Make it attractive with temptation bundling
Pair a behavior you should do with one you want to do.
Why it works
Bundling lets an immediate, wanted reward (a show, a podcast) make a delayed-payoff behavior (exercise) attractive in the moment — fixing the core problem that good habits pay off later while temptations pay off now.
How to do it
- Identify a guilty pleasure and a habit you avoid.
- Allow the pleasure only while doing the habit ("only listen to this podcast on the treadmill").
- Protect the pairing so the reward keeps its pull.
Evidence
A field experiment found temptation bundling increased gym attendance, with effects that persisted for weeks — direct experimental support for this specific tactic. (rct)
Effects decayed over time and after disruptions; bundling sustains a habit, it doesn’t permanently install it.
Sources
- Milkman, Minson & Volpp (2014), "Holding the Hunger Games Hostage at the Gym", Management Science
Common mistake
Letting yourself have the reward outside the bundle too, which dissolves the incentive.
Practice this with IX Coach
More practices for Atomic Habits, Made Practical
- Implementation intentions
Pre-decide the when-and-where — “I will [behavior] at [time] in [location]” — so a cue triggers the habit instead of willpower.
- Habit stacking, the Atomic Habits method
Anchor a new habit to one you already do without fail: “After [current habit], I will [new habit].”
- The two-minute rule, and never missing twice
Scale a new habit down until starting takes two minutes — then, if you do lapse, make the rule that you never miss twice in a row.
- Identity-based habits
“Every action is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.”
- Never miss twice: the rule’s source
The "never miss twice" rule comes from James Clear’s Atomic Habits: missing once is an accident, missing twice starts a new and unwanted habit.