A friend said to me: 'I want to bring my lunch to work more. It would help me to eat healthier and save money. I even buy food with that in mind, but I never manage to actually do it. I'm always so rushed in the morning. I should just get up earlier, it's only 15 minutes, but I can't seem to make myself do it. I thought about making lunch before I go to bed, but by then I'm wiped out.' The life coach in me asked, 'What does a typical evening look like for you?'
'Well, I get home from work and let the dogs out. Then I get changed and relax for about half an hour. My husband gets home and then I start to get dinner ready. This is usually around 6:30. We sit down and eat and then he cleans up. Later in the evening we may read or watch TV, or occasionally play cards. By 10, I'm in bed and read to go to sleep.'
Thinking about her schedule, I asked, 'What if you made lunch for the next day while making dinner? Or, you could make an extra portion of dinner to take with you. Then when your husband is cleaning up, he could put the leftovers in a container you can grab on your way out in the morning.'
She looked stunned that the thought hadn’t occurred to her. The last time I asked, she was bringing her lunch in about 4 out of 5 days.
Building on existing habits is a lot easier than building from scratch. When I wanted to walk more, I didn’t start taking an evening stroll. I knew that once I got home from work I was going to have a strong inertia against leaving again. Instead, I took a time that I was already walking and made it longer. Rather than walking straight into my office building when I arrived in the morning, I parked further away and took the longest path around to the back entrance of the building. I changed my route leaving the building also, adding a total of 20 minutes of walking to my day with minimal effort.
One client started an entire exercise regimen by replacing his morning shower at home with a stop at a gym on the way to work that had a shower and pool. He reported that building on the established routine was one of the main drivers of his success.
The next time you are working on making a behavior or lifestyle change, remember building in is better than building new.
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