Want to draw more? Put your pencils, pens, notebooks, and drawing tools on top of your desk, within easy reach.
Want to exercise? Set out your workout clothes, shoes, gym bag, and water bottle ahead of time.
Want to improve your diet? Chop up a ton of fruits and vegetables on weekends and pack them in containers, so you have easy access to healthy, ready-to-eat options during the week.
These are simple ways to make the good habit the path of least
resistance.
You can also invert this principle and prime the environment to
make bad behaviors difficult. If you find yourself watching too much
television, for example, then unplug it after each use. Only plug it back
in if you can say out loud the name of the show you want to watch.
This setup creates just enough friction to prevent mindless viewing.
If that doesn’t do it, you can take it a step further. Unplug the television and take the batteries out of the remote after each use, so it takes an extra ten seconds to turn it back on. And if you’re really hardcore, move the television out of the living room and into a closet after each use. You can be sure you’ll only take it out when you really want to watch something. The greater the friction, the less likely the habit.