How to use this powerful strategy to boost motivation and productivity by combining things you should be doing with activities you actually enjoy doing.

+++

My buddy Mark had a problem.

As a dad of two, he wanted to set a healthy example for his kids.

But his waistline, poor eating habits, and lack of exercise had other ideas.

Rather than settle for a life of constantly getting out of breath trying to keep up with his kids, he finally realized that enough was enough.

Mark saw the writing on the wall. The last thing he wanted was a future where he’d be so out of shape that his kids would take care of him.

He decided to finally start taking care of himself.

The problem was that Mark hated exercise.

He just couldn’t get himself to do it.

So he wouldn’t.

Mark would find every excuse under the sun to avoid doing the thing.

He’d rather fire up his XBox and play games to unload his stress at the end of a long day.

We got creative and used a habit building strategy called temptation bundling to incentivize Mark to start moving his body more.

+++

Willpower and motivation only go so far

Do you have a similar thing you know you should be doing (exercising, reading, putting the phone down) but struggle to actually do?

You will not always be motivated to workout or eat healthy or write your book or build your business.

When that motivation fades, you can white knuckle your way through it with willpower. But, that’s only going to go so far, too.

Eventually you’ll exhaust all of your energy powering through it until you just give up altogether.

Instead, you need a system that allows you to show up on the days when motivation is in the shitter.

Temptation bundling is combining a behavior you want to do (one that gives you gratification, like watching a show) with one that you need to do (one that provides more of a delayed gratification, like exercise).

You’re more likely to do the less awesome behavior if you temptation-bundle it with something you actually want to do

Researchers took over 3,000 gym goers and gave them more “tempting” content (in this case an audiobook that they enjoyed). The incentive to pair exercise with the audiobook increased the likelihood of visiting the gym over a control group that received no such incentive.

It’s the closest thing to a hack or a cheat code that will help you avoid procrastination and reduce decision fatigue.

In Mark’s case, we paired his love of video games and bundled it with the behavior that was giving him resistance: exercise.

Mark set up his stationary exercise bike in front of his gaming console.

When it was time to fire up the XBox to play, he could only do so if he was riding the recumbent bike.

Over time, an evolution started to take place.

As this behavior baked in and became routine, it was the catalyst Mark needed to finally start eating a little healthier.

Then he slowly incorporated some strength training.

Now Mark is over 60 pounds lighter.

And he’s kept the weight off for years—even though he’s moved on from his little cardio/gaming bundle to more traditional forms of exercise.

How to start temptation bundling

At the most basic level, temptation bundling just means picking a task or a behavior that you want to improve and then pairing it with something that you truly enjoy.

What do you want to improve or “need” to do (but don’t wanna actually do)?

Make a list of what you “should” do.

From exercise to cleaning the house.

Jot down the daily or even weekly tasks that you struggle to do consistently (or not at all).

What do you enjoy doing?

Now make a list of what you “want” to do.

Listen to audiobooks or music.

Play video games.

Catch up on your favorite show or YouTube channel.

Get creative.

But list them all out.

Marry the two lists.

Now it’s time to see where you can bundle a “should” action with a “want” activity.

Obviously make sure you can physically do both at the same time (washing dishes while playing MarioKart doesn’t sound like the best combo).

Here are a few ideas to give you some inspiration:

• You can only listen to your favorite podcast or audiobook while you clean the house or cook.
• Download your favorite movie or show and you can only watch it while getting your steps in on a treadmill.
• Play a sport in place of your more traditional cardio activity (I love playing tag with my kids).
• Enjoy your favorite specialty coffee while catching up on some admin stuff (bills, emails, etc.).

Temptation bundling pairs pleasure with purpose

I liked Mark’s approach to temptation bundling so much that I applied a similar version for myself.

In order to stick to my goal of adding some beneficial cardio at the end of my minimalist strength training session, I started playing around with catching up on a show while riding my stationary bike.

And it worked.

I not only committed to about 20-30 minutes of post-strength cardio—super important as we get older—-but it helped me catch up on shows like The Penguin, Silo, and Andor.

The only time I could watch those shows was when I was performing my cardio.

I actually kinda look forward to pedaling away on my bike these days.

Now it’s your turn.

Figure out that one thing that’s been hard to get moving on and find your temptation bundle to finally get started.

And have fun.

I hope you found this useful. If so, I’d appreciate it if you sent this newsletter to one person you think would benefit from my writing today.

And if you’re new here and enjoyed this newsletter, I’d be honored if you subscribed for more at this link.

And as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

I answer all of my emails at pete [at] petecataldo [.] com … Hit me up with the subject line “temptation bundling” and I’ll answer any questions you have to make this work for you.

Until next time,
Pete