Remove the option

William Liao
Sep 19, 2024

Several months ago I resolved to spend more of my working day using my standing desk.

This resolution worked really well at first. But eventually I receded back into old habits and found myself sitting back in my office chair for most of the day within a few weeks.

I tried a bunch of other things to help me get back on track: post-it reminders on my desk, alarms on the phone, etc. All of these had a mediocre effect.

The most powerful intervention — the thing that guaranteed 100% compliance with my resolution — was removing my chair from my office altogether.

Want to sit? Too bad, I couldn’t.

The best way to orchestrate a behavior change is to remove your ability to choose any behavior other than the one you are focused on adopting.

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William Liao

Taiwanese American, daily blogger of ideas about impactful work in service of others, photographer (ephemera.photography)