits); Kurt Lewin (field theory). British hospital study showed water consumption increased simply by placing bottles in more visible locations.
cue-design · friction · willpower · defaults · nudge · behavior-change
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> everything in habits

This is one entry from the library Shift matches against. It is general information, not advice about you, and nothing on this page came from anyone's conversation.