A smarter way to be disciplined

The human body has roughly 11 million sensory receptors. 10 million of these are dedicated to sight. Therefore, what we see has a huge impact on what we do. For example, you see a box of chocolates, your immediate response will be to reach out for one.

The good news is that we can use human nature to our advantage. As mentioned in the book Atomic Habits, "You don’t have to be the victim of your environment. You can also be the architect of it."

This can be done by creating visual cues in your daily environments that trigger the right behaviours.

The rule : If you want to add a habit to your life, add it's cue to your environment.

Now, think of something you want to add to your life.

Let's say - you want to drink more water. Now, just make sure a bottle of water is present in each room of your house. You're much more likely to reach out for it than if it was left abandoned in the fridge.

Similarly, for bad habits - make their cues invisible. If you can't seem to get off your phone, place it in another room for a few hours. You'll use it significantly less just because you won't be able to see it.

In conclusion, instead of trying to find the willpower to do the desirable thing every time, just spend that time creating an environment that makes the desirable thing easier to do.

"The more disciplined your environment is, the less disciplined you have to be" - James Clear