Skip to content

Make your work more enjoyable with temptation bundling

Haikal
Haikal
1 min read
Make your work more enjoyable with temptation bundling
Photo by David Balev / Unsplash

Do you struggle to start your tasks?

You know you should do it, and you know that there will be consequences if you don't do it, yet you still end up putting it off and going to Netflix instead. The truth is, completing your tasks doesn't feel as good in the short term as bingeing Netflix.

However, there is a solution to this - temptation bundling.

Temptation bundling is when you stack a behaviour you should do with a behaviour you want to do.

The formula is simple: Only do [thing you love] while doing [thing you need to do]

Here are some examples:

  • Only watch Netflix while working out at the gym
  • Only drink coffee when studying for your exams
  • Only listen to music when writing articles

The only way to get yourself to do something is if you find it attractive, and you're more likely to find the task attractive if you get to do something you love at the same time.

How do you create your temptation bundle?

  1. Write down the things you love to do. These are usually the things you don't need motivation to start doing.
  2. Write down the things you should do, but have trouble starting.

Write down as much as you can, and match the behaviours you want to do with the behaviours you should do.

However, the caveat is that you must do both the "want" and "should" behaviours together. One does not happen without the other, or the system won't work. This requires some self-control on your part and trust in the system for it to work.

This technique can be used to kick-start good behaviour and act as training wheels for you. With enough practice, you'll look forward to doing the things you should do.

Productivity

Comments


Related Posts

Members Public

Imitate, then innovate

Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different from that from which it was torn. —T. S.

Members Public

Working on fewer things

I've been on a short break recently, not doing much writing aside from publishing weekly. When I wrote daily, I felt like my ideas were stale, and it didn't have that unique touch. It felt like post #292 on productivity, and I didn't like that. So I stopped for a

Working on fewer things
Members Public

Doing a mindful productivity audit: 10 questions to improve your mental health while being productive

I've recently joined Ness Labs' Mindful Productivity Challenge to learn how to be more productive while taking care of my mental health and avoiding burning out. The challenge is simple: Every day, we learn about one new strategy and do a short exercise to put it into practice. On the

Doing a mindful productivity audit: 10 questions to improve your mental health while being productive