Coaching practices for There's a Show I'm Hooked on and a Workout I Keep Dodging and it Just Hit Me That If I Only Let Myself Watch While I'm Doing the Thing I Avoid the Craving for One Might Finally Drag Me Into the Other
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For There's a Show I'm Hooked on and a Workout I Keep Dodging and it Just Hit Me That If I Only Let Myself Watch While I'm Doing the Thing I Avoid the Craving for One Might Finally Drag Me Into the Other, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- There’s a show I’m hooked on and a workout I keep dodging
- There’s this thing I keep avoiding because it’s a slog with no payoff in the moment
- I told myself I’d only watch my show while on the treadmill, but I just watch it whenever I feel like it, so there’s no reason left to actually get on the machine
- The same urge gets me every time
- I keep finding myself already mid-snack or already typing the sharp reply, with no memory of deciding to
Practices that may help
- Temptation bundling
Allow yourself a wanted indulgence only while doing the behavior you avoid.
Reward Substitution - Bundle an immediate pleasure with a deferred obligation
Permit yourself an enjoyable activity only while doing the task you keep avoiding — pair present reward with future-oriented behavior.
Hyperbolic Discounting — Why Future You Always Gets the Short End - Design a bundle where the want is only available during the should
Make the temptation exclusively accessible during the healthy behavior — restriction is the active ingredient.
Temptation Bundling, Made Practical - Write an if–then plan for your most predictable temptation
"If I feel the urge to [temptation], then I will [alternative action] instead."
If–Then Planning, Made Practical - Notice the urge as it arises
Catch the craving early, the moment it starts, before it becomes an automatic action.
Urge Surfing: Riding the Wave of a Craving - Surf the urge to avoid instead of obeying it
Treat the avoidance impulse as a wave to observe and outlast, not a command to obey.
Embracing Discomfort: Turning Resistance Into Growth - Make it attractive with temptation bundling
Pair a behavior you should do with one you want to do.
Atomic Habits, Made Practical - Choose a replacement that delivers the same reward
The new routine must satisfy the original craving, or the old one snaps back.
Habit Substitution: Swap the Routine, Keep the Reward - Diagnose the real reward the habit is delivering
Run experiments to discover what craving the habit actually satisfies — it is often not obvious.
The Habit Loop, Made Practical - Locate the urge in your body
Describe where and how the craving shows up physically instead of arguing with it in your head.
Urge Surfing: Riding the Wave of a Craving
Related concerns
- Finding Temptation Bundle Pairs
Temptation bundling — pairing something you want to do with something you should do — has direct experimental support from Katherine Milkman’s gym-attendance research, where bundling audiobooks with exercise meaningfully increased visits. Effects are real but decay over time and after disruptions, so bundling is a habit-starter rather than a permanent motivator.
- Temptation Bundling As A Caregiver
Temptation bundling — pairing something you want to do with something you should do — has direct experimental support from Katherine Milkman’s gym-attendance research, where bundling audiobooks with exercise meaningfully increased visits. Effects are real but decay over time and after disruptions, so bundling is a habit-starter rather than a permanent motivator.
- Temptation Bundling Before Bed
Temptation bundling — pairing something you want to do with something you should do — has direct experimental support from Katherine Milkman’s gym-attendance research, where bundling audiobooks with exercise meaningfully increased visits. Effects are real but decay over time and after disruptions, so bundling is a habit-starter rather than a permanent motivator.
- Temptation Bundling For My Teenager
Temptation bundling — pairing something you want to do with something you should do — has direct experimental support from Katherine Milkman’s gym-attendance research, where bundling audiobooks with exercise meaningfully increased visits. Effects are real but decay over time and after disruptions, so bundling is a habit-starter rather than a permanent motivator.
- Temptation Bundling On A Budget
Temptation bundling — pairing something you want to do with something you should do — has direct experimental support from Katherine Milkman’s gym-attendance research, where bundling audiobooks with exercise meaningfully increased visits. Effects are real but decay over time and after disruptions, so bundling is a habit-starter rather than a permanent motivator.
- Temptation Bundling When Starting Out
Temptation bundling — pairing something you want to do with something you should do — has direct experimental support from Katherine Milkman’s gym-attendance research, where bundling audiobooks with exercise meaningfully increased visits. Effects are real but decay over time and after disruptions, so bundling is a habit-starter rather than a permanent motivator.
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