Nothing is Too Small to Be a Big Deal

A few weeks ago, I sent one of my clients a nutrition tracker.

It was a single sheet of paper displaying check boxes to track the servings of protein, carbs and veggies she was supposed to hit every day (if you’d like one for yourself, let me know).

When we chatted the following week, she sheepishly confessed to not using the tracker.

“You’re going to think I’m ridiculous,” she said. “But the boxes printed out so light that I felt like I couldn’t see them and that’s all it took for me to throw it to the side.”

She went on to say how dumb she felt that something so small could get in her way.

But if I’ve learned one thing in my years coaching clients, it’s that nothing is too small to be a big deal when you’re working on behavior change.

Nothing.

There are many different factors when it comes to our behavior, including environment, which refers to everything in the world surrounding you – everything but you.

Part of that environment, lest I start sounding like something from your Psych 101 class, is friction, which can be described as a restraining force that impedes our action. Increasing or reducing friction can have a dramatic impact on our behavior.

Think about the last time you binge watched a Netflix show. It was easy to do because the next episode started playing immediately, even skipping the intro so you don’t have to watch it again.

You didn’t have to get up and change the DVD or anything….

I can promise you that I order more from Starbucks than I ever did because mobile ordering means I don’t have to wait in line. It's also why I use Uber when traveling. Companies study friction and try to find ways to reduce it.

As a coach, I’m constantly looking for ways to make this work as doable as possible for my clients. And in order to do that, we need to work on reducing friction. This might mean joining a gym that’s within 10 minutes of your house, setting out your workout clothes the night before (or sleeping in them) or using a checklist to track your food instead of your phone.

Last Christmas, Sheila bought me a Yeti water bottle with a straw. Up until that point, I’d been using a Nalgene bottle. I was astonished at how much more water I started drinking, simply because I didn’t have to take the lid off every time I took a sip.

What’s important is to not shame or judge yourself for what you are or aren’t doing. Instead, take a look at the desired behavior, and ask yourself – what would this look like if it were easy?