Tricking yourself into doing what you should

Psychologists call it temptation bundling when we pair something we want to do with something we know we should do.

I want to listen to a podcast or newly released live music, so I make sure I commit to doing it only while I’m running, cleaning the house, doing mindless administrative tasks, or anything else that feels more like a “should”.

Pairing wants with should’s is an effective psychological hack, because you can actually look forward to the activity and be productive.

Productivity hack: batching

Batching is reserving a block of time to complete similar tasks, rather than doing them arbitrarily. You’ll be better focused and you’ll reduce the stop/start transition time.

We already do this with shopping – we create a list rather than driving to the store every time we want an apple.  But most don’t think to do this with things like bills – we pay sporadically or as they come in (or the day they’re due), rather than in one 10-minute block every other week.

You’ll find you spend less time rushing if you batch email time, phone calls, reading, accounting, studying/learning, creating/writing, cooking and any other tasks worthy of your time.

Framing and the words we choose

When someone gives you advice that starts with “Here’s what you should do…” it can come across as: “If you were smart…”.  Not the best way to prime someone to listen.

Context and the way a message is framed can be more important than the message itself.  Imagine a letter with the most brilliant and valuable words, stuffed in an envelope.  It all becomes meaningless if the envelope is tossed in the garbage.

Prime people to receive helpful advice by making sure it actually sounds helpful, not judgemental or critical.  One example is: “Here’s something that worked for me in the past…”