Reduce friction for good behaviors to near zero

Make the healthy behavior the path of least resistance by removing every avoidable obstacle between you and starting.

Why it works

Behavior is a function of motivation and ease simultaneously. When friction is high, even moderately motivated people give up at the obstacle rather than the task. Reducing friction shifts the demand from motivation (volatile) to access (structural). The fewer steps between the decision to act and the act itself, the more likely initiation happens before motivation dips.

How to do it

1. Map the exact steps required to start the behavior you want and eliminate or pre-complete as many as possible.
2. Set up equipment, clothes, or materials in advance so the start is a single action ("put on shoes").
3. For digital behaviors, put the tool on your home screen or desktop; for physical ones, put it in your direct path.

Evidence

Friction effects on behavior are among the best-replicated findings in behavioral economics. Default effects (where the default option captures most choices) are a special case of reduced friction with extensive evidence in retirement savings, organ donation, and energy use. (rct)

Default and friction effects are strongest in one-time or low-attention decisions; for complex, repeated behaviors the effect size is real but smaller.

Sources

• Thaler & Sunstein (2008), Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness (default effects literature)
• Johnson & Goldstein (2003), do defaults save lives, Science

Common mistake

Reducing friction for the desired behavior while leaving equal or greater friction in place for the competing behavior — the relative friction matters, not the absolute level.