Thread by @stevemagness

When it comes to achieving our goals, we often think about motivation.

If we could just find some motivation, we'd reach our goal.

Stop thinking about motivation.

Instead, lower the bar to get to action.

Decrease the friction between you & starting the task.

Here's how:

It's often the small barriers that get in the way.

You know this. It happens every day. "I'd have to drive 15 minutes away. My workout clothes are dirty. I've got a call in 45 minutes, it's cold out."

We use small things as evidence. Reasons why we should default to nothing.

The small things add up, giving fuel to the part of your brain that wants to conserve energy, do nothing, take the easy path.

They give us a justification, allow us to craft a story for why we didn't get out the door, sit down to write, respond to our colleagues.

Reduce the roadblocks. Minimize the decisions that are between you and taking action

-Reduce your outfit choices to workout
-Lay out your running clothes so they are ready in the morning
-Block off a specific time to answer emails
-Write at the same desk
-Have your notebook open

Copy @StephenKing:

"Write at the same time and place every day. Make it a habit."

“It starts with this: put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn’t in the middle of the room."

You are priming for performance. Making the next action easy.

No different than an athlete going through a warm-up routine to prime her to be able to run her fastest.

And there's science to back this up.

Two key concepts:
1. Our environment invites action
2. Your brain is predictive.

Or put another way. Our brain likes to predict what's coming so it's prepared. And our environment plays a large role in that prediction.

If you see a chair. What could you do with it? Well, you could sit in it, stand on top of it, pick it up, throw it.

These are all options, but because we associate sitting with chairs, you are primed for that. See a chair, your brain gets ready with the 'sitting' action plan.

The theory goes, our environment invites action.

If that chair is at a desk, the sitting action is invited. If it's underneath a lightbulb that you know needs to be changed, the standing on it action is primed.

It's easier to follow through with the action that is primed.

So if your shoes are sitting out. A part of your brain essentially thinks "I wear those," and gets ready to follow through with that command, just in case.

It's primed for action.

If those shoes are only used when running, even better.

You've lowered the bar to action.

Reinforce the connection between your environment and 'good' actions.

Write at the same desk.
Use one pair of shoes to workout in
Notebook open, pen ready in your work area
Book (not phone) on your nightstand

Your toothbrush sits right next to your sink for a reason.

You can use this in the opposite direction.

Increase the barriers for things that you don't want to do. Take your phone and mindless scrolling:
-Leave it in the guest bedroom, not yours
-Take off social media apps or even the browser

Whatever you can do to increase resistance

Now you know how to get rid of barriers:
1. Lower the bar. Minimize the barriers to action
2. Tie specific items to actions you want to complete
3. Increase the barriers for things you don't want to do

It's about getting your environment to work with you, not against.

Here's my example.

At one point, I saw my running slipping. I was tired after work, and by the time I got home, I'd default to the couch instead of running.

I trie the fire myself up, set goals, get motivated approach. It failed.

Instead, I decided to make it easier.

1. I wore running shorts instead of boxers. Yes, TMI. But underneath my jeans or khakis, I was ready to run anytime
2. I left my running shoes in the passenger seat in my car
3. I changed my driving route to/from work. I added 5 minutes of driving so that I drove right by a park

It worked.
I didn't even have to change to go run. My shoes were right there and a reminder to go run every day when I drove home. Seeing the park pulled me towards stopping and running.

AND, I did it before I got pulled by the couch to sit and do nothing.

For more on motivation, environment inviting action, routines, and habits, follow: @JamesClear @BStulberg @DanielPink @david_perell @SahilBloom

For a deeper dive, check out this article: thegrowtheq.com/the-best-routi…

Set up your environment so it invite the actions you want.

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