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Latest Articles
It’s the start of a new school year.
This usually comes with shiny new pens, fresh notebooks and renewed hope and optimism. But I recently heard someone say:
“I can’t believe it’s already the end of January . . . so much has happened. I feel tired.”
Can you relate?
A lot has been happening in the world. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the news, let alone the tsunami of information we’re bombarded with online.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and tired (like many people are), let’s try to make life a little easier for ourselves. In this article, I share a strategy you can use to make difficult things feel easier to do. I also share how you can apply the strategy to studying challenging subjects.
Don’t waste your precious energy worrying
I remember having a brief conversation with a year 11 student at the start of the pandemic. It went something like this . . .
Me: How are you feeling given the situation (i.e., COVID-19)?
Year 11 Student: Some of us are stressed but not because of COVID. It’s because of what our teachers have just said to us.
Me: What have your teachers been saying to you?
Year 11 Student: They keep saying this year is going to be really hard. The subjects are going to be much, much harder.
Driving home from the talk, I couldn’t stop thinking about what this student had said as well as the worried look in her eyes.
This conversation reminded me of an awkward experience I once had in a school.
Here’s what happened . . .
I was booked to deliver a presentation to 150 year 10 students. My talk was scheduled for the last period of the school day.
In case you’re not aware, the last period of the school day is not an ideal time slot for a guest speaker. It’s usually a tough gig, as students are tired and they just want to go home.
When I arrived at the venue to set up my gear, I spotted two teachers. I approached them and introduced myself to them as the guest presenter. One of them said in an alarmed, panicky tone:
“Oh! You’re the guest speaker? I need to warn you that these students are a horrible group. They do not warm to guest speakers!”
She continued. . .
“Does your talk have a structure to it? Do you know what you’re talking about? These year 10s are a really hard group to work with!”
I felt my stress levels begin to rise, and by accident, I knocked my glass of water off the stage, and it broke. Glass shattered everywhere. Instead of helping me pick up the glass, the teacher said:
“Look! It’s a sign of things to come!”
At this point, the young IT guy arrived to help connect my laptop to the AV system. He overheard this teacher talking about what a bunch of ratbags these students were. His expression was a combination of shock and horror. He said to her:
“Why are you saying this to our guest presenter? I don’t think it’s helpful.”
The teacher reacted defensively. She blurted out, “She needs to know! It’s important we tell her!” and then she left in a hurry.
I took some deep breaths and continued setting up my stuff.
What happened next may surprise you . . .
The students arrived.
I delivered the talk.
The talk went really well. Phew!
It turns out these students weren’t horrible at all. They were a normal group of students who happened to be a bit tired and over it (it didn’t help that it was a boiling hot day).
That day, I learnt an important lesson: Worrying about how difficult something might be doesn’t help. It just uses up your precious brainpower and energy, which you could have spent doing something else (i.e., something more productive).
Whenever I fixate on how hard something will be, I’m filled with fear. Imposter syndrome and self doubt kick in (“Will I be able to do this? What if I fail and it turns out to be a total flop?”). This usually leads to a bad case of avoidance and procrastination.
In the book Make It Stick, Peter Brown explains:
“A fear of failure can poison learning by creating aversions to the kinds of experimentation and risk taking that characterize striving, or by diminishing performance under pressure, as in a test setting.”
If you feel worried that you’re not going to be able to perform well in a subject, this is going to use up a big part of your working memory capacity. Instead of thinking about the content, you’ll be thinking, “Am I going to be able to do this? What if I can’t? Should I drop the subject?”.
In short, you’ll have dramatically less brainpower available for learning.
What makes a difference?
There’s a simple question I ask myself when something feels hard. And it’s this . . .
How can I make this behaviour easier to do?
Professor BJ Fogg calls this the Breakthrough Question. According to Fogg, there are three ways you can make any behaviour easier to do:
- You can increase your skills
- You can invest in tools and resources
- You can make the behaviour tiny
In his book Tiny Habits, Fogg explains:
“Regardless of what your aspiration is, increasing your skills, getting tools and resources, and making the behaviour tiny are what makes things easier to do. . .
Sometimes all you’ll need is the right tool to make a new habit easier to do, like using skinny floss [for flossing teeth], and other times all you have to do is scale the behaviour back to its tiniest version, such as flossing just one tooth. Think of making something easy to do as a pond with three different ways to enter the water. Whether you jump off the dock, wade in at the beach, or drop in from a rope swing, you’ll soon be swimming in the same water.”
In other words, you have options!
There are many things you can do to make studying those ‘hard’ subjects a little easier.
With that in mind, here is a short list of behaviours and ideas that will help you get a better handle on your challenging subjects:
1. Put your phone away from your body in another room
If you can focus better, you can learn and retain more information. If you constantly check your phone, put it on silent and away from your body before you sit down to study. My phone lives in pocket number 1 of a vertical wall hangar in my dining room (well away from my workspace).
2. Upgrade your study skills
Study strategies such as active recall (e.g., flashcards) and dual coding (e.g., mind mapping) are more effective than rereading and highlighting your notes. Like any new skill, they take a little time to get used to, but they’ll save you a lot of time in the long run.
3. Try a different textbook
Some textbooks explain ideas better than others. The textbook on your school booklist is not the only one or necessarily the best one out there. You don’t need to feel wedded to it. Check out other study guides and resources.
4. Build good sleep habits
A good night’s sleep allows you to focus better in class, retain more information and feel better. Make sleep your top priority. Here are some behaviours I engage in to get more and better sleep:
In the evening, I put my phone away in another room to charge (and I don’t touch it until the next day)
I don’t look at any screens at least one hour before bed
I go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time everyday
5. Keep chaos at bay
Create a system to organise your notes, past exam papers and handout sheets. Over time, you may need to tweak and refine your system, but that’s okay. I’ve been tweaking and refining my system for years.
For example, I used to store all my mind maps in an A3 flip file (in no particular order). But when things started to get out of control, I switched to cataloguing them alphabetically.
6. Ask questions
If you’re confused, don’t suffer in silence. Ask your teacher for help. That’s their job. If you feel shy asking a question in front of the class, approach your teacher after class.
7. Take notes in class
Make life easier for your future self by jotting down key ideas in class. If something is confusing, make a note (you can focus on that in a study session at home). Your memory has limits, and if you don’t write it down, chances are you won’t be able to remember it.
8. Make your study sessions tiny
If you feel overwhelmed by the idea of doing several hours of study each day, start with just five minutes. Five minutes of study is infinitely better than doing nothing!
Once you’ve developed the habit of sitting down and studying for 5 minutes, you can ramp it up. But start small.
9. Celebrate the little wins
When you manage to sit down and do a little study, congratulate yourself. Say to yourself, “Good job!” This positive reinforcement makes us feel good, which helps us establish a study habit.
To sum up
When your teachers say, “This subject is going to be really hard”, I think they’re trying to communicate to you, “You need to sit down and study. You can no longer wing it.” They may be afraid that you’re not taking things seriously.
Instead of worrying, be in action. Pick up some flashcards and start testing yourself. Tidy your desk. File away your notes from today. You’ll feel better and do better if you focus on doing the things that make studying that subject a little bit easier.
How often is your work interrupted by notifications or distracting thoughts that you find hard to ignore?
In our modern world, overwhelm and distraction threaten to constantly derail us.
As artist Austin Kleon states in his book Keep Going:
“Your attention is one of the most valuable things you possess, which is why everyone wants to steal it from you. First you must protect it, and then you must point it in the right direction.”
In this article, I share a powerful practice that can help you protect your attention and point it in the right direction: working like a sprinter.
The focused energy of an athlete
As a teenager, I remember watching Australian Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman run in the 400-metre race at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
In that incredible race, Cathy did one thing and one thing only: she ran as fast as she could in a focused, intense burst.
She was 27 years old and had been training for this event for 17 years. Having won silver at the previous Olympics, the pressure was on. The entire nation was watching Cathy.
To this day, I still get goosebumps when I watch the footage of this race (you can watch it here).
Cathy was in the zone. She was completely focused on the task at hand. She knew what she needed to do: run.
Shortly after crossing the finish line, Cathy sat down to catch her breath and process what she had just accomplished (she had won gold). The crowd went wild and was completely absorbed in the moment, too.
Back in the year 2000, during the Sydney Olympics, smartphones and social media didn’t exist. Not everyone had access to the internet (my family did, but it was slow, expensive, and could only be used at home on a computer). In this environment, it was much easier to focus.
It’s fair to say that the early 2000s were simpler times.
Some scholars (e.g., Dr Jonathan Haidt, and Dr Anna Lembke) argue that smartphones and social media have caused several harms to society, including a reduced capacity to pay attention and an inability to tolerate discomfort.
Despite the noise and chaos of the modern world, it’s possible to train yourself to focus better.
How do we cultivate better focus?
One way is to tackle our work like sprinters.
The Practice: Working like a Sprinter
The practice of working like a sprinter is refreshingly simple: You work in a short, focused burst (25-45 minutes), then take a break to rest and recover (5-15 minutes). After that, you repeat the process a few times before taking a much longer break (30 minutes).
I usually work this way for about 3 – 4 hours a day.
But I’m not fixed and rigid about this practice. This technique is adaptable. The key is to listen to your body and tune into what it needs. Make this practice work for you.
If you develop the habit of working in this focused way, you’ll be amazed by how much you can get done. More importantly, instead of feeling mentally fried at the end of the day, you’ll feel energised. You’ll also experience a delightful sense of calm and peace.
In short, this is a practice well worth cultivating.
How to work like a sprinter
In a nutshell, working like a sprinter involves three distinct phases:
- Warm-up phase: You prepare yourself to do the work
- Sprint phase: You do the work in a short, focused burst
- Rest and recovery phase: You take a break to re-energise
It’s simple, but it’s a practice that takes practise.
Below, I delve into each phase in more detail and share some things that help me work in focused sprints.
The Warm-Up Phase (5 minutes – 120 minutes)
I do my best work sprints in the morning between 9am and 12noon. But these focused sprints don’t just magically happen. It’s not like I roll out of bed and dive straight into a work sprint. First, I need to warm up.
The warm-up phase allows me to get in the right headspace and set up my environment to be focus-friendly. It has a dramatic impact on my brain’s performance, affecting my ability to focus, creativity, productivity, and mood.
Just to be clear, the stars don’t have to align, and the conditions don’t need to be perfect to kick off a work sprint. I’ve simply noticed that I can work better after engaging in a few behaviours and morning practices.
Here’s what I’ve found makes a difference . . .
1. Figure out the things that hijack your attention
What distracts you when you’re trying to work? What things frequently derail you?
Take note of the things that hijack your attention and throw you off track.
In one of my favourite books on getting organised, Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD, Susan Pinsky writes:
“The more you explore the distractions that keep you from working, as well as the tools that help you to focus, the more organized and productive you will become.”
Once you know what distracts you, you can figure out ways to deal with those distractions, which brings me to the next point . . .
2. Implement distraction blockers
For each distraction, think of ways to make it harder to engage with it. What barriers or strategies could you put in place? Are there any tools that could help you focus better?
For example:
- Your phone keeps buzzing? Put it away from your body in another room (I put my phone in pocket 1 of a vertical wall hanger in the dining room, well away from my workspace).
- Keep having distracting, random thoughts? Write them in a notebook and come back to them later.
- Feel tempted to use chat groups or social media? Use an app like Cold Turkey, Freedom, or one sec to block yourself.
Dealing with distractions from the outset (before you sit down to do your work sprints) makes it easier to stay focused and on track.
3. Meditate (even just for 3 minutes)
Many of us have become used to constant stimulation; without it, we feel anxious. This is why we reach for our phones and scroll through our feeds as soon as we experience a slight pang of boredom.
If you can relate to this, you will benefit from engaging in a daily meditation practice.
If you’re new to meditation, I recommend starting with the following tiny habit of doing a micro-meditation:
After I put on my shoes, I will pause and breathe in and out three times.
Not sure how to meditate? Close your eyes and focus on your breath, going in and out. If a random thought enters your mind (and it will), notice it and let it go. Then, return your focus to your breath.
Alternatively, you could listen to a guided meditation using an app such Insight Timer.
4. Move your body (even just for 5 minutes)
Clinical psychiatrist Dr John Ratey describes exercise as “like a little bit of Ritalin and a little bit of Prozac”. It’s powerful stuff.
Research shows that physical movement can help us focus better and learn faster. In terms of counteracting stress and boosting our mood, movement is like getting a biochemical massage.
This is one reason getting on my treadmill and doing interval training has become a non-negotiable part of my day. In the words of Tara Schuster:
“[Working out] is my preventative measure against the anxiety that lurks in my mind. I must throw myself out of bed in the morning and make it to the gym because I will always, always feel better for it.”
By warming up my body through physical movement, I’m able to warm up my brain by bathing it in feel good chemicals.
Deliberately exposing myself to the discomfort of running also helps me sit with the unpleasant feelings that arise when faced with difficult work. As Alex Soojung-Kim Pang states in his book Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less:
“Exposing yourself to predictable, incremental physical stressors in the gym or the playing field increases your capacity to be calm and clear headed in stressful real world situations.”
On the days when I skip my morning run or a weightlifting session, my wellbeing and productivity take a hit. I don’t feel as mentally sharp or confident about tackling my work. I’ve also noticed that I’m more likely to get distracted and give in to instant gratification during a work sprint.
5. Help your future self
Can you do anything in the evening to prepare for your morning work sprints? Completing a few quick tasks before bed can help you conserve energy the next day.
Here are a few simple things I like to do in the evening to get ready for the day ahead:
- I make my breakfast (overnight oats with berries)
- I write a short list of the three main things I want to work on the next day
- I lay out my exercise clothes and running shoes
- I clear away clutter from my work desks
- I avoid all screens an hour before bed (I plug my phone in to charge in my office and don’t touch it until the next day)
Doing these simple things allows me to carry out my morning routine with ease. Then, I can hit the ground running with a clear, focused mind for my first work sprint.
6. Design a distraction free environment
If I check my phone for messages and engage in frivolous texting first thing, I crave distraction and the dopamine hits that come with it for the rest of the day.
For these reasons, I have implemented the following tech rules:
- No engaging in chat groups for the first 6 hours of the day
- No checking email or looking at screens for the first hour of the day
This may sound extreme, but these restrictions are incredibly liberating. As the author of the book Stand Out of Our Light, James Williams states:
“Reason, relationships, racetracks, rules of games, sunglasses, walls of buildings, lines on a page: our lives are full of useful constraints to which we freely submit so that we can achieve otherwise unachievable ends.”
By blocking myself from digital distractions and all the noise that comes with it, I can focus on chipping away at the projects that are most important to me.
7. Prepare the mise en place
Just like a chef prepares all the ingredients before cooking a dish (i.e. they create the mise en place), set yourself up with everything you need to do your work. The last thing you want is to get a few minutes into a work sprint and realise you need to go find a pen that works.
If you have everything you need within arm’s reach, it’s easier to stay focused on the task and get into a flow state.
Sprint phase: Doing the Work (25 – 45 minutes)
Once the warm-up phase is complete, we move into the sprint phase. Now, it’s time to do the work.
If you’ve done the work in the warm-up phase, the sprint phase is a lot easier. All you need to do is:
- Set a timer for the period you intend to work for
- Do your best to focus on the task at hand until the timer goes off
- If you get distracted, it’s okay. Write down the distracting thought and gently bring your focus back to your work.
There’s no need to feel rushed as you work. You’re not competing with anyone else. This is not a race. It’s totally fine to take things slow.
Don’t expect the sprint phase to be pleasant. Even after a fabulous warm-up, you will most likely feel some discomfort and resistance about doing the work. This is normal.
You’ll feel the urge to run from this discomfort. But instead of running from it, befriend it. Remind yourself that the point of these work sprints is to move the needle on the things that really matter to you.
Rest and Recovery Phase (5-30 minutes)
When the timer goes off, take a moment to acknowledge yourself for showing up to do the work. Remember, this practice takes practise, and you just got some reps in.
Now it’s time to rest. You’ll probably have some momentum by now, so you’ll feel like pushing on but stop what you’re doing and step away from your work. As Ali Abdaal mentions in his book Feel-Good Productivity:
“Rest breaks are not special treats. They are necessities.”
I’m not going to lie: this phase has been the hardest for me to master. As someone with workaholic tendencies, I’ve had to work hard at getting rest.
Why is the rest phase so important?
Because the longer you focus, the harder it is to maintain your focus. The act of focusing depletes your brainpower.
The best way to recharge a depleted brain is to rest.
Like focus, rest is a skill. It takes practise. You have to be able to resist the lure of busyness and our fast-paced, always-on culture.
Here are some of my favourite ways to rest and recharge at the moment:
- Go for a short walk out in nature
- Do some stretches from Bob Anderson’s excellent book Stretching
- Chop vegetables in silence (no podcast or music playing)
- Take a power nap
- Cut out pictures and glue them down on paper (zine or collage making)
- Lay on the floor with a bolster under my legs
- Tidy up a surface
- Journal in my notebook
- Prepare a toddler tray of healthy snacks (this is for myself, not a toddler!)
Whenever I find myself wondering whether to keep working or take a break, I ask myself:
“What kind of boss do I want to be for myself? A mean-spirited, hard taskmaster? Or a generous, caring boss who looks out for their employees’ wellbeing?”
The answer is simple: I choose to be a generous boss to myself. Therefore, I give myself permission to rest.
To sum up
I’ve come to see each of the phases of working like a sprinter (Warm-up, Sprint, and Rest and Recovery) as critical to staying healthy and balanced. Through trial and error, I’ve learned that skipping the warm-up or rest phase or going too hard in the sprint phase can lead to chaos and exhaustion.
As you cultivate the practice of working like a sprinter, significant things will happen to you. Not only will you notice that your productivity goes through the roof, but you’ll experience mental calm and clarity like never before.
As digital distractions no longer dominate your day, the noise of the world gets dialled down. You’ll find it easier to tune into what you need and what matters most to you.
I cannot stress enough that this is a practice that takes practise! One or two sprints won’t cut it. You need to persevere for long enough to experience the incredible benefits of this powerful practice.
I’m sensing a lot of cynicism and resignation about new year’s resolutions.
And look, I get it. I can understand why new year’s resolutions have become so unpopular.
It’s frustrating to vow to make a change only to find that you’ve fallen off the bandwagon a few days later.
I’ve been there. I know how dispiriting it can be.
But what if I told you there was a process you could follow that could help you change your behaviour in any area that is important to you?
There is a process. It’s called Behavior Design.
The process takes me about 20-30 minutes (from start to finish).
It’s not a quick fix, but it works.
In my experience, Behavior Design is way more effective than the stock standard strategies you hear about, such as manifesting, vision boards, SMART goals, accountability buddies, etc.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with doing those things. But used on their own, these strategies often set us up to fail.
Behavior Design is different.
This system allows you to “become your own soul’s doctor” (a phrase used by Stoic philosopher Epictetus). Basically, you quit chasing gurus and the latest trends. By following the process, you take control of your life and move yourself in the direction of a flourishing life.
I learnt about Behavior Design from Stanford University Professor BJ Fogg.
Last year, I participated in his online program, Design for Behavior Change, and I’ve been using his system ever since.
What is Behavior Design?
Behavior Design is a systematic process that helps you to change your behaviour and design for behaviour change. What I love about Behavior Design is it doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to behaviour change. By using this process, you can pinpoint the behaviours that are the right fit for you.
The foundation of Behavior Design is the Fogg Behavior Model (B = MAP).
This model explains all human behaviour. According to the Fogg Behavior Model, if you want a behaviour to happen, you need three things to occur all at the same time:
- Motivation: you need to be sufficiently motivated to do the behaviour
- Ability: you need to be able to do the behaviour
- A prompt: you need to be reminded to engage in the behaviour
If any one of these components is missing, the behaviour won’t happen.
The Behavior Design process takes all of these components into account.
Here are the steps involved in Behavior Design (i.e., designing for behaviour change):
- Get clear on the aspiration (i.e., the goal or outcome)
- Magic wand potential behaviours
- Make the behaviours crispy
- Behaviour match to pinpoint your Golden Behaviours (Focus Mapping)
- Make it easier
- Set up a prompt
- Implement (and tweak)
If you just switched off when you saw that long list of steps or read the word ‘Magic wand’, I don’t blame you. It’s a lot. But please, stay with me.
Behavior Design is straightforward (no magic is involved here). Unlike new year’s resolutions, which we tend to set, forget, and abandon, Behavior Design delivers results.
I’m going to walk you through each of these steps for an aspiration of mine that I set for the new year: To build strength (muscle).
Let’s go!
Step 1. Clarify the Aspiration
The first step is to get clear on your aspiration (i.e., the goal or outcome).
What do you want to achieve?
Don’t worry about making it a SMART goal. Your aspiration can be vague and abstract.
Here’s one of my aspirations for the new year:
To build strength (muscle).
When I think about building strength, the outcome I want to achieve is training consistently (three weight lifting sessions per week).
I’m not setting a goal to “get a six-pack.” Ugh. Extrinsic goals like this never leave me feeling fulfilled or motivated for long. In contrast, the idea of being someone who trains consistently and is strong and healthy does excite me.
Step 2. Magic Wanding (Brainstorm Behaviours)
After clarifying your aspiration, you need to think about the concrete behaviours that will help you achieve it.
This is the crucial step we often miss. Too many people stop at setting vague goals when it comes to changing their behaviour, which is their ultimate downfall.
As BJ Fogg says, when we try to motivate ourselves towards an abstraction, this rarely works.
So, here I am, saying I want to build strength to become a ferociously sturdy lady. This is a great idea, but how will I do it?
According to Behavior Design, I need to focus on the concrete behaviours (i.e., the things I can do right now or at a specific point in time) that will help build muscle.
In this step, you imagine you have magical powers and you can get yourself to engage in any behaviour.
The playful Professor Fogg even recommends purchasing a magic wand, waving it, and asking yourself:
“If I could wave a magic wand and get myself to do any behaviour to achieve this aspiration, what would it be?”
After waving my homemade magic wand in the air (made out of a thin stick and electrical tape), I asked myself:
“If I could get myself to engage in any behaviour to build strength, what would it be?”
I wrote down each behaviour on an index card.
Here are some of the behaviours I brainstormed:
- Find a personal trainer and pay for five sessions
- Bookmark basic Peloton strength classes on my phone
- Join a gym
- Do five push-ups
- Do five squats
- Use resistance bands to walk down the hall
- Do five overhead presses with dumbbells
- Do 10 bench presses with dumbbells
- Create a pinup board of strength training ideas with dumbbells
- Find a friend to train with
- Buy kettlebells
- Find personal trainers on YouTube
- Get out books from the library on strength training
- Write a letter to my future self about strength training
- Talk to friends who strength train and ask for ideas on routines
- Explore Reddit forums on strength training
- Purchase heavier dumbbells (12kg)
- Buy $1000 worth of gym equipment
- Punch boxing bag 10 times
- Watch the Strong Woman documentary series
BJ Fogg writes in his book Tiny Habits:
“You are not making any decisions or commitments in this step. You are exploring your options. The more behaviors you list, the better. You can tap into your creativity or maybe ask friends for their ideas.”
If you’re struggling to come up with behaviours, you can also use generative AI to help you brainstorm. But there is power in generating your own ideas away from a screen (my advice is to try to do this on your own or with a friend before turning to AI).
Step 3. Crispify Target Behaviours
Take each of the behaviours you’ve brainstormed and make them crispy. By crispy, BJ Fogg means specific.
For example, ‘Punch boxing bag 10 times (jab, cross)’ is a crispy behaviour compared to ‘Do boxing workout’.
Step 4. Behaviour Match to Pinpoint Golden Behaviours (Focus Mapping)
This is where the ‘magic’ happens. In this step, you determine the best behaviours to engage in. BJ Fogg calls these your ‘Golden Behaviours’.
You’ll need a large, clear surface to do this and some index cards (four in total). Each of your crispy behaviours will also need to be written out on index cards.
Fogg breaks this stage down into two rounds.
Here’s what you do in Round 1 . . .
Write down ‘High Impact Behaviour’ and ‘Low Impact Behaviour’ on two index cards. Place the ‘High Impact Behaviour’ card at the top and the ‘Low Impact Behaviour’ at the bottom.
Pick up one of your crispy behaviours (written on a card) and ask:
“How effective is this behaviour in helping me to achieve my aspiration?”
Place it along the vertical continuum. If a behaviour is highly effective in moving you towards achieving your aspiration (e.g., it will have a high impact in helping me to build strength), place it closer to the top. If a behaviour isn’t very effective in moving you towards your goal, put it closer to the bottom.
For example, watching a documentary on women weightlifting may be inspiring and enjoyable, but it won’t help me build strength. For this reason, I placed this card at the bottom of the continuum. But doing five squats regularly would be highly effective at helping me achieve greater leg strength, so I placed this card at the top.
Do this with all your crispy behaviours. The table will get messy, but that’s okay. Trust the process and keep putting your cards down.
That’s Round 1 complete. Now, for Round 2 . . .
Round 2 involves getting grounded in reality. You may have several high impact behaviours, but you may find you’re not motivated or able to do them. What you do next will weed out those behaviours.
Create two more cards: “Yes, I can get myself to do this!” and “No, I can’t get myself to do this.” Place them like so (see image below).
Now, we take each card and ask:
“Can I actually get myself to do this behaviour?”
Move the cards along the horizontal plane.
When I asked myself, “Can I get myself to buy $1000 worth of gym equipment?” my response was “Not a chance!”. Firstly, I don’t have the space for more gym equipment, and secondly, I can’t justify spending more money on gym equipment! I moved this card over to the far left.
Again, don’t overthink it. Move the cards quickly. Go with your gut.
Once you’ve moved all the cards, focus on the second top quadrant. What behaviours do you have in this location?
These are what BJ Fogg calls your ‘Golden Behaviours’.
These behaviours have three things in common:
- They are high-impact behaviours (i.e., they are effective in moving you towards your aspiration)
- You are motivated to do the behaviour
- You can do the behaviour
You want to channel your time, energy, and attention into engaging in these behaviours.
For example, once I had shuffled my cards around in the two rounds, my golden behaviours were:
- Use resistance bands to walk down the hall (20 steps)
- Create a pinup board of strength exercises
- Punch boxing bag 10 times
- Do 10 bench presses
- Do five squats
- Do five overhead presses
- Talk to friends who lift weights for ideas
- Bookmark beginner Peloton strength classes
BJ Fogg recommends selecting three to four Golden Behaviours to focus on. I can see why.
You have a limited amount of time, energy, and attention. Focusing on too many different behaviours for a specific area can be overwhelming. You run the risk of giving up before you even get started.
When I looked at my Golden Behaviours, I realised several behaviours could be combined into a basic workout routine, leaving me with the following four Golden Behaviours:
- Follow a workout program that includes my favourite strength exercises (two times per week)
- Create a pinup board of strength exercises
- Talk to friends who lift weights for ideas
- Bookmark beginner Peloton strength classes
This step of focus mapping was pleasantly surprising. It gave me insights and clarity about why I had felt stuck with my strength training for so long. Here’s what I realised:
- For some strange reason, I had got it in my head that I needed to hire a personal trainer. However, focus mapping made me realise I don’t want or need to hire a personal trainer (potentially saving me hundreds of dollars and travel time).
- I have enough exercise equipment at home. I don’t need to buy more expensive exercise equipment (saving me even more money!).
- The main thing stopping me from strength training was not having a routine or program that I liked. Figuring out what exercises to do every morning required mental effort, which I simply didn’t have. It felt overwhelming, so I skipped my strength workouts.
After I had pinpointed my golden behaviours, I immediately texted a friend who is a physiotherapist. I asked if he would help me develop a simple strength training routine. He said yes and started sending links to explore ideas. I was off and running (no pun intended).
Once you’ve completed step 4, you can stop and call it a day. However, there are three other major steps in Behaviour Design that are worth mentioning. If you’re keen to learn more about this fantastic process, keep reading.
Step 5. Make It Easier
When a behaviour is easy to do, it feels fun. You can do it quickly. This means you’re more likely to do it and do it again and again.
Instead of saying to myself, “Lift weights for 1 hour a day” and having no idea what exercises I’d be doing, I say, “Pick up dumbbells and do five overhead presses” or “Look at strength training routine and start with exercise 1”. It may not seem like much, but it’s a start. It’s also infinitely better than letting my dumbbells sit and collect dust.
If you want to learn more about making behaviours easier, I highly recommend checking out BJ Fogg’s book Tiny Habits (one of my favourite books).
Step 6. Establish a Prompt
A prompt is a trigger. It reminds you to engage in the desired behaviour. It says to your brain, “Pick up your dumbbells now!”.
The excellent news for me (and all of us) is we don’t have to hire a life coach or personal trainer to be prompted to take action. According to BJ Fogg, the best prompts are things you already do on a regular basis (i.e., pre-existing habits).
Think of behaviours like having breakfast, brushing your teeth, or having a shower. These are all excellent prompts that you can piggyback a new behaviour onto.
For instance, I have a pre-established habit of running on my treadmill every morning. Since I’m already in gym clothes, this is an ideal prompt for a quick strength training session. Here’s what I came up with:
After I finish running on my treadmill (prompt),
I will pick up my dumbbells and do five presses (new behaviour).
I can do more than five dumbbell presses, but I tell myself five is the minimum required to keep the habit alive.
Step 7. Implement (and Tweak)
Once you’ve found a place for your new desired behaviours in your daily routine, it’s time to get to work and test things out.
After engaging in a new behaviour, it’s super important to give yourself lots of positive reinforcement. Fogg calls this ‘celebration’. You can say to yourself, “Great work!” or clap your hands. You need to release positive emotions.
This may sound a bit cheesy and over-the-top, but do not skip this critical step. These positive emotions help to wire in the new behaviours as habits.
If a new behaviour isn’t working for you, that’s okay. Play around with it. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is there a prompt? (If not, establish a clear prompt)
- Can I make this behaviour easier? (Perhaps it’s too big? If so, make it smaller)
- Do I want to do this behaviour? (If not, choose a different behaviour you want to do)
For instance, after my morning run, I did a 15-minute strength session on the Peloton app using some resistance bands. Some exercises weren’t my cup of tea, so I tweaked the workout.
When it comes to behaviour change, don’t take yourself too seriously. You’ll do better and have more fun by approaching change with a playful mindset.
To Sum Up
Behavior Design allows you to be your own self-help guru. Rather than following generic advice, you get to develop your own tailored solutions, which is incredibly powerful.
The other powerful thing about Behavior Design is that you don’t have to psych yourself up to engage in your ‘Golden Behaviours’. You’ve selected behaviours you want to do, so very little motivation is required.
I understand that this may seem complicated, but trust me, this process is extremely practical.
Do yourself a favour: sit down and try following the steps involved in Behavior Design. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. And unlike new year’s resolutions, this process delivers lasting change.