Harder to do something the harder it is to…

Harder to do something the harder it is to do it impulsively, inconvenience to good habit . There are obvious ways to make an activity less convenient; increase the amount of physical or mental energy required, hide any, delay, engage in an incompatible activity, raise the cost, and block it off together.

— from Fuel (Energy)

In the book

From there, guard the fuel: refuse to spend it on the non-productive, learn to say no, and keep not only a to-do list but a "to-don't" list of what you will no longer indulge. Make the good habits easy and the draining ones inconvenient so the structure spares your willpower, and settle conservation, storage, and wise expenditure into habits rather than daily decisions. To my children, and to theirs: — Fuel (Energy)

Attractiveness matters more than people think, because a habit rides on anticipation — the rise of dopamine before the reward — so pairing what you should do with something you want to do gives the engine fuel. The more friction between you and a thing, the less likely you are to do it, so the craft is to remove friction from the good and pile it onto the bad, making the bad habit downright inconvenient. And do not chase one heroic leap; the real prize is not a single one-percent improvement but a thousand of them, small atomic habits stacking up over the years. […] Leave the comfort zone deliberately. Don't log the same easy flight forever; find exactly where your ability breaks down and train precisely there, with clear goals and honest measurement, aiming not just to reach your potential but to build it, and growing by small increments rather than waiting for one heroic leap. Build habits by design, not willpower. First make sure you truly want the thing; then make the good ones obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying — and the bad ones the opposite; remove friction from what helps and add it to what harms; and design your surroundings to nudge you rather than relying on discipline you won't always have. Become the person you intend to be. Act like that person consistently until the act becomes the self; decide how you'll behave before the hard moment arrives; and use every clean slate — a new year, a new start — as a launch point for the habit you want. — Expanding Your Range (Growth/Change/Education/Learning/Habit)

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