Environmental Changes for Long-Lasting Habit Changes
The secret to making lasting changes in your life and creating habits that you will stick to isn’t about choosing the perfect routine, but more about adjusting your environment to accommodate these new habits.
Choosing your habits and routines is only the first step. If your home and work environment isn’t set up to help put these habits into place, you might be unintentionally self-sabotaging yourself.
Environmental Changes for Diet and Fitness
When it comes to your physical health, just about everything in your environment can make a difference with how successful you are.
Whether you are trying to eat healthier or go on a diet, or you want to start a new fitness program, the motivation often comes from what you see around you.
Here are some tips for adjusting your environment to help support healthy lifestyle changes:
Keep Healthy Food Visible and Within Reach – If you go to the kitchen in the morning and the first thing you see is a box of donuts or muffins, that is probably going to be what your mind instinctively wants. Not because you were craving it, but because your eyes can influence your choices.
A better option is to keep your healthy food out where you can see it, or within reach. Put out a fruit bowl on the counter instead of baked goods.
Have your healthy foods in the refrigerator towards the front of the shelves, instead of hidden away in drawers. Keep healthy snacks where you can grab them easily.
Place Your Healthy Cooking Appliances on the Counter – You probably have quite a few appliances in your kitchen, so you don’t have room for all of them on the counter at one time.
The best thing you can do for a healthy lifestyle is leave out the appliances you use for healthy cooking, to keep the thought of it in your mind every time you are in your kitchen.
This might include a blender, food processer, air fryer, or pressure cooker. The more you see them, the more inclined you will be to use them to make healthy food.
Lay Out Your Workout Clothes and Shoes – For workouts, the best thing you can do is make sure your workout clothes are easy to grab, so you have no excuses.
If possible, change into your workout clothes after you wake up, so that you have no reason not to go for a run, head to the gym, or do a home workout.
Environmental Changes for Better Productivity
Your environment also makes a difference when you are trying to increase your productivity.
If you regularly wake up to a messy, cluttered bedroom or you go to your office and you barely have enough room on your desk to get work done, you probably won’t.
For better focus and concentration, you need to have a clear and organized work environment.
Here are some tips for keeping your work area organized and ready for productivity:
• Clean your desk every evening when you are done working for the day
• Spend a few minutes before work getting your workspace set up
• Have a schedule for going through mail and paperwork
• Organize your digital files on a weekly basis
Environmental Changes for Hygiene and Self-Care
This might seem straightforward to you, but you would be surprised to find out how many people don’t floss their teeth just because it isn’t a place where they are reminded to use it.
If you have been falling behind on your hygiene or self care, then changing your environment can help a lot.
It is great to have an organized and clean bathroom, but when you keep everything hidden away in drawers and cabinets, you often forget to use it. Out of sight, out of mind.
For the habits that you have been falling behind on, keep those items out where you will see them.
From taking your vitamins every day to using eye cream at night, you need to be reminded to use these items every day.
You may also want to keep a sticky note on the bathroom mirror with your morning or night routine, so that you can mentally check off each item until they become habits.
Environmental Changes for Cleaning and Housework
Lastly, there are some environmental changes that can help with any habits related to cleaning or housework.
You probably have some household chores you do without thinking about it, like laundry and washing dishes, but many other chores often get pushed aside.
Here are some tips for changing your environment to make it easier to get your housework done:
Use Cues to Trigger Cleaning Habits – One of the ways you can build habits is by using cues that trigger that habit. For example, if you keep your outdoor broom next to your laundry room, you are more likely to clean up your patio every week on laundry day. On habit triggers the other habit.
Get Timers for Cleaning Sprees – If you don’t have time to dedicate entire days of the week to household chores, just give yourself mini sessions very day. Set a timer for 10-15 minutes and clean as much as you can during that time. You can use your phone or get kitchen timers for different areas of your home.
Organize Your Cleaning Supplies – Always keep your cleaning supplies organized! They should be in a place where they are easy to find, and not difficult to reach. If they are organized, you will be much more inclined to use them on a regular basis.
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