Changing Environment to Build New Habits Effectively

Are you losing your motivation to do your new habits? Honestly, to build new habits effectively is not that easy. With this article, you will be guided on what things to do in order to effectively follow the new habits that you want to execute.

According to James Clear’s Atomic Habits, an invisible hand that shapes human behavior is the environment.

Have you not noticed that people tend to buy stuff not because of what they are but where they are placed.

The phenomenon of Suggestion Impulse Buying of Hawkins Stern, economist, stated that customers buy things because they are presented to them and not because they needed them. That’s why products in the supermarket that are at the eye level are expensive than those items located at the bottom and at the top of the shelves.

Even more, restaurants and cafes that can be found everywhere are more likely to be visited such as Starbucks.

Similar to our habits, we opt to choose the most obvious option and not much on the purposeful drive of it.

One way of improving the execution of one’s habit is to redesign the environment.

Most of us have the notion to pursue living healthy. But because we are in a hurry every morning, we tend to neglect a 10-minute workout. We choose to eat fast food than preparing our own lunch because that’s the option that’s available.

Designing Your Environment to Build New Habits Effectively

Did you know that sight is the most common sensory receptors of humans? That’s why visual cues significantly affects behavior.

With this, James Clear suggested to create obvious visual cues which can draw attention toward a desired habit.

James Clear shared how he bought apples but placed them in the bottom of the refrigerator. As a result, he forgot that he has apples. By the time he remembered it, the apples have gone bad.

The next time he bought apples, he placed them at the display bowl and put it in the middle of the kitchen counter. Since the apples are noticeable, he began eating apples each day.

Here are some tips that James Clear suggested in redesigning your environment:

1. In order to take your medication each night, placed the pills near your faucet on the bathroom counter.
2. Want to learn new musical instruments? Place your instruments in the middle of your living room.
3. If you want to drink more water, place your water bottles in common locations around the house.

” If you want to make a habit a big part of your life, make the cue a big part of your environment,” Clear emphasized.

“Making the better decision is easy and natural when cues for good habits are right in front of you,” he added.

But what if others created the world where you live like the situation you are in right now? Most of us can relate to this. But we are not constrained to be contented on where we are right now. We can change the spaces or the workplaces we are in to acquire positive vibes than negative ones.

Further, James recommended to associate one habit in one specific place to build new habits effectively. It is difficult to pursue a new habit in the face of ongoing cues.

You can’t develop a habit of going to bed early if you watch television every night in your bedroom. You can’t effectively separate your work life and home life if you’re only doing these stuff in one place.

Keep in mind to have “one space for one use”, James Clear highlighted in his book.

If you want to form and keep your habits effectively, you also need an environment that is favorable for you to achieve your goals.