Making a Difference: UN's 12 Steps for Everyday Environmentalists

I'm always searching for ways that we, the regular folk, can help mitigate climate change. It always seems like the problems are so big, and we are so small, that nothing we do makes a difference.

Which is kind of depressing.

But the United Nations has some very good ideas - their 12 Actions for a Healthy Planet.

It gives me hope that we can turn this Titanic around before we end up sinking ourselves.

1. Save energy at home

Much of our electricity and heat are powered by coal, oil and gas.

We can use less energy by:

• reducing our heating and cooling use,
• switching to LED light bulbs and energy-efficient electric appliances,
• washing our laundry with cold water,
• hanging things to dry instead of using a dryer.

Improving our home’s energy efficiency, through better insulation for instance, or replacing our oil or gas furnace with an electric heat pump can reduce our carbon footprint by up to 900 kilograms of CO2e per year.

This is imminently doable. We love our solar and wind powered dryer (a.k.a. the clothesline and drying rack). And we did make the switch to a heat pump which seriously reduced our electricity consumption compared to the old electric baseboard heaters.

2. Switch Home Energy Source

We could ask our utility company if our home energy comes from oil, coal or gas. If possible, we could see if a switch to renewable sources such as wind or solar is possible. Or we could install solar panels on the roof to generate energy for our home. Switching our home from oil, gas or coal-powered energy to renewable sources of energy, such as wind or solar, can reduce our carbon footprint by up to 1.5 tons of CO2e per year. Here, in British Columbia, the vast majority of our electricity comes from hydro-electric dams. Given the controversy over the Site C dam expansion though, we can see the need for reducing our electricity use. 

3. Walk, bike or take public transport

The world’s roadways are clogged with vehicles, most of them burning diesel or gasoline. Walking or riding a bike instead of driving will reduce greenhouse gas emissions -- and help our health and fitness. For longer distances, we could consider taking a train or bus. And carpool whenever possible. Living car-free can reduce our carbon footprints by up to 2 tons of CO2e per year compared to a lifestyle using a car. 

I'd like to say that I rode my bike around town this summer but... I did not. I'll try again next spring.

4. Switch to an electric vehicle

If you plan to buy a car, consider going electric, with more and cheaper models coming on the market. In many countries, electric cars help reduce air pollution and cause significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions than gas or diesel-powered vehicles. But many electric cars still run on electricity produced from fossil fuels, and the batteries and engines require rare minerals which often come with high environmental and social costs. Switching from a gasoline or diesel-powered car to an electric vehicle can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 2 tons of CO2e per year. A hybrid vehicle can save you up to 700 kilograms of CO2e per year.

Given that our electricity in BC comes from hydro-electric dams, not fossil fuels, switching to an electric car from a gasoline vehicle would make a huge difference. The trick is finding one!

5. Consider your travel

Airplanes burn large amounts of fossil fuels, producing significant greenhouse gas emissions. That makes taking fewer flights one of the fastest ways to reduce your environmental impact. When you can, meet virtually, take a train, or skip that long-distance trip altogether. Taking one less long-haul return flight can reduce your carbon footprint by up to almost 2 tons of CO2e. 

This one makes me want to cry! Our train service in Western Canada is pathetic and ridiculously expensive. Compared to Europe, we live in the Dark Ages. And our huge distances means that driving or flying is the only way to get somewhere in a reasonable amount of time within a reasonable budget. And I don't even want to think about the Mexican vacation...

6. Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle

Electronics, clothes, plastics and other items we buy cause carbon emissions at each point in production, from the extraction of raw materials to manufacturing and transporting goods to market. To protect the climate, buy fewer things, shop second-hand, and repair what you can. Plastics alone generated 1.8 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 – 3.4 per cent of the global total. Less than 10 per cent is recycled, and once plastic is discarded, it can linger for hundreds of years. Buying fewer new clothes – and other consumer goods – can also reduce your carbon footprint. Every kilogram of textiles produced generates about 17 kilograms of CO2e.

We do this!!! I think the only new clothing we buy is underwear, socks and sometimes hiking boots. Everything else we get secondhand. New clothing is soooo expensive and Fast Fashion means the latest trends will be out-of-date within a few months. We don't buy into that cycle. We also try to buy things second-hand. Facebook Marketplace is our friend! And we sell things there too, or give them away. Much better that our things find a second or even third or fourth home.

7. Eat more vegetables

Eating more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, and less meat and dairy, can significantly lower your environmental impact. Producing plant-based foods generally results in fewer greenhouse gas emissions and requires less energy, land, and water. Shifting from a mixed to a vegetarian diet can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 500 kilograms of CO2e per year (or up to 900 kilograms for a vegan diet).

We do this too! We have added a little bit of chicken and fish back into our diet, for health reasons. But we still eat a tonne of legumes and other veg.

8. Throw away less food

When you throw food away, you're also wasting the resources and energy that were used to grow, produce, package, and transport it. And when food rots in a landfill, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. So purchase only what you need, use what you buy and compost any leftovers. Cutting your food waste can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 300 kilograms of CO2e per year. 

We try to do this too! Although we're always amazed at how food can get lost in a fridge and then make an appearance when it is ugly and moldy.

9. Plant native species

If you have a garden or even just a plant or two outside your home, check for native species. Use a plant identification app to help. And then think about replacing non-natives, especially any considered invasive. Plants, animals and insects depend on each other. Most insects will not eat non-native plants, which means birds and other species lose a food source. Biodiversity suffers. Even a single tree or shrub can offer a refuge – just remember to skip insecticides and other chemicals.

We do this too!! No insecticides for us. Er... well... maybe some wasp spray into a wasp nest that is proving to be problematic after multiple stings. But other than that, we don't spray pesticides on our garden, or Round-up on our weeds. 

10. Clean up your environment

Humans, animals and plants all suffer from land and water contaminated by improperly discarded garbage. Use what you need, and when you have to throw something out, dispose of it properly. Educate others to do the same, and participate in local clean-ups of parks, rivers, beaches and beyond. Every year, people throw out 2 billion tons of trash. About a third causes environment harms, from choking water supplies to poisoning soil.

I try to bring a plastic bag with me on my hikes and walks. And then pick up garbage as I come across it. Lately, I've been noticing a lot of full dog poop bags discarded in the bush along one of our favourite trails. Seriously... dog owners who do this are only slightly lower on the stupidity totem pole than cigarette smokers who discard their butts.

11. Make your money count

Everything we spend money on affects the planet. You have the power to choose which goods and services you support. To reduce your environmental impact, choose products from companies who use resources responsibly and are committed to cutting their gas emissions and waste. If you have money that is being invested for you, through a pension fund for instance, it may be supporting fossil fuels or deforestation. Making sure your savings are invested in environmentally sustainable businesses can greatly reduce your carbon footprint.

This one is a bit of a hard one. I know many of our Canadian banks are heavily invested in fossil fuels and other industries that are not friendly to the environment.  Will have to research this in more detail.

12. Speak up

Speak up and get others to join in taking action. It's one of the quickest and most effective ways to make a difference. Talk to your neighbors, colleagues, friends, and family. Let business owners know you support bold changes – from plastics-free products and packaging to zero-emissions vehicles. Appeal to local and world leaders to act now. Climate action is a task for all of us. And it concerns all of us. No one can do it all alone – but we can do it together.

This is true. If we all complained about plastic labels on craft beer cans... maybe the industry would change.

Conclusion

There are things we can do that do make a difference. And if more of us... or most of us... or all of us... started to make the same changes, or demand the same changes... then we would be a powerful force for change in the world. Look at Greta Thunberg! One person... and the movement that she inspired.

You can read more about the 12 Actions via the link below. There are other resources as well.

12 Actions for a healthy planet | United Nations

Beyond Deadlines: The Freedom Found in Writing with Buffers

Buffers. What the heck are buffers? Those things that polish floors and cars? Nope. Not those. The type of buffer I'm talking about is one that cushions, or protects, from shock.

Those tires that are attached to a boat dock buffer the boat from contacting the hard wood of the dock. I think those tires are called "bumpers"... and just like a car bumper (that cushions against the shock of a collision)... a bumper is a type of buffer.

But that's not the type of buffer I mean either.

Merriam-Webster has this as one of the definitions for buffer:

a means or device used as a cushion against the shock of fluctuations in business or financial activity

So, an emergency fund, or rainy day fund, is a buffer against the shock of some unexpected expense. Keeping an extra $1000 in your chequing account is a buffer against the fluctuation of those automatic payments/debits that come out at weird times of the month.

Or when you have a construction project... you build in a 10% contingency fund to cover the unexpected costs of the unexpected that is lurking behind the walls.

During Covid, there were several shocks to the system. Remember the toilet paper shortage? Or flour? Or yeast? Or masks and hand sanitizer? There was no buffer in the system for those increased demands... or at least not a big enough buffer. We did OK in the TP department though because we had a good buffer of toilet paper in our closet.

And... there's another type of buffer... at least for me... buffer time! 

Buffer Time

I first started building buffer time into my days when I lived in Vancouver. Let's say I had an appointment at 7:30 pm. I know that it's a 15 minute bus ride. The buses leave every 10 minutes: 7:00, 7:10 and 7:20 pm. Which bus would you take? I learned, through hard experience, that the buses (a) don't always run on time and (b) that some buses mysteriously drop out of the system and just don't show up. Sometimes it's a mechanical issue or the relief driver didn't show up on time or... gremlins stole the bus. So, for me... I would take the 6:50 pm bus. Maybe I'd arrive at 7:05 pm if everything went tickety-boo... but there also might be bus delays and traffic and... well... you get the picture.

After I left Vancouver, and no longer had to rely on buses, I still had this built-in buffer time mechanism and would show up ridiculously early for meetings. It was a 5 minute drive and I'd leave 30 minutes early. Old habits are hard to break.

Today, I still factor it in. We have an appointment at 2:30 pm. My partner asks me what time we have to  leave. It's usually a 10 minute drive, but it's a Friday afternoon, so traffic will be heavy on this one stretch, so let's call it 15 minutes. And then I know that my partner needs a bit more time to get out the door... so let's build in an extra 5 minutes of looking for things... and I'll say... "We have to leave at 2:10!" That's buffer time. And, on the odd occasion when my partner is ready on time... and the traffic is flowing fine... and all the green traffic lights align... we are there at 2:20 pm and my partner grumbles that we didn't have to leave so early! Ah yes... but some days it doesn't work that way!

And yes... when I have a flight to catch, I build in scads of buffer time! But then, I find it peaceful and restful to get checked-in and go through security and then sit on the other side and read a book or work on a blog or... whatever. My partner... not so much. We have to negotiate hard on how early we need to be at the airport for our flights!

But there's another facet of buffer time... which has nothing to do with appointments for flights.

Buffer Blogs

I try to post these blogs at least once a week. There isn't anyone standing over me demanding that I post these blogs regularly. Well... other than an internal "Me"! But if there is no expectation that a blog will be posted... then there is no incentive to write. And writing is good for me... hence the self-imposed expectation of one blog a week.

But this is what I've learned through years of blogging... things show up. Unexpectedly. Life goes sideways. There are trips and visitors... garden season in full swing... work gets super busy... several one night stays for the Airbnb requiring daily cleaning. Doesn't matter what it is... there is always "Something".

If I just post a blog in real time... week-to-week... there is zero buffer time. If life gets away from me... then the blog doesn't happen and, no, it's not the end of the world. But once one blog falls by the wayside... then maybe the following week does as well. And then I'm up against the wall. Forced to write a blog like... NOW! And inspiration doesn't always strike. When I'm under pressure, the ideas tend to dry up and... "ugh... I've let it go two weeks... I can let it go another week".

And that, my friends... is a sure-fire way for a blog to slide into a loonnngggg hiatus.

Buffering against a Hectic Life

A couple weeks ago, back in September (seeeeee!!!), I came to the realization that I need to make some hard choices in my schedule. I can't do everything. News flash, right? I was trying to write posts for three blogs... two were weekly and this blog was twice a week. But I realized there just weren't enough hours in the day.

Right now... as I write this on 10 October... I have blogs pre-scheduled into... February. That is quite a built-up buffer! The idea is, I can ease up on writing for this blog, and then focus on my other two blogs which currently have zero buffers. Even just a month of pre-scheduled blogs makes a huge difference...

But the problem is... this blog is the one where I can write most easily, off the cuff. My other two blogs... one requires considerable research and the other is often uncomfortable to write. So I default to this one here!

With such a huge buffer, I also begin to think... "maybe I should go back to twice a week..."... but then I give myself a shake and think... "No! Let's keep the buffer... and if we are writing in October... to publish in May... so be it!"

This also means that I rearrange blogs continuously. Because I'll get a bright idea for a pre-Christmas post and then have to shuffle all the pre-scheduled December blogs forward a week or two... I mean, it makes no sense to post something about recycling Christmas gift wrap in May! Right? Right.

So, if these blogs sometimes seem a bit... strange... it might be that I've rescheduled and not noticed that I have two sugar detox blogs within weeks of each other. Ooops... didn't mean to do that! One was written in March and kept getting pushed forward because of more timely posts... to that point that it almost overlaps with a sugar detox blog written in September. Ah well...

Don't Fritter away the Buffer

I am still learning not to blow the buffer. When you have a month of pre-scheduled blogs, it can be tempting to ease up on the gas pedal and turn to other things in life. But the weeks go by awfully fast and... if I'm not careful... I find myself facing a week with no blog scheduled. Like this week.

It is a Tuesday... a day on which I should be posting a DNA blog post. But do I have one scheduled? No. Do I have an idea of what I want to write about. No.

Same with my historical blog... I should have a post ready to go for tomorrow. But I do not. I have lots of ideas but they all require time to research and write.

The annoying thing is... I had a month of pre-posted DNA blogs just a few weeks ago. But then I got complacent and didn't write for a few weeks... and here we are with no buffer. I hate having no buffer.

It takes a LOT of effort to build a buffer for the DNA and historical blogs. A LOT. And it takes very little effort to coast and let those buffers evaporate.

I am going to have to take myself in hand and focus my writing on those two blogs and let this one sit for a few weeks. Which is hard because I have sooooo many ideas for this one! But writing isn't always about taking the easy route. Sometimes I have to take the more challenging route.

Because... confession time here... writing this blog post is a form of procrastination... I'm not writing the blogs I really need to be writing! Because this one is easier... and more fun... sigh.

And I'm curious. Do you buffer? Are there some buffer ideas that I'm missing??

Oh... and Buffer Time is "A Thing"... even in Star Trek! (You'll probably need to unmute it..."

The Unseen Threat: Nanoparticles Lurking in Your Bottled Water

Plastic water bottles. They are everywhere. What would we do without them? From sporting events where cases of them are handed out to athletes... to emergency situations where we see truckloads of water bottles being delivered to victims of disaster (natural or man-made). But what if those bottles of crystal clear water are actually harming the people who ingest them? What then?

Let's back that up a bit and take a look at plastic to start with. It's sooo handy... cheap, lightweight, easy to transport, malleable, not breakable (generally). It can made into so many handy things. And let's remember where it comes from. All plastic originates with crude oil or natural gas. Plastic water bottles, for example are made from PET plastic (that's short for polyethylene terephthalate). PET plastic is made from petrochemical sources, the first step of which involves the polymerization of ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid or dimethyl terephthalate to produce PET resin.

Let's be really clear here... if you have trouble pronouncing those things... odds are they are not good for you. And ingesting crude oil is definitely not on anyone's diet.

But surely those plastics are... you know... inert? The plastic is made and then it just sits there, like glass... and does nothing? Nope. Not so fast. But let's get back to our plastic water bottles...

Benefits of Plastic Bottles

Cost: Plastic is generally less expensive than aluminum and glass, so manufacturers and distributors obviously like cheaper. And so do consumers. 

Weight: Plastic water bottles weigh less than aluminum cans and glass bottles, which also means cheaper transportation costs

Durability: Plastic is flexible and less prone to denting or puncturing, and definitely less likely to break. This means less product loss during transportation, handling and storage and less likelihood that the product will be damaged. Less waste is good, right? Certainly for the bottom line.

Convenience: Plastic bottles are resealable, which allows us to drink some now and save some for later. The bottles are also easy to squeeze and crush, making them less bulky afterwards.

Consumer preferences: This is us. We apparently like hte convenience of plastic water bottles...

The Problem of Plastic Bottles

Now the problem(s)... because while they may cost less in terms of manufacturing and transportation, there are other costs.

Recycling: While many plastics can now be recycled... that doesn't mean that they actually are. Many plastic bottles do not find their way to a recycling centre and get lost in forests, streams, ditches and waterways. Even if they are recycling, contamination of the recycling stream can limit the use and energy efficiency of the process. Many plastics can only be recycled a certain number of times before they need to be downgraded. So food or drink plastics eventually end up as lower-grade products.

Microplastics: The recycling process generates microplastics, teeny, tiny bits of plastic that contaminate the environment. But they are not the worst ones... these ones you can see with a microscope... but there are even smaller ones.

Nanoplastics: These are the teensiest, tiniest bits of polymer plastic, 1000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Even a regular microscope can't see these ones. It used to be thought that a 500 ml bottle of water might contain 325 bits of plastic (micro or nano). But a recent study has shown that the actual amount is orders of magnitude higher...

Terrifyingly Tiny Plastics

Somewhere in the world, pristine water from aquifers or reservoirs or even just plain old tap water is poured into plastic bottles. That $0.01 of water in a $0.05 bottle then gets boxed up and shipped and sold to us. Costing us anywhere from $0.50 (if we buy a flat from Costco) or $2.50 if we get one at a convenience store. (Side Bar: Did you know Convenience = Expensive?)

Pure, clear water, right? We can see it through the plastic. It looks sooo good and clean. Not.

You see... plastic water bottles are NOT inert. They do not just sit there quietly and do nothing. Plastic water bottles begin shedding teeny tiny bits of plastic as soon as they are made - nanoplastics.

Now researchers have known this but they thought there might be 325 or so pieces of microplastics floating around in the water bottles. But a recent study took it a step farther. Because... remember... nanoplastics can't be seen under a regular microscope. You need a super-duper microscope to see nanoparticles. And what did they find... brace yourself....

The average bottle of water contains anywhere from 110,000 to over 370,000 pieces of nanoplastics.

And these bits of polymer plastics are soooo small that they can migrate into your body's tissue... into your muscles, your organs, your blood, your brain and your unborn child's organs.

And those nanoplastics carry all sorts of toxic things with them... endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenols, phthalates, flame retardants, per- and polyfluorinated substances, or PFAS, and heavy metals. All of which are used in the manufacture of plastics.

Response from International Bottled Water Association

And what do the bottled water folks say to this new research?

“This new method [of testing water] needs to be fully reviewed by the scientific community and more research needs to be done to develop standardized methods for measuring and quantifying nanoplastics in our environment. There currently is both a lack of standardized methods and no scientific consensus on the potential health impacts of nano- and microplastic particles. Therefore, media reports about these particles in drinking water do nothing more than unnecessarily scare consumers.” (quoted in CNN article)

Ummm... that sounds suspiciously like the response of tobacco companies in the 40s, 50s and 60s... downplaying the dangers of smoking... Class action lawsuits tell a different tale.

Also sounds a bit like pesticide companies saying that their pesticides are so safe, you could drink them (pesticide lobbyist Dr. Patrick Moore in an interview)... right... we know how that's playing out. (Class-action lawsuit against Monsanto & Bayer for the pesticide Roundup)

I foresee a class action lawsuit against plastic bottle manufacturers and bottled water companies... don't have a crystal ball... not a psychic... but anyone can see the writing on the wall.

What Can We Do?

Stop buying plastic water bottles.

Ugh.

We have a bunch as part of our emergency kit. They are so convenient for that. But plastic water bottles do have an expiry date so what do we do with the expired ones now? We used to drink them but... not sure I want to do that anymore.

But in all other ways... we avoid plastic water bottles like the plague. We have excellent tap water and fill up our stainless steel water bottles with water when we head out the door. There is no reason for us to have plastic water bottles in our day-to-day life.

But this also got me thinking... what about plastic pop bottles?? You don't think they are immune from nanoplastics do you? Or plastic liquor bottles. Or plastic ketchup bottles.

It is tempting to just throw-up our hands in despair and go "Ah, we're going to die someday anyhow from something..." Or we could start somewhere. Start small. Ditch the bottled water. Drink pop out of cans, not bottles.

And read the news. Now that researchers can identify and categorize the nanoplastics, we can expect a LOT more studies on their impact on our health.

PS - We Are Hooped - my Starbucks tea bag is plastic and studies reveal that a plastic tea bag can release BILLIONS OF nanoplastics into one cup of tea.

PPS - We are Seriously Hooped - Studies have also shown that a single tampon can release billions of nanoplastics into a female body

Further Reading

CNN article on nanoplastics in bottled water (there are a tonne of other news articles out there - early January 2024)

Parking Uphill: A Tactical Approach to Breaking Bad Habits

I've learned something new. Or heard it in a different way, so that it seems new. There's one key feature of forming good habits and rooting out bad habits... and it's NOT willpower (news flash). What is it?

Friction.

Remember friction? From physics class. Ugh. I remember doing these calculations to see if the angle of the slope was steep enough to cause the box to start sliding. Lots of trigonometry and cosines and sines.

But we're not going to talk about that sort of friction. Nope.

The sort of friction we're talking about is really simple.

Reduce friction - make things easy, quick, short

Add friction - make things harder, slower and farther

Forming Good Habits

The trick to forming good habits is to reduce the amount of friction in three key areas: time, distance, effort.

Want to do weights everyday? Move them out of the basement gym, into your home office. Put the 5 lb weights on your desk...  See, reduce the distance and the effort. Once you're doing 5 lb weights in between meetings, you can eventually up it to 10 lbs.

What to get more people to sign up as organ donors? Make the sign-up process super easy and seamless with a QR code and a process that only takes 2 minutes. Reduce the time and the effort.

Want to remember to bring a reusable mug/cup for your Timmies/Starbucks run? Have it by the front door or on the counter, and keep a spare in your car.

There are so many different ways to reduce time, distance and effort. I wrote a blog about it a few months ago. Want to get your day off on the right foot, make sure you "park downhill" the night before. Have your work-out gear laid out, have a full water bottle ready to go. Make it easy. Make it quick. Make it short. Reduce the friction, so that all you have to do is pop in the clutch and you are rolling downhill with no effort.

Breaking Bad Habits

Soooo... if we form good habits by reducing friction, then obviously, we can break bad habits by adding friction to... time, distance, effort.

I've known some of this for a while. I've got a bit of a sweet tooth so if there is chocolate in the house, I will find it and eat it. Yes, even the baking chocolate. Ask my mother... When I was a kid, my sister and I would raid the baking cupboard and eat the baking chocolate... or the chocolate chips. Mom would want to do some baking and couldn't figure out where all the chocolate went! Anyhoo... Today's Solution: don't bring chocolate into the house. Clamp down hard on this!

Yes, there is a corner store a 3 minute walk away, but it is downhill to the store and uphill on the way home. And that is enough friction to stop me from walking down there. And driving that short distance just seems ridiculous, at least to me. Plus... I don't want to spend $3 on a chocolate bar that costs $1.25 at the regular grocery store. That is highway robbery!

So for me... adding cost to the friction equation also works. Make something more expensive, or with a financial penalty... and I'm easily swayed in the opposite direction.

They (the scientists) have done studies... if you slow down elevator doors by 26 seconds, more people will get impatient and take the stairs. If you remove vending machines from schools, you (theoretically) make it harder for teenagers to snack on junk food. Judging by my niece... some teens just go to the nearest corner store or Timmies!

It's called the Principle of Least Effort. Habits are kind of like water and take the path of least resistance. So if you want to make a good habit, you need to make it as easy and frictionless as possible. The idea is to change your environment as opposed to trying to change things like willpower or discipline.

Frictionless Bad Habits

It works the other way too... we can reduce the friction for any habit... even bad ones. A lot of companies use this to their advantage. Want to buy something on Amazon? One-click shopping - super easy! And today, you can just say "Hey Alexa, buy "whatever"... and it happens. Very little friction there... and that can make it very easy for a bad shopping habit to form.

Credit cards and debit cards now have the tap feature so you can be in and out of stores super quick. Heck... credit cards make it super easy to buy something even when you DON"T have the money! Hence... credit card debt...

Netflix... we are trying to watch the latest Loki season, one episode at a team, making it last. But as one episode ends and the credits roll... the next episode queues up and before you know it, 20 seconds have gone by and the next episode is starting... automatically. "Oh heck... we might as well watch the next episode... just one more..." Netflix made "binge-watching" a thing...

Soooo many things are designed to make it easy for those little bad habits to get more and more deeply entrenched.

Knowledge, Awareness & Willpower are Not Enough

But knowledge is power, right? And once we are aware of our bad habits, we can choose differently? We have free choice, we have the willpower! We are disciplined!!

Meh. Not so much. Very few people can go "cold-turkey" and make it through the other side. Oh sure, inhibition and self-denial work for a while. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might regularly wonder... "What the heck?... she is doing ANOTHER sugar detox?"

 Yep. Rinse. Repeat. That's what trying to rely on willpower does.

And this is not a 21st century problem... Does this quote sound familiar?

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but [I do] what I hate I do."

Yeah. St. Paul struggled with this too. Cause it's not about willpower... or knowledge or awareness. It's all about friction. 

If we want to break a bad habit, we need to modify our environment to add friction. If something is more difficult to do, or takes longer... or is farther away... we will tend to do it less often.

Adding Friction to Chocolate

Let's take my love affair with chocolate. I already know that I can't keep it in the house, otherwise it all disappears. Yay! There's knowledge! There's awareness!

Not so fast... I go to Starbucks during the day and... they have a chocolate brownie that is my kryptonite. Soooo... I have been successfully denying myself chocolate at home, but the craving is still there. What do you think happens when I go to Starbucks? Maybe I'm feeling a tiny bit frazzled or think I deserve a "reward" or... whatever. And bingo... chocolate brownie is on my plate!

Sooo... are there other options? Well... here's my plan.

I am no longer going to deny myself chocolate. I am actually going to keep some chocolate in the house. Yep. But it is going to be seriously dark chocolate. And a Dark Burnt-Almond Cadbury or Dark Rittersport bar do not make the cut. I am talking 70%, 80%... even 95% dark chocolate. Have you ever tried a 95% dark chocolate bar? It is seriously bitter! 

So, the plan is, when I'm at home, and get that chocolate craving, I can have a square of dark chocolate. Trust me... one square is usually enough. Right now, I am starting with 70% but I have some 90% as well. If I do want a second square later in the day, that's fine, but it's going to be the 90% chocolate. I take one nibble of that and I am good. You can't really binge on dark chocolate... it's not that sort of taste sensation.

If I want something sweet, I go and have an apple, because compared to 90% chocolate... an apple is a lovely, sweet, delicious, juicy thing!

As for the chocolate brownie... I now carry a cut up apple with me when I go out, and some almonds. I'm also thinking of bringing a half square of 90% chocolate with me... as back-up. The idea here is... if I get hungry, I have the apple. If I have a serious chocolate craving, I can have the dark chocolate.

As my palate gets used to the dark chocolate, I will up the first square from 70 to 78% and then 85% until I'm doing 90% for the first and 95% for the second.

So I am making it easier, quicker, shorter to have an apple or a bit of dark chocolate. I'm also making it harder, longer and farther to get crap chocolate.

We have little chocolate bars that we put in the welcome basket for our Airbnb guests... I've now tucked those down into the "pit" by the front door. The "pit" is a floor hatch by our front door, that leads to our little mini-basement (under the stairs space). It is a serious pain-in-the-butt to move the entrance bench, all the shoes, the rugs and floor mats, haul open the hatch door, prop it open and then go down and get a chocolate bar... and put it all back. So far, that added friction is working quite well. It's the "out of sight - out of mind" technique...

Out of Sight - Out of Mind

The other aspect of the brownie situation would be to add some more friction to the process... With Starbucks you earn points with every purchase and once you hit a certain threshold you can redeem them for things like... tea... or chocolate brownies (100 points). Who can say "no" to a FREE brownie!!!?? Not me. Although I could get a free tea too... but why "waste" those points on a tea.... 

I could just ditch the points program. But the thrifty person in me likes to get things for free... And there is really no way for me to say "Can you ban me from ordering a chocolate brownie". Although... if I let the points accumulate until it reaches 200 stars... I could get myself a tasty, relatively healthy snack box that has things like apple slices, cheese, nuts, peanut butter... That would be better? Maybe.

Here's an option that just popped into my head...

I use the Starbucks app on my phone to pay for my tea. But as I swipe the app open, it tells me in big, bold font, how many points I have. When I see 103 points... I think... FREE Brownie!!!!! But... what if I stopped using the app? I still have my Starbucks Gold card... I could use that instead. I got out of the habit of using the card during Covid when nobody wanted to touch it and swipe it... But if I use the card, I won't see the points building up and... that might just work! Going to try it!

Step 1 - remove the Starbucks app from my phone... (gasp)... Done.

No mobile order for me anymore, but I didn't really do those... Back to the old-fashioned card. Fingers-crossed.

N.B. IT WORKED!!! I wrote this in mid-October... and it is now early January and...October 18 was my last Starbucks brownie. Not seeing those Starbucks Rewards available to me makes a difference! As does having a cut apple in my bag... and a square of dark chocolate. Yay me!

Another Idea - The Kitchen Safe

The other option for increasing the friction for the munchies is to buy a Kitchen Safe. Yes, you read that right.

It is a simple plastic box with a lock on a timer...

You can put your cookies, candies, chips, phone, drugs, Xbox controller, car keys, credit cards into the box, set the timer and... voila... they are out of reach. Uh-huh... that's a well-spent $80... but maybe it would work for someone.

Although there are already websites that will tell you how to hack into your Kitchen Safe. I can already tell you that a hammer would probably work. Amazon has replacement bases for the Kitchen Safe...

This is apparently "America's #1 Habit Breaker" as seen on Shark Tank. Seriously? Oh... and it has charging access so your phone can be charging while it's in the penalty box.

Hey, whatever works. Our "pit" works similarly... it increases the friction to get at whatever we are craving.

Seven Little Things that Make the Most Difference in my Life

I admit to being a bit of a productivity nerd, always reading new books and trying to get some new hack that will actually help me get more stuff done. One recent book suggested a four step process...

First - focus on one Highlight for your day - something that you've wanted/needed or would like to work on - and schedule a 60-90 min chunk of time for that.

Second - when that time comes around, practice Laser focus - turn off your phone, etc - just work on your Highlight.

Third - Reflect on how it all went and repeat.

Except... it is a 4-step process and there's a supporting step that is not part of the work flow... Energize. Basically, you need to keep up your energy otherwise your day is going to tank. They have several ideas for how to energize yourself during the day - everything from snacking to strategic caffeine to naps to good sleep hygiene.

And I thought... yes... this is all so true. I know this soooooo well!!!

1. Prioritize Sleep

I have not been sleeping well lately. I have trouble falling asleep and then I wake up at 3 am. Sometimes I lie there, awake, until it's time to get up at 5 or 5:30. I know that these sleep issues are due to multiple things... watching a movie too late into the evening, being on my phone or the computer in the evening, the cat chirping in my ear and demanding cuddles at 3 am, my partner having coughing fits (allergies)... it really doesn't matter. The upshot is... I drag myself out of bed at 5:30 am and feel horrible.

When I have not slept well, my energy is blipping along at almost 0%. I have no enthusiasm for my projects. I spend my day putting out tiny fires (extremely urgent to me) and start neglecting other things, like eating well.

So I'm focusing on good sleep hygiene as we move into this new year. No TV or computers or phone after 7 pm. I can work on a puzzle, or we can play a game. Maybe I'll write some cards. Any analogue activity is fine... just nothing digital. I'm also starting to have a mug of chamomile tea in the evenings. We have also begun to listen to a sleep meditation just before bed. We could try banishing the cat from the bedroom but that isn't going to happen. 

2. Eat Good Food

I get up early, and head off to Starbucks most mornings. I come home around 8 am and then make breakfast. But... if I go grocery shopping... then the morning gets longer and I might not get home till 9 am or later. At which point I am a raging Hangry (hungry anger). I do try to take a breakfast-on-the-go with me - some yogurt and berries, or a cut-up apple. Because, honestly... if I am running around doing errands... the hangry really wants something... and there is Timmies (toasted bagel with herb and garlic cream cheese) or Starbucks (chocolate brownie warmed-up). And neither of those options is good for me. 

So... we are back to Michael Pollard's book (In Defense of Food). The take-away was... Eat Food. Not too Much. Mostly Plants. We do try to follow that. Where I get hung up is on snacks...  I want chocolate! No.... that's not right. I NEED chocolate!!

I have been trying to grab an apple and almonds when the urge strikes... trying to wean myself off of the chocolate. I've also decided to give dark chocolate a try... REAL dark chocolate. My brother-in-law has done this in the past. And when I've visited them, I've tried a piece of  90% dark and almost spit it out!! Soooo bitter and dry and... ick! But... it's an acquired taste. More on this in next week's blog...

3. Drink Water

Ugh. I totally fall down on this. Years ago, a friend (10 years older than me) told me that if she didn't drink enough water, she would get tired and cranky. Yeah-yeah... whatever.

Ah-hem...

It's true. For me! Ugh. I walk by my water bottle in the morning as I head out the door and I think "There it is. I should pick it up. But it's empty. It will take too much time to take it to the sink and fill it with water."

No. Seriously. This went through my head just this morning. The rest of me looks on in amused incredulity... "It would take 10 seconds to fill that water bottle up!" Yeah, whatever. Now I'm at the bottom of the stairs and it would take even LONGER now.

So I head out the door without a water bottle. And regret it later when I am grocery shopping and parched. Yep. Got bit in the ass by my own impatience.

The thing to do is this... maybe... to park downhill. I wrote about this ages ago. Grease the wheels, smooth the trail... park downhill. The thing to do would be to fill my water bottles the night before (I have several). Fill the small one and put it in my office back-pack... the one that I take with me when I head out. Would that not be the thing to do? Yes... it would... wish me luck!

4. Move More, Sit Less

I have one of those fancy Garmin watches that tell me how many steps I've taken, etc. If I sit too long, it will vibrate on my wrist and if I look at the screen, it tells me to "MOVE!". It's a bossy little thing, that watch. Of course, I ignore it.

I already do a 45-60 min pre-lunch walk with my partner. That's good, right? Yep. And more is always better. We are starting to stitch in a pre-dinner walk - just around the neighbourhood. Usually it's because one, or both, of us have not yet reached 10,000 steps. It's a good little incentive and we also visit the mailbox and check if the free newspaper is out yet.

Moving is always good... I need to remember that.

5. Meditate & Breathe

I fell off the meditation bandwagon months ago. To just stop, breathe, focus on nothing but the breath and watch the monkey mind scurry around. Come back to the breath.

When I do meditation, I always feel so much better. I am calmer, clearer... just... better. Why do I not do it? Because it takes too much time. Yep... I mean... if 10 seconds is "too much time", then a 5 minute meditation session is so over-the top "too much time", it doesn't even bear thinking about.

Although, my partner reminded me that... "you can meditate at any time... not just in the morning"... errrr... you mean, instead of being on my phone and scrolling the news?? Whhhhaaaaattttt?? Yeah. What a concept.

What if... when I pick up my phone because I'm bored or avoiding something... I actually stopped and closed my eyes and meditated for a quick minute or two or three... What would happen?

Hmmm... idea percolating here. I could change my lock screen to be a pic that says... Meditate & Feel Better... 

*20 minutes later**

Done!! We'll see if it makes a difference or just becomes part of the scenery...

And... I've also set a timer on the two worst time-sucks on my phone (my boredom soothers) - Facebook app and the Internet app (for checking the news). When the daily time limit is reached... boop... the app is greyed out and I can't click it open!

6. More Analog Face Time - Less Digital Facetime

No, this is not Apple's Facetime... which is not actual face time. I'm talking real, live, analog face time... where you sit down in front of a real person and have a chat or play a game or... whatever. We are social beings. We need inter-personal interactions! And as we all learned during Covid... Zoom calls gave us LOTS of Facetime and interactions but very little face time... and we all felt exhausted after those calls. Digital Facetime is no substitute for analog face time.

Maybe that's why I like sitting in Starbucks and working. I see a lot of real people. I hear murmured conversations. I chat with some of my Starbucks regulars, chat with the baristas... it doesn't take much.

7. Get Outside

This one is huge. To just get outside, breathe some fresh air and interact with nature. Even if it's just in the backyard. Better if it's a walk in the forest. Being out in the forest calms me... energizes me... Soooo... just get outside.

A Plan for the New Year

Yep, it's January 1. A time when a lot of us make the dreaded New Year's Resolutions... Usually they are lofty goals "I am going to go to the gym every day and work out for an hour!". How'd that work for you? They've done studies, and most resolutions are on the trash heap by the time February rolls around.

I'm going to start small... with small steps... chamomile tea at night, dark chocolate and an apple in my office bag, pre-fill my water bottle at night, walk to the mailbox (don't drive), meditate for 5 minutes, play a game, get outside and breathe.

Small steps can make a big difference.