Lewin’s Equation: B = f(P+E)

Though I’m completely not a math person - I really like the fact that a formula was actually proposed to explain what determines one’s behavior.

Lewin's equation, B = f(P, E), is a heuristic formula proposed by psychologist Kurt Lewin as an explanation of what determines behavior.

So let’s breakdown the equation further for all you non-math geeks like me out there. Basically, Behavior = function (Person, Environment) - Lewin argues that your environment plays a critical factor in how we as humans behave - and this shapes us a person due to the large influence it has on our habit development (whether good or bad).\

Simple Cues

Good or bad habits are developed over several steps: the first one being ‘cues’. If you want to develop a good habit, you need to make what you want to do obvious, and as for breaking habits, you’d want to do the opposite and make the cue invisible so that you will not be tempted to continue with said habit.

At the Google office, we have these areas called the Micro-kitchens - they are stocked with snacks and drinks of all kinds. Of late, they have been well-stocked with loads of health food, but in the older days, the food team was actually instruction to specifically place foods / drinks in certain locations. Healthier food like fruit and nuts would be places on the counter top, and water would be placed on eye level on the fridges so it would be easy to grab and go. If you wanted to grab a chocolate or candy bar, you’d have to dig through the drawers for it. Sweet and Fizzy drinks would be placed at a lower position therefore forcing you to have to ‘squat’ for it! The team did a study after and found that water & healthy food consumption had gone up, while unhealthy food consumption decreased. Subtle, but smart Google. I appreciate that the company tries to keep us healthy ;)

Habit Association & Your Environment

Most people eventually associate their environment with their habits and this happens naturally after a certain period of time. Take me for example: I typically enjoy watching a 1/2 hour episode of Brooklyn Nine Nine while having my lunch or dinner. However, now whenever I just want to watch the show for relaxation, I tend to want to cook something and eat, even though I wasn’t hungry! It was an interesting realization that hit me - and I try my best not to snack and watch my shows because my cooked lunch is finite in volume, but I know I could easily get carried away snacking. And it has already happened to me several times! Oh my poor waist line :’(

We don’t realize it, but when we start mixing up our habits - the easier task of the two wins. Most of the time, it is most probably a distraction. That’s why multitasking is highly discouraged in the world of productivity.

Environment Re-Association

In an attempt to change up my habits and increase my productivity levels, I’ve decided to experiment and do some re-calibration exercises. Now more than EVER with the Circuit Breaker happening in Singapore, most of us are stuck working from home. I realize in so many instances how easy it was for me to just start preparing breakfast or lunch when I wanted to focus and complete some work, because yes, it’s easier to cook a meal rather than put my head down to churn a piece of work I don’t particularly want to touch!

I’m going to re-assign myself spaces where I do certain things so that my mind is able to re-associate my actions with it!

Physical Re-association: Home Workspace

Bed: Strictly for Sleeping and Reading. I find that I haven’t been able to sleep particularly well recently, and I believe it is because my brain is way too active before bed. So I will attempt to cut out the usage of my phone and it will only act as a sleep tracker and alarm!

Table: Eating & Working. This is gonna be a hard one for me, given my love for eating AND watching shows at the same time. I might not even change that habit - perhaps what I have to be more disciplined on is to have a rule that I should NOT be snacking while watching TV. Idea.

Couch: (General Relaxation) Watching TV, Playing my Switch, Reading, Using My Phone, NOT EATING / SNACKING.

Digital Re-association

Our phones are amazing devices, but it can be a double edged sword due to the nature of it’s versatility. Same principle applies: it’s super hard to associate it with one task because it can perform an array of functions! Often, most of us find ourselves scrolling through facebook or instagram when we are supposed to be focused on the task at hand.

One of the wonders of the Kindle is that there are absolutely no distractions or notifications while reading, and this is brings such joy into a reader’s life. It’s definitely a different experience as compared to reading on my phone where I’m constantly distraction my my calendar or whatsapp message notifications.

That being said, I’m going to try to assign each device I have to specific functions.

Computer: Work, Video Editing, Blogging

IPad: Strictly for PERSONAL USE (nothing work related should be done on it). Note Taking, Studying, consuming content.

Phone: Social Media, Phone calls (duh), Texting. Will try to keep work related things off it (where possible, but definitely a difficult one)

Kindle: For reading :)

Conclusion

‘A stable environment where everything has a place and a purpose is an environment where habits can easily form’ - but be warned ‘I have never seen someone consistently stick to positive habits in a negative environment’

Just remember, each context will be associated with a habit (whether good or bad) - and this will determine whether you make or break the habit!

Remember - Make a habit: Make it obvious, Break a habit: Make it invisible - I guess that’s how the phrase ‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind’ came about!

Resources

‘Atomic Habits’ - James Clear (Book | Depends on your reading speed)