Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life,
and a significant element of happiness. If we have habits that work for
us, we’re much more likely to be happy, healthy, productive, and
creative.
My book, Better Than Before, describes the multiple strategies we can exploit to change our habits.
Today, I’m talking about the Strategy of Convenience. This is one of the most powerful, straightforward, and popular strategies of habit change.
People often ask me, “What surprises you most about habits?” One thing that continually astonishes me is the degree to which we’re influenced by sheer convenience.
The amount of effort, time, or decision making required by an action
has a huge influence on habit formation. To a truly remarkable extent,
we’re more likely to do something if it’s convenient, and less likely if
it’s not.
We should pay close attention to the convenience of any activity we
want to make into a habit. Putting a wastebasket next to our front door
made mail sorting slightly more convenient, and I stopped
procrastinating with this chore.
Many people report that they do a
much better job of forming the habit of staying close to distant family
members now that tools like Facebook, Skype, FaceTime, and group chats
make it easy to stay in touch.
It’s a Secret of Adulthood for Habits: Make it easy to go right, and hard to go wrong.
How about you? Have you used the Strategy of Convenience to help yourself master an important habit?
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Do you love great quotations? Sign up for the "Moment of Happiness," a free daily email with a quotation about habits or happiness. Or if you're always looking for a good book to read, sign up for my monthly book club. Each month I suggest one book about habits or happiness; one work of children's literature; and one eccentric pick.
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by Gretchen Rubin
by Gretchen Rubin
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