โDamn you Netflix, how did I just watch 10 episodes of Stranger Things,ย I have stuffย to do!โ
Weโve all been there. There are the things we know we SHOULD do, the things we NEED to do, and the things that we WANT to do.
More often than not, the WANT wins out over the NEED and SHOULD.
Itโs like trying to win a tug-of-war against a tractor pulling in the opposite direction. Itโs why we struggle to get to the gym after a long day of work. Itโs why we opt for Taco Bell instead of taking the time to cook a healthy meal.
Today, weโre going to give you a quick life hack that can help you start leveling up your life and actually get things done that need to get done!
What is Temptation Bundling?
I bet youโve said the following: โBefore I can watch TV, I need toย exercise.โ And yet, TV ends up winning over exercise almost all the time, especially if itโs after a long miserable day at work.
So, instead of โif I do this, then I get thisโ Whatย if we combined the two into one epic activity?
That idea is called โtemptation bundling,โ a term coined by Wharton Professor Katy Milkman: ultimately, youย combine something that needs to be done with something youย want to do.
She describes the idea in a paper entitled: โHolding The Hunger Games Hostage at the Gym: An Evaluation of Temptation Bundling.โ [1] The goal is to get us to do things we need to do by combining them with things we want to do, removing the โeither/orโ temptation and getting us to ACTUALLY do stuff:
Participants were randomly assigned to a full treatment condition with gym-only access to tempting audio novels, an intermediate treatment involving encouragement to restrict audiobook enjoyment to the gym, or a control condition.
Initially, full and intermediate treatment participants visited the gym 51% and 29% more frequently.
Long story short: the people in the study who were told they could listen to addictive audio books onlyย while working out visited the gym 51% more frequently than those who were just told they should exercise more.
Hereโs some Nerd Fitness examples:
In love with the show Arrow? I am, and I want Stephen Amell to be my best friend.ย ย Donโt say,ย โI can only watch Arrow after exercising.โ Change your phrasing, and try this instead: โI can only watch Arrow WHILE exercising.โ Bring your iPad or Laptop to the gym, and only watch particular shows while you are on a treadmill, walking, or using the elliptical.
Addicted to Clash of Clans on your phone? Only allow yourself to work on your clan while at the gym, in between sets of deadlifts. Same goes for looking at TikTok or Instagram: only while resting in between squats!
Maybe you can only listen toย Serialย or The Rewatchablesย while walking, doing a particular work task, or even completing a chore at home like cleaning or laundry.ย An hour episode while walking could result in you racking up 3+ย miles on your walk to Mordor!
Afraid to try cooking a new healthy meal?ย You can ONLY listen to a podcast or music in your house while you are cooking. BLAST it at top volume while having fun making a mess trying to cook.
Now, although this study teaches us that bundling a healthy life-improvement activity with one you enjoy can help you make a change, the boost can oftentimes be temporary.
The study went on to say that the โallureโ of the audiobook + gym combo wore off after a few months, thus furthering the suggestion that the best chance for long term success is to truly โenjoy the journey.โ
Long story short: this can a great strategy to get started, and a great way to identify types of exercise or strategies that work for you, long term results might require leveled up strategies!
But thatโs fine โ weโre going to be using it to build long term habits.
Try the temptation bundle challenge
If you can implement it properly, temptation bundling can both increase your time spent doing a healthy activityย while also helping you limit theย unhealthy one.
Now, you might be saying, โSteve, doesnโt this make the funย activity less enjoyable and the exercise/health portionย less efficient?โย
Possibly, but thatโs not the point! Sure, I would love it if you went to the gym, completed a kickass workout, ate a healthy meal, and then got 8 hours of sleep.
However, this isnโt Imagination Land, and I knowย the best workout plan is the one you actually complete. This is infinitely better than the perfect workout plan that makes you say โmeh, Iโll start tomorrow.โ
So what do we do? We use temptation bundling to get us started, and then use drive to keep us going. When we build interest ih the activity itself, we shift our focus from โIโm enduring this workoutโ to โI canโt wait to see how much better I am this week.โ The change can become permanent.
Your turn: whatโs one activity that you love to do, and one that you know you should do more of? And how are you going to implement this strategyย TODAY to your daily routine? Here are some other rapid fire examples:
- Are you studying or getting some work done? Get your favorite snack or beverage only when you are doing it.
- Try walking outside (or a cardio machine) โ thatโs now the only time youโre allowed to listen to your favorite podcast/audiobook.
- Try pairing chores like ironing, doing laundry, or cleaning dishes while watchingย your favorite tv shows or a new movie youโve been waiting for.
Your turn!
Whatโs one temptation bundle you are going toย combine and start TODAY?
-Steve
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Photo sources: Visiting Friends, A good Sunday to you,ย Rain doesnโt stop a photographer