1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:19,639 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to admit that willpower is overrated, so 4 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 1: design your environment for success instead. It's easy to intend 5 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: to have just a few oreos and then finish off 6 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,480 Speaker 1: a whole row. You can promise yourself that you won't 7 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:32,800 Speaker 1: hit snooze before you go to bed, but have a 8 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: different perspective. At six am. You can go into the 9 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:39,559 Speaker 1: bookstore just to browse and end up buying an armload 10 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:43,480 Speaker 1: of books. It happens to all of us, so don't 11 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,520 Speaker 1: feel bad about yourself. While self awareness and self regulation 12 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: are great, exercising willpower is really hard. So rather than 13 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: relying on willpower too often, when you can change your 14 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: environment so you can make great choices f it lessly. 15 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 1: It can look something like this. If you have trouble 16 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,120 Speaker 1: not eating the whole bag of Doritos or the whole 17 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: pint of Ben and Jerry's, by a single size bag 18 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 1: of chips or a four ounce container of ice cream instead, 19 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: then you can enjoy your treat without needing to tear 20 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: yourself away. Will you pay more per ounce for a 21 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: single serving container than you would for the full size. Well, sure, 22 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 1: but you're avoiding an internal conflict between your urge to 23 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:27,959 Speaker 1: devour every bite and your intention to eat a small 24 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 1: portion that's worth a dollar or two. And hey, if 25 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: you would have eaten the whole point of Ben and Jerry's, well, 26 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,319 Speaker 1: the four ounce container costs less, so you're saving money 27 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:40,080 Speaker 1: after all. As for the temptation to hit snooze, put 28 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 1: your alarm clock far away from your bed. That way, 29 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:45,399 Speaker 1: you have to get out of bed to turn it 30 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: off when it's dawn and the alarm is blasting from 31 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: ten feet away. It doesn't take willpower to get out 32 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: of bed, just a desire for quiet, and once you're up, 33 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: it's easier to stay up. If you want to browse, 34 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: but not by le your credit card at home or 35 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: in the car, or bring only as much cash as 36 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: you're okay with spending. This is especially helpful for places 37 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: like farmers markets or craft fares. Or you see so 38 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:14,919 Speaker 1: many beautiful things and want to buy them all, but really, 39 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:18,119 Speaker 1: how much produce does your family eat? And how many 40 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: people on your Christmas list need a pottery bowl or 41 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 1: a handwoven scarf. Designing your environment can help you avoid 42 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:27,800 Speaker 1: things you don't want to do, and also help you 43 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:30,919 Speaker 1: to do things that you do want to do. Want 44 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 1: to get more exercise, don't buy a permit for the 45 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 1: garage closest to your office. Instead, make it your norm 46 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: to park in a lot half a mile away. That's 47 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: a mile of walking every work day. If it's storming 48 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: or you're running late, you can pay extra to park 49 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 1: in the garage, but by making walking the default, you 50 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:53,200 Speaker 1: get more steps. If you want to do more focused work, 51 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 1: close your email and text message apps and turn off 52 00:02:56,040 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: all notifications. Now you don't need the discipline to delay 53 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: reading messages because guess what, you don't even know they're there. 54 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:08,359 Speaker 1: Instead of relying on willpower, reduce the temptations that your 55 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: future self will encounter. Make good behavior easy. If you do, 56 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:18,839 Speaker 1: leading the life you want will take less effort and 57 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: be a lot more likely. In the meantime, this is Laura. 58 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 59 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:36,800 Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. 60 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. 61 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at 62 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four. Then 63 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 1: Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an 64 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot 65 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: com that before Breakfast is spelled out with all the 66 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:01,840 Speaker 1: letters thank so much. I look forward to staying in touch. 67 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For 68 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 1: more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart 69 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 70 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:18,040 Speaker 1: favorite shows.