1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to How I Work, a show about the tactics 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:09,400 Speaker 1: used by leading innovators to get so much out of 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,440 Speaker 1: their day. I'm your host, doctor Amantha Imba. I'm an 4 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 1: organizational psychologist, the founder of innovation consultancy Inventium, and I'm 5 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: obsessed with finding ways to optimize my workday. So I'm 6 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: wondering if you've tried to change your behavior lately. Maybe 7 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: you've been trying to change your weight, your social media habits, 8 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: or even change your job or your relationship. And when 9 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 1: we failed to create the change we desire, we often 10 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:43,519 Speaker 1: blame ourselves. We tell ourselves that we didn't have the 11 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 1: self discipline or the willpower to stick to the change 12 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,559 Speaker 1: that we were trying to create. But what psychologists have 13 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 1: discovered is that by manipulating our environment or context, or 14 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: even the words that we use, we can start to 15 00:00:55,920 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: effortlessly create change, no willpower required. So I wanted to 16 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,839 Speaker 1: talk about three ways that you can start to easily 17 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:09,320 Speaker 1: create change in yourself or in others. So the first 18 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:11,399 Speaker 1: thing that you can do is that you can remove 19 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: the temptation. So we've all had experience with trying to 20 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: eliminate or reduce a behavior. So For example, most people 21 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:23,920 Speaker 1: have experienced being on a diet. Certainly, forty nine percent 22 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 1: of American adults reported that they've tried to lose weight 23 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: in the last twelve months, and likewise, many people are 24 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: now trying to reduce the time that they spend on 25 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:36,800 Speaker 1: social media. But saying to ourselves that we want to 26 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: reduce or stop a behavior requires us to use willpower 27 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: whenever we're presented with the temptation to engage in the behavior. 28 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:46,679 Speaker 1: For example, if we're on a diet, every time we 29 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,080 Speaker 1: see chocolate, we need to use our willpower muscle to 30 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: stay on track. But rather than relying on willpower, the 31 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 1: simplest way to create change is to simply remove the temptation. 32 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: For example, if you're trying to reduce social media usage, 33 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: delete all social media apps from your phone. This simple 34 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: hack will significantly reduce the time that you spend on 35 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:12,639 Speaker 1: social media without you having to even think about it, 36 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: and likewise, common advice for dieters involves clearing out your 37 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:20,680 Speaker 1: carpetive treats and temptations before starting your diet, So remove 38 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:23,919 Speaker 1: the temptation and you don't need to use your willpower muscle. 39 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: The second piece of advice I want to give is 40 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: when you're trying to create change, change your environment. So 41 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: changing your environment can have a huge impact on your behavior, 42 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: Yet few people think to make changes to their home 43 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:43,720 Speaker 1: or office when considering ways to make behavior change stick. 44 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: In the book Work Rules by the ex head of 45 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: People Operations Laslow Bok at Google explained an experiment that 46 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 1: they ran at Google to encourage healthy eating at work. So, 47 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: given Google offers all Star free meals and snacks throughout 48 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:04,639 Speaker 1: the day, Bock recognized that the company was in an 49 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:09,640 Speaker 1: ideal position to influence healthy behaviors. So in Google offices 50 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: all around the world, many different snack options exist, and 51 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: the staff cafes located around the office. And the people 52 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 1: Operations team hypothesized that if they could make it easier 53 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,919 Speaker 1: for people to eat healthy snacks and slightly more difficult 54 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 1: for people to access unhealthy snacks, they could change behavior. So, 55 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: after getting baseline data on snacking behavior in the company's 56 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: Colorado office, some very simple changes were made to the 57 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: way snacks were displayed. Healthy snacks were placed at eye 58 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:42,839 Speaker 1: level in transparent and appealing containers, and unhealthy snacks were 59 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: placed lower down and in opaque containers. Almost Immediately, behavior 60 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:53,640 Speaker 1: began to change, and the proportion of total calories consumed 61 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 1: from lollies decreased by thirty percent and the consumption of 62 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: fat dropped by four twenty percent. The experiment was such 63 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:05,520 Speaker 1: a success that it was expanded to the New York office, 64 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: and after just seven weeks, google'ss ed eton three point 65 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: one million fewer calories, enough to avoid gaining a cumulative 66 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 1: eight hundred and eighty five pounds. Now, the final thing 67 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:21,919 Speaker 1: that you can do to make behavior change simple is 68 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:25,960 Speaker 1: that you can change your language. So something I've mentioned 69 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: on the podcast before if you've listened to other mini episodes, 70 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:33,160 Speaker 1: is the power of language. And one study in particular 71 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: that I love comes from marketing professor Vanetta Vanessa Patrick, 72 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,080 Speaker 1: who looked at the impact of using the word card 73 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: versus don't. She thought that the way we talk to 74 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:44,839 Speaker 1: ourselves actually impacts our ability to say no to temptation. 75 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,240 Speaker 1: So in one of her experiments, one hundred and twenty 76 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:53,040 Speaker 1: university students, we're taught a strategy for change about managing 77 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:56,600 Speaker 1: unhealthy food temptations. One group was taught to say I 78 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,760 Speaker 1: can't eat X whenever presented with an unhealthy snack, and 79 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 1: the other group was taught to say I don't eat X. 80 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:05,719 Speaker 1: The participants were then asked to turn their attention to 81 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 1: a completely different and irrelevant task, But when they got 82 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 1: up to leave the room, the crux of the experiment happened. 83 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 1: They were offered a choice of two snacks. One was 84 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:16,800 Speaker 1: a chocolate bar and one was a healthy granola bar. 85 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:20,360 Speaker 1: The experiment has quietly noted which participants picked which bar. 86 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:23,360 Speaker 1: So what they found is that thirty nine percent of 87 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 1: those who were taught to say I can't eat X, 88 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: when presented with a temptation, chose the healthy granola bar. 89 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 1: But in contrast, sixty four percent of those in the 90 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,840 Speaker 1: I don't eat X group pick the granola bar. So, 91 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 1: in other words, changing one simple word can't to don't 92 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: increase the chance of selecting the healthy snack by over 93 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: fifty percent. So saying that you don't do something sounds 94 00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 1: like you're the one that's in control of your choices, 95 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:54,640 Speaker 1: whereas saying that you can't do something sounds like someone 96 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:57,479 Speaker 1: else is calling the shots. So if you're trying to 97 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,600 Speaker 1: break a habit or change something about your own behavior, 98 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,120 Speaker 1: use the word don't to improve your chances of success 99 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 1: by fifty percent. So in conclusion, if you're trying to 100 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:11,239 Speaker 1: change your behavior rather than burning out, you will power muscle. 101 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 1: Try doing things like removing the temptation, changing your environment, 102 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: and changing your language. So that is it for today's show. 103 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 1: If you got something useful out of it, why not 104 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,920 Speaker 1: share it with someone else that you think could benefit. 105 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,160 Speaker 1: And also, if you're feeling in a generous mood, maybe 106 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: you might want to leave a review for this show 107 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: in Apple Podcasts or if you get your podcasts. That 108 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:41,799 Speaker 1: is it for today and I will see you next time.