5 ways to Set Up Your Home and make Healthy Habits a No-brainer

I’ve been reading the popular book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear.

I highly recommend it if you want to get rid of a bad habit.

Or start a new, healthier one.

And one of the things he talks about is the importance of setting up your environment.

Because motivation isn’t always easy, as we know.

So, to make things easy, without needing much motivation, the best way to do that is by setting up your environment.

It helps to make the healthy choice a no-brainer.

For a simple example, if you don’t have any junk food in your cupboards, it makes it a lot tougher to eat junk food.

Right?

Well, as many of us are home more than usual, our home environment is key for succeeding at weight loss, or fitness, or whatever your health goal.

So, here are 5 ways to set up your environment that have worked for me and my clients, and could work for you too:

1. Showcase the healthy stuff

Keep fruit on the counter.

Leave the smoothie blender out.

Place cut-up veggies in the fridge at a level that’s easy to see/grab.

Keep your exercise equipment set up.

Place your running shoes beside the door.

As humans, we’re very visual.

If we see it, we’re more likely to respond to it.

So, if you’ve got a goal, then make the stuff you need to accomplish that goal visible.

And, the reverse, if there are things you want to avoid, then put those things away, where they’re not in plain sight.

Make the healthy choice visible and easily accessible.

And you’re more likely to choose it.

2. Set out your workout clothes the night before

This is one that I do, and it works super well for me.

Each night before bed, I get out my workout/walking/running clothes and hang them in the bathroom.

That way, when I get up early, I don’t disturb my sleeping boyfriend, and I easily slip into my gear.

It’s a no brainer, and it just takes a few minutes before I crawl into bed.

And you can also do this with any equipment you need.

So, if you’re going for a bike ride, make sure the night before that you know where your helmet is and check that your tires are pumped.

Or, if you’re getting up for my Tuesday morning Yoga class, then roll out your mat.

Simple strategy, but it makes it so much more likely you’ll get the thing done.

3. Make your bedroom a screen-free zone

For this one, the excuse I hear most is “But my phone is my alarm!”

Don’t worry, it’s just an excuse.

If you want your phone where you can hear it, place it near your bedroom door, away from the bed.

Yes, that means you’ll have to get up to turn it off (another healthy habit… maybe?)

From studies, we know that the blue light emitted from our screens keeps us awake.

If you have trouble falling asleep, or you wake up during the night, turning off your phone/device 30 minutes before bed can be enormously helpful.

The fact is that not getting enough sleep is bad news for your health.

It’s the new smoking.

Not sleeping enough can reduce immune system function, digestive function, and endocrine (hormone) function, as well as lead to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Not to mention, lack of sleep makes you much more accident prone.

And, as we’re on the topic of healthy sleep habits, also try reducing the room temperature, keeping the room as dark as possible, and crawling into a bed that was made (apparently it makes it more tempting to sleep in.)

4. Post encouragement everywhere

Posting words of encouragement to yourself like “You’ve got this!” or “You can do hard things!” can be very helpful.

Post these notes to yourself anywhere, especially in the kitchen.

You can also post your weekly goal for motivation like “I’m eating slowly this week,” or “I’m having a glass of water before each meal.”

These sound like simple things, but we often forget to do them.

Keeping reminders posted around your environment, and even as pop-ups on your smart phone, can go a long way.

5. Buy single portion snacks only

I’m talking chips, popcorn, chocolate bars, all kinds of snack bars, cookies, ice cream…

Of course, not buying these tempting foods would be best.

But I know it’s not always possible.

So, instead, just don’t buy them in bulk.

In a world of Costcos and 3-for-1 deals, I know this may be a tough sell.

But not buying snack-foods in bulk works.

When you can’t be completely packaged-snack-free, then reducing the size and quantity of what’s available helps.

So, instead of buying that enormous 100-bar box of granola bars (such a good deal!), buy them individually, or a single box with 5.

Yes, it’ll be more expensive.

But that’s part of the genius of this idea.

The more you pay for something, the more you’ll appreciate it, and the less you’ll eat of it.

As a human being, this is a super effective strategy.

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What can you do to make the healthy choice the easy choice?

I’m always looking for novel ideas here.

Because for so many, motivation is in short supply.

But with this strategy, motivation isn’t the driver.

I love the idea that just making my bed makes it more likely I’ll sleep.

Or keeping my yoga mat unrolled makes it more likely I’ll get on it.

Or putting my shoes beside the door makes it more likely I’ll get out for that walk/run.

Simple but effective.

I love it!

Keep moving forward my friend,

Debbie

P.S. If you need help making healthy habits easy, I coach about this stuff!

You can always book a free coaching call with me right here: No obligation. What have you got to lose?