Here's the quick recap: Two parts of yourself– the Rider (the smart one who wants to go places) and the Elephant (a big reluctant animal who's really in control if he wants to be, who seeks comfort and instant gratification, but has great power and energy if led correctly). To make change and create new habits, whether personally or in an organization, we have to manage these two characters that live within us, and we're exploring exactly how, based on concepts from the Switch book. We're relating all of this to the personal change necessary when you want to get organized.
This week: Shaping the Path. We've got our Rider set with clear directions, our Elephant is energized and motivated and ready to move forward, and now we can accelerate the journey by making the path itself smoother. I think this was my favorite section of the book, because it's so practical.
First, tweak the environment. As the authors say, "What looks like a person problem is often a situation problem." They explain that "tweaking the environment is about making the right behaviors a little bit easier and the wrong behaviors a little bit harder." Think about those restaurants that don't want you to throw away their plastic serving baskets, so they make the hole in the trash can smaller than the baskets will fit through. Let the environment structure your behavior.
I always say that when you organize shared areas of your home, you can help your family keep the space maintained better by making things Visible, Easy, and Obvious (spells VEO, the Spanish word for "I see"). For example, if you organize the pantry with the goal that everything is visible, you eliminate rooting around and everyone can quickly find what they need. You make it as easy as possible to put things away by having open bins and baskets to throw things into (vs. having lids to take off with two hands). And you make it obvious where to put things back by using labels to eliminate the guesswork. These tweaks to the environment make staying organized easier.
Second, build habits. Habits put behaviors on autopilot. If you are a regular reader, you'll know how much I talk about habits, and I have a concept I call "Habit Hooks," the idea of hooking a new habit onto an already established one (like flossing when you brush your teeth). Turns out there is a scientific name for that– an "Action Trigger." The value of having an Action Trigger for your habits is that you are making a decision in advance. You've hooked the habit to something you won't forget. One classic Habit Hook is to change the batteries in your smoke detector twice a year when you change your clocks for Daylight Savings Time. You can also decide to organize your car and throw out the trash each time you are pumping gasoline.
And speaking of habits, don't forget the role of the humble checklist in establishing habits to shape the path. This book mentions another book I just read, The Checklist Manifesto, by Atul Gawande– read my previous post with tips from that book.
Third, rally the herd. Whether it's which fork to use or how much to drink, it's a proven fact that we look to others to help shape our behavior. We talk a lot in the Clutter Diet® program about having accountability– a way you can use your relationships to influence you toward more positive behaviors. We encourage our members to find a Motivation Partner to keep each other accountable, and we have a "Public Declarations" forum in our member message boards where people can announce their intentions to complete a project and come back and check in and let us know about the progress.
Be conscious also of the "herd" you are surrounding yourself with– they say you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Are those people modeling the behavior to which you're aspiring?
I hope you've enjoyed learning just a few of the hundreds of concepts and examples in this book. Now you can focus on keeping the switch going. As the authors (and many of us organizers) say, "Change isn't an event, it's a process." Make sure you reinforce your good behavior with rewards (this is why we have a "Dessert" on our weekly menu plans of organizing projects in our online program!). All of the small changes you make add up to big changes over time, so keep putting one foot in front of the other.
How will you tweak your environment, build better habits, and rally your herd? Share in the comments!
Other posts in this series are:
- Introduction
- Direct the Rider,
- Motivate the Elephant, and
- Shape the Path (this post).
Follow me on Twitter for my Daily #ClutterTweetTip: www.twitter.com/clutterdiet
Leave a Reply