I always find the Fogg behavior model [0] helpful to analyze why I choose one behavior over the other. B = MAP Behavior = Motivation * Ability * Prompt T

I always find the Fogg behavior model [0] helpful to analyze why I choose one behavior over the other. B = MAP Behavior = Motivation * Ability * Prompt Take the little graph he shows, which plots ability/easiness along the X-axis, and motivation along the Y-axis. Put two of them side by side, and plot each decision according to how easy/hard it is for you, and how motivated you are. Whichever plot is closer to the top-right is the one you’ll choose. Try this by comparing: 1. Wake up to your alarm on your phone (P=1), a bunch of Instagram/Youtube notifications (M=.97), and it’s so easy to scroll you can do it with one finger (A=.98). This is at the top-right of the graph. 2. Get out of bed, find your running shoes (P=0), go for a run (M=.6, A=.5). This is in the middle of the graph but also invisible (no prompt). So you pick laying in bed scrolling over going for a run every time. You can flip this by, say, getting an alarm clock that’s not your phone and putting your phone in another room, and placing your bright green running shoes next to your bed. A key observation here is that P is the most powerful lever in this equation, where often things like social media or junk food are always going to be near the top-right of the graph, so the primary means of attacking those is removing the prompt. The next most effective lever to adjust is A (ability), placing barriers in your way of the undesirable thing, and removing barriers from the desired behavior. The least consistent lever is M (motivation). It’s sometimes possible to increase or decrease our motivation, perhaps by journaling on the benefits of exercise and the drawbacks of social media, but that can be inconsistent or be a long-term effort to adjust intrinsic motivation. Motivation is also less consistent, a powerful source when you have it but not always there reliably. [0] https://behaviormodel.org/ https://behaviormodel.org/