Here are some of my not so favorite quotes I’ve said recently:
“The pills are on my table, guess I’ll take them in the morning. Gulp”
“My running shoes and are in the middle of my hall-way. Bleh”
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“Argh. I have to go to the side room to work.”
“Damn that happy picture of me chest bumping Johnross I see as I leave my place.”
Fortunately whether I’m in a good mood or not I setup positive triggers to make myself take action or feel better.
It’s a handy trick I encourage you to use.
What I do is place things annoyingly in my way or completely out of my way to encourage a positive behavior. Over time these triggers develop into the power of habit which makes it all the more easy.
Here’s a sampling of the ones I currently do:
- I put my running shoes in my hall way at night. FINE, I can’t get around them in the morning so I go running.
- There are happy posters by my door so I try to smile as I leave my place. This is one of the best ways to get in a good mood and generate positive thinking.
- I don’t bring a power cord with me to coffee shops so I am limited to how much time I can work and goof off less. (This is one of my tips & tricks for working alone.)
- At the office I put some of my important items in a side room where I’m more productive so I tend to go work in that room more often.
- Placing my scale at the end of my bed so I have to weigh myself each day.
- My pull-up bar is on my closet door so I tend to do pull-ups each time I get dressed.
Why does any of this matter?
It’s easy to skip over things but if you set them up to automatically to reduce your friction from doing it, you are WAY more likely to get the results you want. Make it easy to say, “Yes” to yourself!
What’s 1 trigger you can setup today for yourself? Leave a comment then watch this video about Starting and KILLING habits on YouTube.
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157 responses to “Kick ass using Positive Triggers”
Wow, I am just getting an idea of how positive triggers can work! I really need one to help me work on developing my first online class. I’m scared to do it. What can I try?
It’s already on my calendar, but I just blow right by it. I already have an accountability group, but I don’t check in! Ugh. I am thinking I need to close all windows on my computer except the one for doing the work. Then when I turn on my screen in the morning, that’s the one I have to deal with first. Kinda like your sneakers in the hallway.
Good ones! I put stuff on my computer- a do list usually – as i close the computer for the night. I open the screen in the morning and bang – that’s what I’m doing. I can see my priorities and though I may dick around a bit with email and funstuff, I know what I have to get done, and I do it.
If I know I’m going running the next day, I’ll put waist pak, shorts, t-shirt, hat, socks, shoes, heart rate monitor, and suunto in the shoes and put them on my chair so I can’t sit down at the computer without seeing them and getting porked by a shoe heel. but yeah – in the middle of the hall works too!
on the low part of the window I can see over – which I face at my desk – I see the note in 1.5″ marker
$30,000 / month
Family
Exercise
Because those are the priorities in their order. At times I need to prioritize making more money over family. It’s not forever, it’s motivating to see that because I know – this is fucking WRONG!
Out the window I have in the room i chose for my office, I can see the peak of a mountain top where I either go to run or go to find snakes at night.
Love Your STUFF NOAH! Keep cranking man – you are the most motivating to me. You’re so real, and I wish I was able to see more of what you’re doing on a daily basis to GTD. Sort of like Gary V. No, exactly like GV.
CHEERS MAN!
I love the one with the power cord at cafés…. thinking of ways to cut down my goof-off time while working mainly from home (not yet at the point where I can afford office space)
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I will leave a great book on my desk so I know I must write today. I must not only write but it has to be quality.
I always have a kettlebell in view so I know I will be working later.
Mindset is also a key to success. It is a good idea to eliminate the negative influences which invade our space every day and may not be recognized as such. It may be in the form of television news, stupid and repetitive commercials or negative people can emotionally drain you.
I do the power cord thing too! I usually do it to limit my time, so I’m not late to the next even on my calendar, but I really like the productivity way of thinking about it. I definitely need to stop getting distracted. Another trick I used to do, which I think I’ll do right now, is close tabs that distract me, like FB, for some reason if I don’t see the tab I’m too lazy to pull up the site. Why are we so weird!?
I put motivational quota on the chest next to my bed, so when I open my eyes the first thing I see is positive affirmation.
HAHA yes I 100% agree with this tactic. I also find that when I tell myself how excited i’m am to tackle a new project or job, I get into the flow much quicker due to beginning with a positive mind frame.
I have my meditation / yoga session queued to play on my iPad which sits in my bedside table. So when I wake up in the morning I just roll over and press play. I also have my weights ready to go next to my computer so I can do an online barre class when I get home. I also write my gratitude book up at night with section headings, so in the morning I can just write down my goal /gratitude/intent etc as soon as I’ve finished yoga. And my ghee sits permanently next to my blender so I can make my bullet proof coffee in the morning. I think I’ll put up a happy picture next to the front door – as they leaving/coming home happy is a really good idea !
I’m leaving one to two sewing projects in a basket that I continually almost trip over (with EVERYTHING I need to complete the project also in the basket). I’m a costume designer.
Hey Noah! I think little changes lead to huge results. If we can hack things and make them easier to do, we will do them. How do you eat a huge elephant? One bite at a time:)
My triggers; I listen to some positive guided meditation while brushing my teeth and do a 2 min plank routine to upbeat music. This gives me a morning rush with out the coffee:)
(Bear with me… I have to say this. It’s very important to me and I say it with all the love in the world.) I am adamantly against weighing yourself every day–unless you are required to do so for medical reasons. Bad, bad, bad. It’s just a number. It doesn’t mean ANYTHING. Seriously. Throw that thing out or use it in your kitchen to, I don’t know, weigh produce or something.
That said, I LOVE the idea of carefully placed triggers. LOVE IT! I’ve always had bad posture, so in the car, I set my rearview mirror so that I HAVE to sit up straight in order to see. Also, I made a promise to myself several years ago that whenever I see my favorite time (12:34) on the clock, I WILL smile–even if I’m having a bad day or whatever. It’s a tiny little thing that makes me happy. 12:34. I don’t go out of my way to see it–I don’t wait by the clock. But I catch it quite a bit.
I leave one filled water bottle in each room that has a chair so I have no excuse not to hydrate.
I woke up with a smile on my face. I got ready for the day and walked my son to his school to go to camp. I am positive that he will have a wonderful time. I am absolutely ready to tackle cleaning the house today.
One thing that is a fore sure is not having a scale at my bed to weigh myself every morning. Suicide has never been a factor in my family, I do not want to start it.
Agree!! Ha! I may have just posted a tiny rant about scales myself. Scales are for produce and packages, and infants maybe?
Super happy custom ringtones (e.g. for my gf it’s Barney’s “I love you”) to always put me in the right mood before answering the phone. You never know who’ll be calling!
And ditched the toilet to practice squatting!
Good call on the ringtones!
I put my pants, a tshirt, and my house shoes (flip flops) in the same place every evening so that I can stumble out of bed early and not have to think about where they are. Makes getting out of bed a ton easier.
Leave your meditation pillow next to your bedroom door, so you have no choice but to pick it up and sit down with your thoughts.
This one is awesome! Going to try it out, thanks Noah “I don’t bring a power cord with me to coffee shops so I am limited to how much time I can work and goof off less”
To never give up on selling my books … there are readers out there some where
My trigger is to read, book next my bed and no phone or iPad in the room.
I put floss next to my toothbrush rather than in the cupboard underneath so that I don’t forget to floss
I have a framed picture in my room of Muhammad Ali being knocked down by Joe Frazier. Every time I look at the picture it reminds me that even the greats in life get knocked down and what is important is how we take those knockdowns and come back stronger and better. Seeing that picture always puts me in a better mindset to approach the day.
so needed as i am trying to make some changes. this will unstick me. thank you.
Ok. One positive reinforcement I can do is print my morning routine out and pin it to my wall so it’s the first thing I see, to guide my mornings in a positive manner.
I leave a picture as a screen saver on my phone, of a place i intend to visit. In December, it was a picture of Amsterdam and London. DONE. Now it’s a picture of Cuba!
Set a trigger for reading. But I don’t know how. Do you have one? I’ve always been struggling to allocate 30 min reading each day for myself.
Put your alarm clock on the other side of the room so you can’t just hit snooze and fall back asleep. If you have to get up to turn off the alarm, you will have no excuse to get back under the covers to relax.
Place the tacos on the counter/in the shower/car/bed so I have to eat them all the time.
I’m so far on day five of getting up at 5am, and I learnt that drinking 500ml of water first thing in the morning is supposed to wake you up. It seems to work (don’t know if it’s a placebo effect or not) so I leave a pint of water by my bed and one on my desk at night, so there’s no excuse not to drink it!
Yea, I love doing ice cold water in mornings too!
Every time I check Facebook I do 10 pushups… healthy benefit to tame overuse. http://www.gregoryhyde.com
I will for sure use it to start my coding online classes.
– leave my device charger plugged in next to my bed, so I don’t forget to plug in my phone at night…
– keep my cosmetic bag packed for trips (have double of my faves – one for travel and one for home) so I never forget my stuff (restock it when I come home, not when I’m leaving, when I have more time)….
– keep a bathing suit (my preferred exercise method) in my suitcase so I always can exercise at the pool
– leave items going out the door, like library books, mail, or reusable grocery bags, hanging on the front door knob.
I like the “My running shoes and are in the middle of my hall-way. Bleh”. Aweosme stuff! I’m not sure if I have any triggers right now but I’ll think of one today for finances for sure.
Love the idea! And I love that the whole post came to me in e-mail (just signed up for this)
I have a whiteboard on my closet, right next to my bed. I write there one important thing I have to do during the day in huge letters. It’s the first thing I see in the morning, and I know I have to do it, so it sticks in my head and follows me around until I get it done. Super annoying, but it works.
Great idea.. I leave my cell in the boot every until Lunchtime at work
I put my mobile phone on “Do Not Disturb” which allows me to focus for the morning session. I turn it off at lunch when and listen to all message or answer texts then. that helps me focus.
As a ;learning specialist, I realize that as soon as I finish learning, a new process begins. The process of forgetting. My job as a learner is to interrupt the process of forgetting. It’s ideal to review right before falling asleep.
Because of that, I put my notes on my pillow as soon as I get home. When I get into my bed, I can’t NOT notice them. They are always made in a form of a question, so I am testing my knowledge instead of mere refreshing of memory.
This method has done wonders for me and my students.
That is a clever way of staying focused. Do you read all the notes again at bedtime? I find I can’t concentrate as well late at night.
I actually thought of adding a recurring task on reading a random article from your blog but that’s done by your mailing system 🙂 Probably one of the 5 distribution lists I actually read – mail marketing done right 🙂 Thanks man 🙂
Good ideas! I’m going to copy you Noah and leave my running shoes in the hall way and stick my favorite photo by the door! So no matter what I will always leave the house with a smile.
Makes perfect sense!!!
Love this. Anything that can help me to take positive steps, no matter how small is a good thing. Thanks for the reminder. I will give it a try
Keep a liter water bottle at your desk and commit to finish it (one or more times) before the end of the day, providing mini work breaks and you stay hydrated.
I left myself apost it note on my work computer screen that had a smiley face with happy Friday on it
I will definitely put some smiling people next to my door. I want to be smilier 🙂
I get up just before my alarm goes off. Over time I have developed a mental technique where I program my mind to wake me up at a specific time in the morning and guess what I actually get up automatically just before the alarm goes off. Now a days I don’t even need to set any alarm and in the past 1 year I have never overslept.
The might God has gifted us with the most powerful machine of all time. Our Brain.
Thanks,
Dave Chakra
Yes Noah!
This has got James Clear written all of the the place!
I journal in the morning and evening, and pack my gym bag and put by the door before I go to bed.
Sam
Solid post Noah! I’m a big fan of ‘setting yourself up for success’. I pre-pack my gym bag and a healthy lunch the night before. (although it’s not exactly a positive trigger) I limit the amount of booze and fluffy carbs in the house. I’ve also kept Do Not Disturb on my phone activated until about 11am to get my most important tasks done in the morning, before I start reading email and responding to notifications.
Good points, I am always counting my negative, sentences, I just wish I could catch em all. I appreciate you sharing this, I always keep my pull up bar 5 feet from my computer, and I am anti work at coffee shops but thanks for helping me connect some dots.
Umm, are you really just giving this info out for noginht?
During my morning constitutional, I have a discussion with my cat about the 3 things I need to do, that I know I can do for the day. The cat provides feedback by purring confirming my plan fo rthe day.
Excellent strategy John, I will look to buy a cat. Do you recomend a certain breed?
I have an ideas folder stuck in the middle of my desktop – Makes me jot down 2 ideas every day before I open any other file
I put alarms in 5 phones in all different places .
what a great idea….ha ha ha….i put a mental alarm to get up at a particular time in the morning before going to bed and also put normal alarm on my cell and surprisingly I get up just before the alarm goes off.
I have consistently employing this and it works every time all the time.
Really our brain is an awesome powerful machinery created by the almighty.
I’ve changed all of my reminders to frame into the positive. Like: you’re awesome for writing in your 5 min journal!
I’m new to your site (Thanks, Tim Ferris podcast) and love it. For years I’ve been trying to figure out systems for getting the most important things in my life done consistently. What I’ve ended up doing, and have almost a 3 year streak of using every day , is setting up daily/weekly systems for accomplishing those things — with a very detailed to-do list for each…so that I get to check off the small things that get them done (not just “go running” but also “put out running shoes”, “get exercise clothes ready” the night before, etc. – I’ve even included a recurring list on how to create and sustain love based on an interesting article in the NY Times)…I even built a free tool to help me (www.simplist.me)….as I’ve found if I’m relying on memory, I’m hosed. Thanks for what you’re doing, really loving it.
Well Noah, I leave my yoga stretch strap on the side table in the lounge room. Every day I do a range of different yoga stretches and having the strap there ready is a great way not to avoid it! I also rinse my swimming togs out in the shower for a few days in a row and hang them right back up there so I can easily access them to swim first thing in the morning. I’ve put my Vital Greens, fish oil etc into a visual space in the pantry. I can’t NOT see them there! Then I get them all out first thing so when I get around to having breakfast, there they are! Same with the book I’m reading…it has a place where I can sit and read for 1/2 hour every morning before going into the office. All this works so well for me. Today I’ll put a journal out in the spot where I read so I make sure I write in it before going to work. A morning routine for myself is working a treat! Jeanette
As soon as I get home from work I pack my gym bag… along with any other items I’ll need for the next day. I’m then on auto pilot in the morning in the event I might ponder email versus excercise.
Not sure of the scale one. Is weighing yourself every day a positive thing?
Awesome Noah. That is a clever way of keeping the necessary things top of mind. I think I may try that out.
I have a quote by Tim Ferriss that says ‘focus on being productive instead of busy’ on my laptop background
Hubs is my positive. He rolls outta bed every morning pretending to do ninja moves and usually falls flat on his butt because he’s just woken up hahahahahahaha be positive start to my day!!
Dear Noah,
Thanks for sharing your tips for remaining productive all day long. 🙂
My positive trigger is seeing my son. I want to educate him well and want to see him as a person I can be proud of. My all dedication, my all work and my all effort are in line with my dream to make him the successful person that he really deserves to be. 🙂
Good post, good ideas! Will keep it in mind and do something of it in my real life 🙂
Love it man, triggers are HUGE for launching habits.
When I was trying to start a habit of getting to the gym every weekday I left my towels in my car. For me to shower (my coworkers approve) I had to go to the car, which felt halfway to the gym, so I’d work out and shower at the gym.
2 years later the habit stuck, after 7 years of trying to create it without triggers.
…Hey Noah, I feel you… …My thing is seeking wise words… …Sometimes the words are hundreds of years old… …Sometimes you only have to go back a few years (like 2013)…
…people think I’m weird for leaving comments on old posts…LoL…If they only knew…
Thank you for all you do…I swear you should be charging per word…
When you got it~you got it…Keep doing you brother…
Super list. Thanks!
I used to have all my workout clothes & shoes waiting for me next to my bed which hasn’t happened in a while. Right. Guess I know what to do..;-)
I follow an old habit with a new one to get it in the rhythm of doing it consistently.
I love this. I leave my workout gear out in the evening for the next morning, and my pills. I also use Google reminders as much as possible, sometimes to “just be grateful”.
I try to not bring my phone into the bedroom when I go to sleep. Helps me not to stare at the screen before bed and ruin a good nights sleeep.
Sick post, great tips! One of my personal favorites is writing down a goal and giving my friend $20..if I don’t accomplish it, he keeps it.
Expressing gratitude is a great way to start and sprinkle positivity throughout the day. When we think positively we feel great and we are actually more productive. We all feel gratitude, we just don’t always express it – we forget and we move on.
We created the free WeGush iOS app to make it convenient to send a brief yet meaningful message of gratitude to someone special right from the palm of your hand https://wegush.com/ – it’s a great way to create a new habbit of positivity and intentional connection with others. I invite you to please try it out sending our a Gush before each daily meal (2-3x a day) or link it to another existing habbit, for 3 weeks – and see how that impacts you (and your relationships, and your work 🙂
Thank you for all the great ideas shared here and Noah, thanks for all you do and for putting this sharing in motion.
Martha Huntley, Founder & CEO, WeGush, Inc. Boston, MA
I bring my workout clothes to work and go to a gym nearby. Going home after work with a bag of clean gym clothes is defeating and carrying a bag of gym clothes to work for no reason is just annoying. So, I go to the gym. And then I go home with a bag of stinky sweaty clothes and a body full of endorphins 🙂
I have an automatic trigger for exercise which is a reverse of your running shoes example…
Before I leave the house to go to work I put my training gear (clothes, shoes, water) in the hallway. I also place a a short training plan on top of the pile which I write before going to bed.
As soon as I get home, I put the training clothes on – right there and then in the hallway. Having the training plan instantly to hand means I know exactly what routine or exercises I need to do to meet my fitness goals, even if my brain is completely fried from a day at the office.
Like you I have my pull-up bar in a good spot; in the doorway to my kitchen. My new rule is that every time I go into the kitchen I have to do a set. It either gets me to do pull-ups or keeps me from going into the kitchen and away from the fridge. win-win.
Your post struck a cord with me. I just wrote a post on my own blog about health and how time management helps freelancers manage stress and avoid mistakes.Your shoes-in -hallway maneuver is good. I hadn’t thought of a positive message, but I think mine would be “the only failure is not trying”, with the understanding that it may take a few days of constantly reminding myself for the message to have a noticeable effect.
Putting little sticky notes on my computer, the refrigerator door and bathroom mirror might speed things along, though. What a timely post!
– Valerie
Hola Noah . . .
Yup, I’m inclined to agree with you Sir, a positive attitude will get one through ANYTHING.
For the longest, I’ve found, a good attitude along with a good sense of humor goes a long way.
Tango mike bravo for all you do. Keep up the good works, be safe, stay vigilant, and enjoy the many blessings my friend.
Here’s to making a difference . . .
Cheers
Respectively,
Steve English
Hi, I play my meditation music, first thing in the morning to get some good 30 minute session.
Keep the emails coming!! Great stuff.
I put my alarm clock (iPhone) in the bathroom. I have to get up and into another room before turning it off. Usually I have my workout gear in there as well.
This significantly cuts down on the snooze-ing!
I made a poster with scrumptious images and words. I then proceeded to organize a bunch of my workspace. It feels a lot better here now. Thank you to all for the inspirations…