Lower the Activation Energy
Engineer your environment so the good behavior is the easy one
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 81%
Because motivation is unreliable, this method shifts the work from willpower to environment. You lower the activation energy for the behavior you want, laying out gym clothes, packing the bag, putting sneakers on, so that at the low-motivation moment there are fewer steps between you and the action. Symmetrically, you raise friction for behaviors you want less of, the way Google cut M&M consumption by roughly 70% simply by moving the candy into opaque, out-of-reach containers and placing healthy snacks within easy reach. A companion tactic is temptation bundling: pair a should you resist (going outside) with a want you enjoy (a favorite podcast), so the desirable activity pulls the undesirable one along. Set all of this up in advance, while motivation is still high, and follow-through stops depending on how you happen to feel later.
Origin
Boardman synthesizes behavioral-science tactics, citing Google's opaque-M&M-jar experiment and the temptation-bundling research, framed against the fact that motivation is unreliable.
Core principles
- 01Motivation comes and goes, so don't rely on it
- 02People are lazy by default, so make the right thing easy
- 03Reducing friction beats increasing willpower
- 04Pairing a want with a should raises follow-through
How to run it
- 1
Pick the target behavior
Decide which behavior you want more of, such as going to the gym, and which you want less of.
Watch out Don't lean on morning motivation to carry you; it won't be there by evening.
- 2
Remove friction for the good behavior
Cut the steps in front of the wanted behavior: put your gym clothes on, pack the bag, get the sneakers ready.
Pro tip The fewer motions between you and the action, the more likely you'll follow through.
- 3
Add friction for the bad behavior
Make the unwanted behavior harder to reach, as Google did by hiding M&Ms in opaque, out-of-reach jars.
Pro tip Out of sight and out of reach cut Google's M&M consumption by about 70%.
- 4
Bundle temptations
Pair a behavior you resist with one you enjoy, like only listening to a favorite podcast while outside walking.
Pro tip Getting a dog forces the walk; walking with another dog-owner stacks outdoors, exercise, and socializing at once.
In the wild
Google offered employees unlimited M&Ms displayed in beautiful glass jars on every floor, and consumption ballooned. Rather than removing the candy and risking a mutiny, behavioral scientists lowered activation energy for the healthy option by shelving nutritious snacks within easy reach, and raised it for the treat by moving M&Ms into opaque, out-of-reach containers. Because people default to the path of least effort, M&M consumption dropped by roughly 70% with no ban and no reliance on anyone's willpower.
→ M&M consumption fell about 70% through friction alone, no willpower required.
Common mistakes
Relying on motivation to carry you
Motivation is high in the morning and gone at night; designing around it guarantees inconsistent follow-through.
Only removing, never restructuring
Banning a tempting behavior invites backlash; adding friction and keeping the option present works better than outright removal.
Is it for you?
Best for
Anyone trying to build exercise, healthy eating, or focus habits that keep collapsing under low motivation.
Not ideal for
Goals requiring deep skill acquisition where environment design alone isn't enough.
From the transcript
“Lower the activation energy for the thing that you want to do. If you already have your sneakers on... you're much more likely to go”
“put those beautiful MMs in an opaque container, really like out of reach... it just decreased MM consumption by about 70%”
From the episode
Positive Psychology's Lessons For Coping With Stress - Dr Samantha Boardman - #358
Dr Samantha Boardman