Optimizing Your Environment

Note: The language learning series will continue. I will also be interspersing other posts, like this one.


“The more disciplined your environment is, the less disciplined you need to be. Don’t swim upstream.”

James Clear

Our environments dictate our habits, routines and rituals.

If you set up your living or working space in such a way as to foster specific behaviors, the act of performing those behaviors becomes considerably easier.

If your environment promotes activities you do not wish to do then you will need discipline to accomplish opposing activities.

Will power is a finite resource.

The less you use, the more you have. Use it for big things. For the small things, set up your environment to make the decisions for you.

A few examples:

  • Put out your clothes in the morning so you don’t have to think about what you’re going to wear.
  • Prepare your lunch the day before so you don’t buy junk or fast food.
  • Put your cell phone far away from your bed at night so you aren’t tempted to look at it.
  • Place your dumbbells on your couch. That way you have to move them to sit, which means you at least get in one repetition a day.
  • Don’t bookmark websites that distract you and automatically open up the websites that help you focus and work.

You get the idea. 🙂


Image by ZOE-Animation-Studio from Pixabay