- 此系列內容來自詹姆斯．克利爾的免費郵件課程，使用其著作《Atomic Habits 原子習慣》的理論基礎，旨在30天內提供以下的資訊：
Ｖ 消除習慣養成中可能產生的任何疑問
Ｖ 獲得採取行動所需的工具與策略
Ｖ 學習任何習慣養成都能適用的架構 - 自動化，顧名思義是將一個行為變成反射性、不假思索就能行之的系統。有個英文詞彙叫做foolproof，意思就是「連傻瓜都會使用的」，大致上本章想要達到的就是建構出這樣的效果。
那該怎麼做呢？文中以淺顯易懂的譬喻，解釋當你想要提高產出的方法有二：
（1）大幅增加投入成本（2）減少生產困難或產出阻力。
很意外地，這概念讓我想到高中時讀的對岸原耽，裡頭其中一個男主角也提出類似的論點，能在那個歲數接觸到這種概念對我助益良多，也在各種決策制定（decision-making）時惠我良多，正好分享給大家：
How to Make Good Habits Automatic
如何將好習慣自動化
Lesson 5 of 11
第五堂課
How to Make Good Habits Automatic
如何將好習慣自動化
In the last lesson, we discussed environment design as a method for making cues more obvious, but you can also optimize your environment to make the actions themselves easier to perform.
I refer to this process as “reducing friction”. The less friction associated with a habit, the more likely it is to occur. In other words, as convenience increases, so do the odds that you follow through on your habit.
在上一堂課，我們不僅討論了如何將提示顯化的環境設計，此外，你也可以藉由優化環境、讓行動變得更不費力。
我將這個過程稱為「減少阻力」，一旦從事一個習慣的阻力減少了，它就更容易被實現。換句話說，當便利性上升，你就有更高的機率去遵循你的習慣。
When deciding where to practice a new habit, it is best to choose a place that is already along the path of your daily routine. Habits are easier to build when they fit into the flow of your life. For example, you are more likely to go to the gym if it is on your way to work because stopping doesn’t add much friction to your lifestyle. By comparison, if the gym is off the path of your normal commute—even by just a few blocks—now you’re going “out of your way” to get there.
當決定在哪裡實踐新習慣時，最好選擇一個你日常規律中的必經地點，因為當一個想被建立的習慣與你的日常生活適性度高的時候，它更可能成形。舉例來說，如果健身房就在你去工作的路上，你更有可能進門健身，因為在固有路線上增加一個停留點，不會對你既有生活習慣造成太大的困擾（阻力）。反之，如果健身房不在你日常通勤的路上——就算只隔幾個街區——你就必須「走另外一條路（打破常規）」抵達。
Perhaps even more effective, is reducing the friction within your home or office. Too often, we try to start habits in high-friction environments. We try to eat healthy in a house filled with chips and cookies. We try to have a good conversation with a friend or family member while allowing our beeping phones to interrupt us constantly. We try to work on an important presentation while sitting in a room with a chatty coworker.
或許在你家或工作地點減少阻力，會是更有效率的做法，因為我們往往容易在充滿阻力的環境打算建立一個新習慣。我們往往在環繞洋芋片及餅乾的環境下嘗試吃健康食品，在手機響個不停的環境下嘗試與親朋好友進行一段有建設性的對話，在一個愛尬聊的同事所在的房間做很重要的專題報告。
I liken these attempts at habit formation to forcing water through a bent hose. Imagine you’re holding a garden hose with a kink in the middle. Some water can flow through, but not very much. If you want to increase the rate at which water passes through the hose, you have two options.
The first option is to crank up the valve and force more water out. Trying to pump up your motivation to stick with a hard habit and overpower the friction in your environment is like trying to force water through a bent hose. You can do it, but it requires a lot of effort and increases the tension in your life.
將這些建立習慣的嘗試比喻成水管，想像一下，你拿著一根中間打結的園藝水管，是有些水可以流過，但流過的水不是很多；如果你想要增加通過管子的水流比率，你有兩個選擇：
選項一是打開閥門，迫使更多水流出來。透過激發你的動力來堅持一項艱難的習慣，並且強勢地衝破存在你的環境的種種阻力，就如用水的沖勁流過水管。這你當然可以辦到，只是需要很多很多的努力，而且你的人生會變得很緊繃。
It doesn’t have to be this way. You can eliminate the points of friction that hold you back. You can simply remove the bend in the hose and let water flow through naturally.
Reshaping your environment to make your habits convenient and effortless is like removing the bend in the hose. Rather than trying to overcome the friction in your life, you reduce it.
The central idea is to create an environment where doing the right thing is as easy as possible. You want to make your good habits the path of least resistance.
大可不必這樣，你可以選擇減少讓你無法前進的阻力，只要簡單地將那個水管上的結打開，水流就會自然而然地流出來了。
重塑你所處的環境，就像把那個結打開一樣，會讓你建立習慣的過程中方便、而且省力許多。比起試圖跨越生命中的那些障礙（阻力），你更該減少它們（阻力）。
這概念的中心思想在於，創造一個做正確的事情可以越容易越好的環境。你想要為你的好習慣鋪一條最少摩擦的路。
Here are some examples of how you can do exactly that:
- Put apps that promote learning or relaxation – reading apps like Audible and Pocket, or a meditation app like Headspace – on the home screen of your phone, rather than filling it with distractions like email or social media.
- Put together a home gym setup. That way, even if you don’t have time to get a full workout at the gym, you can still do a few sets at home.
- Get healthy meal kits delivered to your door with a service like Green Chef or Hello Fresh.
- Clear your work space of distractions that will take you off-task.
The ultimate way to reduce friction is to use technology and automation. This is exactly what many popular businesses are designed to do.
這裡有幾個你可以著手的實際範例：
- 將以學習或休息為主要功能的app——如有聲書或電子書，或冥想app等——放在手機的桌面主頁，而不是將主頁塞滿會讓你分心的email或社交媒體
- 在家裡放一組健身器材，這樣就算你沒辦法在健身房做完一套動作，你還是能在家做幾組動作
- 用外送平台將健康餐送到你家門口
- 把那些會分散注意力的物品帶離你的工作空間
減少阻力的終極法則是使用科技與自動化代勞，這也是很多受歡迎的行業或產品存在的原因。
If you look at the most habit-forming products, you’ll notice that one of the things these goods and services do best is remove little bits of friction from your life. Meal delivery services reduce the friction of shopping for groceries. Dating apps reduce the friction of making social introductions. Ride-sharing services reduce the friction of getting across town. Text messaging reduces the friction of sending a letter in the mail.
Just as businesses use technology to automate the behavior of the masses, you can use technology to automate your own behavior.
如果你看過一輪坊間大多數的習慣養成產品，你會發現這些商品與服務做得最好的其中一件事，就是排除一點點你生活中的阻力。外送服務減少外出購買雜物的麻煩（阻力），交友app減少人際交旋的困難（阻力），共乘服務減少跨越不同區域的交通障礙（阻力），傳簡訊也減少了傳正式email的阻力。
就像這些藉由科技讓大量行為變得自動化的商業案例，你也能借助科技的力量讓你的個人行為變得自動化。
For example, we bought a new blender. It makes making smoothies easy. You just press the smoothie button. Zero thinking. No need to set a timer or select a speed setting. It is designed to have as few moving parts as possible, which makes it easy to clean. There are only two pieces. Rinse both off and you're ready to use it again. Some fancier models are even easier--they self-clean. Ultimately, a blender that is easier to use and easier to clean is one that gets used more often.
舉例來說，我們買了一個新的果汁機，這讓打果泥容易多了，你只要按下那個打果泥的按鈕，根本不用想，也不需要設定計時或轉速多少。這機器被設計成組成零件越少越好，而這也使得它很容易清理，它只有兩個部件，沖洗完兩個部件後你就能立刻再使用它。有些看起來華麗的型號更是容易處理——它們內建自動清洗裝置。總之，一台越容易使用並清理的果汁機，就是一台越常會被使用的果汁機。
Technology can transform actions that were once hard, annoying, and complicated into behaviors that are easy, painless, and simple.
At this stage of the course, your focus is on optimizing your environment to make it easier to stick with your two-minute habit and follow through on your implementation intention. You don’t need more motivation. You need a more supportive environment.
科技會將那些曾經很困難、惱人且複雜的行動，轉變為容易上手、無痛且簡明的行為。
在這個階段的課程，你的重點在於如何優化你所在的環境，使它讓你的兩分鐘習慣變得容易堅持，也能使你的執行意向變得更容易遵行。你不需要增加更多動機，你只需要一個更能幫上忙的環境。
That's all for Lesson 5. See you in the next lesson,
James Clear
Author of Atomic Habits and keynote speaker
這就是第五課的全部了，期待下一堂課再見。
詹姆斯．克利爾
《原子習慣》作者與keynote講者
Progress Check-In
By this stage, you should have designed an environment that allows you to complete your habit with ease. The purpose of reducing friction is to increase convenience and make it more likely that you’ll be able to follow through. Hopefully the strategies in this lesson have helped you do exactly that.
Helpful bonuses and downloads
- Workbook – This 18-page PDF includes an action checklist (including templates for key strategies) for each lesson of the course, plus lesson summaries and a key terms dictionary.
- Examples Database – The examples database is a Google Sheet of 140+ examples of how to implement each strategy covered in this course for dozens of different habits.
References and further reading
- For more on reducing friction, see Chapter 12 of Atomic Habits.
- A garden hose that is bent in the middle: This analogy is a modified version of an idea Josh Waitzkin mentioned in his interview with Tim Ferriss. “The Tim Ferriss Show, Episode 2: Josh Waitzkin,” May 2, 2014, audio.
章節回顧
在這個階段，你應該已經設計一個能讓你在比較輕鬆的處境下完成習慣的環境了，減少阻力的目的在於增加便利性，並且讓你更有機會去遵循那個習慣。希望這堂課的策略能在實務面幫助你辦到這些。
能幫上忙的可下載資源
- Workbook – 這是一份18頁的PDF檔，內容包括一份每一堂課的行動檢查表（內有關鍵策略的範本），加上課程統整與專有名詞辭典。
- Examples Database – 這是一個內有超過140個策略應用實例的Google表單，每個策略都適用於數十種不同的習慣培養。
參考資料與其他文本
- 減少阻力的詳細說明，請參見《原子習慣》第12章
- 一根中間打結的園藝水管：這個比喻原型來自約書亞・維茲金在提摩西・費里斯的訪談中所提到的，《提摩西・費里斯秀》第二集：約書亞・維茲金，2014年5月2日，音檔
