Am I going to wear my Blundstone boots for a chic, woman-about-town look... or am I going to tie on my Merrell light hiking boots?
The Blundstones are super easy to pull on and normally, for a trip to Starbucks, those are the shoes I would wear. But... if I wear them, then it's a guarantee that I will not be able to do a quick little walk around the local bird sanctuary after leaving Starbucks. The option or possibility of a walk is a closed door.
The Merrell's take longer to put on, with all those laces but... if I'm wearing them, then I am prepped to do a little hike or walk if I choose to do it. The option or possibility is still an open door.
And so, every morning lately, I've been pulling on my Merrell's... leaving the door of a hike or a walk open for me. It seems like a pretty small decision but... it's these sorts of things that have let me get more walks in.
Reducing Friction
There's a part of me that says... well... I could just wear the Blundstone's and bring the hiking boots in the car. That way, I can have the best of both worlds. True... except the idea of changing boots in the parking lot of the local trail is just that little bit of extra friction that... when my motivation is already not the greatest, could blow the door of a hike shut.
And in this business... every little bit of friction counts! Even this morning... I really had to talk myself into taking 4 or 5 minutes to get some frozen berries, thaw them in the microwave, dole out some yogurt on top of them, add some walnuts... so that I could bring an impromptu breakfast with me. The friction would be way less if I just prepped the yogurt breakfast the night before and put it in the fridge. That way... in the morning... when I'm groggy and just wanting to get out the door... the friction of taking a healthy breakfast is minimal. Because... if I end up at Starbucks without something to eat... my level of resistance to the whispers of the chocolate brownie is like... zero.
It's all part of the parking downhill idea... or removing the friction that slows down our desire to do the right thing, make the right choices... or make choices that we know are right/best/healthiest for us.
I've tried to think of different ways to reduce the friction of various habits. For my daily journal practice, for example, I bring extra pens in my backpack so that when I'm sitting at Starbucks and my fountain pen runs out of ink... I just reach into the pack and pull out a back-up pen and continue writing. No friction.
When I want to edit documents on my laptop, using the laptop mouse pad is just an annoyance. One that I put up with for years... but that also hampered me from doing projects because... it's too hard to do with just a mouse pad. Until... late last year, I decided to bring an extra corded mouse that came with my new desktop computer. OMG... having a mouse plugged into the laptop makes life sooooo much easier!!! And then... my partner offered me the wireless mouse... even better!! I also dug out an old mouse pad so that my little mouse doesn't have to skitter across the naked table top at Starbucks.
I have back-up reusable coffee tumblers in the car, just in case I forget mine at home. But on the odd occasion lately, where I've forgotten my regular tumbler... I've also not taken one from the car. Why? Well, it's too much trouble. You see, I have one in the door cup holder of the passenger door. It's too far for me to reach and grab it from the driver's seat. Too much friction. But now, I've placed one in the rear door cup holder on the driver side, so when I grab my backpack from the back seat... the cup is right there, ready to grab. Fingers crossed that works.
All of these small friction-reducing actions do help me to make better choices and ultimately lead to big results. And lasting habits... because once the habit is ingrained... sometimes you can handle a bit of friction. The habit is so self-perpetuating, that it just blows through little friction speed bumps. Doesn't mean I can totally neglect friction-reduction but... it's nice to know that there is a bit of leeway!
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