2020-10-14 Create an Energizing

Just like the activities and people in your life give and take energy, so does your physical environment.

We’re all control freaks at heart. Which means we love the idea that the solution to everything is inside us. And that, with enough insight and willpower, we can accomplish anything.

False.

Your environment matters — a lot — including how much motivation and energy you feel on a regular basis:

• Having a messy and chaotic workspace makes it easy to get distracted, procrastinate, and lose energy to do your work.
• Trying to resolve a disagreement with your spouse in bed at the end of a long day when you’re exhausted makes it hard to be compassionate and manage your irritability.
• Going for a run in cold weather without good gear makes it hard to stay motivated to exercise.

Environmental design is the secret weapon for consistently high motivation.

Of course, you can’t always change your environment. But it’s possible more often than you might think.

And designing your environment to be more conducive to your goals is a fast track to better energy and higher motivation:

• Organize your desk every evening before you leave work so that there’s no friction to getting started in the morning.
• Set a dedicated time early on a weekend morning to discuss disagreements with your spouse — when both of you are rested and able to engage productively.
• Buy good running gear to minimize the dread of going out in the cold.

Accept that the solution to every problem isn’t just more willpower and you can design your environment to support your goals rather than block them.