If you think it takes a whole lot of willpower to keep yourself from doing something you feel like doing but know you shouldn’t do, I have good news for you. It will take a lot less willpower once you learn this simple trick for turning laziness into a follow through asset.
We humans are generally good at practicing effort conservation. That’s a polite way of saying that we’re basically lazy. We’re wired to take the path of least resistance. We’re just naturally inclined to do what’s easiest and most convenient.
So, how in the world can laziness help you follow through? It’s simple, really. If you deliberately make it harder — less convenient, more of a hassle — to do the wrong thing, you’ll be less likely to do it.
The trick that makes laziness your intentions’ best friend
I use this trick all the time to stick to my intention to snack in moderation.
If I decide to have a snack, let’s say some chips, I open the bag or container and take an amount that I’ve decided is reasonable. Then, before eating any chips, I close the bag or container and put it back where it came from. I don’t forbid myself from taking more after I’ve eaten the reasonable portion I took. But by making it just slightly more of a hassle to take more, I usually don’t eat more than I intend to.
Again, the trick is to come up with an obstacle that makes it less convenient to do the thing you feel like doing but have decided you shouldn’t do. The obstacle doesn’t necessarily have to be huge. Often all it takes to get the job done is a little speed bump.
Make it a hassle
- Relocate your phone: If you intend to work on a project without allowing distractions to derail you the way they usually do, try putting your phone in another room before you start working.
- Close tabs and apps: If you’ve decided to stop wasting so much time on your computer, make a practice of closing any tabs and any tempting apps that you don’t intend to use at the moment. And by the way, although saving passwords and having them entered automatically can obviously make life more convenient, it also makes it more convenient to do things you don’t intend to do. Having to remember and enter a password can serve as a fine speed bump.
- Unsave credit card info: If you intend to cut back on your online shopping, consider removing your credit card information from your browser so you have to make a deliberate trip to your wallet to complete a purchase.
- Keep your remote remote: If you’ve decided to watch less TV or watch TV less mindlessly, keep your remote stored in drawer or cabinet even when the TV is on.
- Move those snacks: If you intend to snack less, move snacks to a location that’s less convenient to reach. The more of a hassle it is to reach them, the better the chances are that your intention will prevail.
In short, if you don’t intend to do it, don’t make it easy to do it.