Feb07Temptation Bundling: A Great Way to Build Better Habits
We all know how difficult it can be to build healthier lifestyle habits. From eating better to working out, it can be extremely challenging to build habits that will keep you on track toward your fitness goals.
There is one tactic though, that can be utilized in the early stages to help you build some momentum. This is called temptation bundling.
What Is It?
It is a technique to help you build better habits by bundling things you “don’t want to do” with things that “you’re happier doing”. Take this for example:
Imagine you want to try to do some extra cardio on your off days from the gym, but it’s hard to find the motivation to do it. You know you should do it, but you don’t really want to do it. Let’s also assume you would rather be watching your favorite TV show or reading a good book.
Well, we can combine the fun activity (i.e. watching a show or listening to a book) with the less fun cardio. You could do some indoor biking while watching your favorite show, or listen to a book or podcast while going for a run or morning walk. You could do the same thing with meal prepping, or getting more stretching in, pretty much any healthy habit that you want to instill.
Why it Helps
It is a great way to build habits in the early stages because it associates the less-fun habit with a fun activity, so the habit becomes fun over time.
Understand though that this is to get the building blocks and momentum going, and motivation can still wane over time. It puts you in a better position though, because you’ve built up the habit of doing the thing (eating better, working out more, etc). After a while discipline takes over.
If you have a hard time starting new healthy habits, try this tactic out. It can help you get some momentum going until the habit becomes stronger.