Hey! – Rob here 👋🏼
Your Daily Health Fix today is about …
Mechanisms to prevent slip-ups
Following on from last week’s tips on removing the friction to make it easier to stick to your (exercise) routine – this week we’re approaching the concept from the opposite end to ask how we can use friction as a tool to help keep us on track.
Get out of in IN TO my way!
Here’s a few examples of friction points as solutions to specific problems.
😈 Temptation: ‘I can’t help but buy my favourite snacks or grab a takeaway on my way home’
🚫Friction: Leave your wallet and cards at home, remove digital payment options from your phone.
😈 Temptation: ‘even when I avoid grains and starches, I end up eating all the fruit in the house for dessert’
🚫Friction: Keep smaller quantities in the house so that it’s harder to get a quick fix after dinner.
😈 Temptation: ‘every time I see my friends I over-eat’
🚫Friction: Build a social life that doesn’t involve restaurants. Find a new activity to get your friends involved with.
😈 Temptation: ‘I struggle to prioritise time to exercise in the morning’
🚫Friction: Put your phone on the other side of the house to prevent doom-scrolling as soon as you open your eyes.
😈 Temptation: ‘I go to the gym twice a week but don’t get the chance to move much outside of that’
🚫Friction: Park your car 20 minutes walk away from work. Without trying you’ll have added 5000 steps to your day.
AND so on . . .
Each of these examples are friction points that can benefit you greatly, and don’t require much effort to put in place, just a few minutes forethought.
Do this, NOW! . . .
Think of three habits that you would like to build or strengthen that regularly get pushed aside. Write them down.
Next to each one, note one or two options of friction points that you can (easily) put in place in order to prevent a slip up, or to compel a different action.
Using the examples given above, the next time you eat fruit after dinner, you wont be able to overeat, and when you’re driving to work, you’ll likely remember what you wrote down reminding you to leave the car further away.
Apply this trick to your own habits and let me know what obstacles you use to help you stay on track!
. . . That’s it for this dose,
Until the next time – Stay Motivated!💪🏼
Rob
P.S. If you’re enjoying these updates and they are helping you, please support me and The Health Fix by buying me a coffee ☕️
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