Lesson 4 of 11
第四堂課
How to Design Your Environment for Success
如何量身定做一個迎向成功的環境
Welcome to Week 2. At this stage, you know the desired identity you’re trying to build. You have a two-minute version of your habit that reinforces that identity, and you’ve designed a clear and specific implementation intention for inserting this small habit into your daily routine.
Now it’s time for us to discuss a few strategies to optimize this process and make it even easier to stick with your new habit day in and day out.
歡迎來到第二週的課堂。在這個階段,你已經知道你想要建立的理想形象,已經有了強化這個形象的新習慣的兩分鐘版本,而且你也已經設計了一個清楚明確的執行意向,以將這個小習慣化作例行公事的一部分。
此時我們該談談優化這流程的幾個策略了,這有助於讓你日常在建立這些新習慣更加得心應手。
One of the simplest ways to do this is to make the cues that trigger and prompt your habits as obvious and as visible as possible.
Every habit is initiated by a cue, and we are more likely to notice the cues that stand out. Creating obvious visual cues can draw your attention toward your desired habit.
最簡單的方法之一,是讓提示誘發並顯化你的習慣,使之隨處可見。
任何習慣都是由提示引發,我們也更容易受到那些視野所及的提示引導。因此,製造顯而易見的提示可以將你導向你理想的習慣。
Unfortunately, the environments where we live and work often make it easy to not do certain actions because there is no obvious cue to trigger the behavior. It’s easy to not eat fruits and vegetables when they are out of sight in the bottom of the fridge. It’s easy to not do yoga when your yoga mat is hidden away in a box in the basement. It’s easy to not write “thank you” notes when the stationery is stashed away on a seldom-seen shelf. When the cues that spark a habit are subtle or hidden, they are easy to ignore.
不幸的是,因為我們生活與工作的環境缺乏可以誘導習慣的明顯提示,而常讓我們無法從事特定行為:當蔬果被放在冰箱底層、讓人無法一眼看到時,我們就很容易忘記吃他們;當瑜伽墊被收在地下室的箱子裡時,我們就很少想到要做瑜伽;當文具被收在一個很少碰觸的櫃子裡時,我們就常忘記要寫「謝謝」的紙條;當召喚習慣的提示星火幽茫或被隱藏時,這些習慣就很容易被忽視。
For this reason, redesigning your environment can be one of the most effective steps you can take to instill good habits. I refer to this process as “environment design”, and I’ve experienced the power of this approach in my own life.
For many years, I’d brush my teeth consistently but I wouldn’t floss. I attempted to build a flossing habit by implementing some of the ideas we already talked about. Flossing is a quick action that takes two minutes or less to do, so it satisfies the two-minute rule. I was good to go there.
基於這個理由,重新設計你所在的環境,會成為你導入好習慣時最有效率的步驟之一。我將這個過程稱之為「環境設計」,我的人生也曾受益於這個方法許多。
多年來,我一直保持著刷牙的習慣,但我從不剔牙。我用先前提到的各種想法試圖建立剔牙的習慣,而剔牙本身也是一個兩分鐘、甚至更少時間的行為,所以它完美地符合了兩分鐘法則,一切看起來順理成章。
Next, I created an implementation intention: I will floss my teeth after I brush my teeth in the bathroom. But even with this simple and effective setup, I would only floss occasionally. One of the key issues holding me back was the layout of the environment.
At the time, I was storing my floss in a drawer in the bathroom. Because it was hidden away and out of sight, I would forget to use it each night after brushing my teeth. I had a good plan and clear implementation intention, but I just wouldn’t think to open the drawer. I never saw the floss, so I never used it. The cue wasn’t obvious.
接下來,我建立了執行意向:在我刷牙後,我會在浴室剔牙。但即便是這個簡單且有效率的設定,我仍是只有偶爾會剔牙。而造成我無法順利付諸行動最關鍵的因素之一,正是環境的擺設。
當時我把牙線都收在浴室的抽屜裡,因為這個提示遠離視線,我每晚刷牙後總是忘記要用它剔牙。就算我有再完整的計畫,再清晰的執行意向,我就是不會記得打開抽屜,所以我從沒見到牙線、自然也從沒用牙線剔牙過。這提示一點都不明顯。
Environment design was the strategy that got me over the hump. I bought a little bowl, put the floss inside, and placed it directly next to my toothbrush. Now, it was out in the open, on the counter where I could easily see it. Almost like magic, this simple environment change was all it took for me to stick with the habit of flossing. When combined with my implementation intention, it was easy for me to follow the new behavior. I will pick up the floss after I put down my tooth brush in the bathroom. Now I’ve been doing it this way for years.
環境設計正是讓我度過難關的策略。後來我買了一個小碗,將牙線放在上頭,並將那個碗直接放在牙刷旁邊。現在,它被放在一個敞開的、我可以很容易看見的角落,就像魔術一樣,這個簡易的環境改變就讓我好好地守住了剔牙的習慣。當它與我的執行動機扣合時,使我更容易遵循這個新的行為模式:在放下牙刷後,我會拿起浴室的牙線。至今我已經維持剔牙這個習慣好幾年了。
Let’s discuss a few ways you can use environment design to support and reinforce your habit intentions. Here are a few ways you can redesign your environment and make the cues for your good habits more obvious:
我們來說幾個你可以應用環境設計來輔助或強化習慣意向的方式,你可以參考下列這些方法,來重新設計你的環境,並且使得好習慣的提示更明顯:
(*這點可能不適用於注重隱私的人,但大家可以試試把日誌放在床頭櫃、衣櫥或公事包旁,下床、換衣服或準備出門時就會看到)
Say you want to write five hundred words each day. When you leave your bedroom in the morning, close the door and put a Post-It Note directly at eye level that says, "Write 500 words." At bedtime, you are not allowed to open the door until those words are written.
Similarly, if you want to begin each day by reading a good book or doing yoga or meditating, put a Post-It Note on your phone when you go to bed that says, "Do 5 minutes of yoga". When you wake up, you're not allowed to take off the Post-It Note and use your phone until you've completed the habit.
若說你想要每天寫五百個字,當你早上離開房間時,在關門之際,將一張寫著「寫五百字」的便利貼貼在與視線平齊的高度貼在門上。臨睡之前,如果你沒有寫到那些字數就不準打開房門。
同樣地,如果你想用閱讀一本好書、做瑜伽,或冥想,開啟新的一天,睡前在手機上貼一張寫著「做五分鐘瑜伽」的便利貼;當你起床時,你在完成這個習慣之前不能撕下那張便利貼,也不能使用手機。
I think we can summarize this strategy as follows: If you want to make a habit a big part of your life, you need to make the cue a big part of your environment. Make sure the best choice is the most obvious one. In the long-run (and often in the short-run), your willpower will not beat your environment.
You can alter the spaces where you live and work to increase your exposure to positive cues. Making a better decision is easy, natural even, when the cues for good habits are right in front of you.
我想我們可以為這策略總結如下:如果你想要將一個習慣變成你生活中重要的部分,你必須將提示變成你所在的環境中重要的部分。確保最好的選擇總是最顯而易見的那一個,在長期(以及短期)看來,你的意志力不會贏過你的環境。
你可以改變你居住與工作的空間,增加你和顯性提示的接觸。當好習慣的提示就在你面前時,這個好的決定能讓一切變得更不費力,而且自然而然。
That's all for Lesson 4. See you in the next lesson,
James Clear
Author of Atomic Habits and keynote speaker
這就是第四課,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
At this stage, you have your two-minute version and a clear implementation intention. By the time you get done implementing this lesson, you should have optimized at least one element of your environment to make the cue of your habit more obvious. (You set out your meditation pillow, or you set a book on your coffee table instead of the remote control.) The physical space should be designed to work with your habits, not conflict with them.
Helpful bonuses and downloads
References and further reading
章節回顧
在這個階段,你已經有了你的兩分鐘版本和清晰的執行意向。在你完成這堂課時,你應該至少可以優化你所處環境一個以上的要素,以讓你的習慣的提示更加清晰可見(比方說將你冥想用的枕頭拿出來,或將書而不是電視遙控器放在咖啡桌上)。這些物理空間的設計必須與你的習慣配合,而非互相牴觸。
能幫上忙的可下載資源
參考資料與其他文本
(註:上方論文題目皆為暫譯)