The Friction of Distance
On January 30, 2019, it was -23 degrees Fahrenheit in Chicago. The second coldest day on record. How cold is that? Let’s just say people were filling buckets of hot water and throwing it outside to see liquid turn into ice.
On that frigid day, I made the absurd decision to bundle up and walk to the gym.
It had nothing to do with motivation and everything to do with convenience. An 8-minute walk. If it was 20 minutes or if I had to warm up my car, I wouldn’t have gone.
Four years ago, I decided to live within walking distance to the gym. My previous commute was 25-minutes each way in miserable city traffic. Saving time is one thing. Removing an almost daily negative experience (I hate driving) meant increased happiness.
With it came more visits to the gym and getting into the best shape of my life.
Apparently, I am not the only one. A 2007 study showed the effects of proximity on gym attendance. People who go to the gym once a month travel an average of 5.1 miles. Those who go five times or more a month travel 3.7 miles.
We underestimate the effects of proximity on behavior. Sometimes distance means a few hundred feet.
A few years back, my office’s air vent was loud and annoying. I got sick of it and asked management if I could move to the vacant office down the hallway. The quiet office was nice, but I didn’t factor in the effect that a few hundred feet would have on socializing.
My old office was near all the cubicles. Once I moved, spontaneous socializing with coworkers went away. I felt FOMO when I heard laughter coming from the direction of my old office. A conscious effort was now involved if I wanted to join the conversation.
Behavior is an interaction between you and your environment. The closer something is, the more obvious the choice becomes. The further away, the less obvious.
Here are a few more examples of proximity effects on my behavior.
I spend the most time with friends who live in my neighborhood. I have lifelong friends who live less than 90 minutes away but, I only see them 2-3 times a year.
When tired and hungry, I gravitate towards restaurants closer. Short walks and less time to get food in my belly. Popeyes chicken sandwich, anyone?
The water bottle on my desk will be noticed and consumed. If it’s empty or not in arms reach, I won’t bother with the extra effort.
Reduce the distance of desirable behaviors. Add distance to undesirable ones. It's not the only factor in building good habits but makes a bigger difference than you think.
🌟 My Favorite Ideas
In this new section, I’ll mention a few of my favorite ideas from a book/podcast/article I consumed recently.
Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp & John Zeratsky
This book is about being intentional with your day. Here are a few good ideas that resonated with me.
Pick a Daily Highlight
Our days are filled with stuff. Work, personal, meetings, chores. This simple approach is to start your day by picking a single highlight and putting your energy, focus, and intention into it. What's a highlight?
Stressed with a looming work deadline? Make it your highlight and get it done.
Having dinner with friends tonight? Make it your highlight and savor it.
Excited to start that new book? Picking something that will bring satisfaction is always a good choice.
Write out your agenda for the day and circle your highlight. That extra attention of narrowing to one thing makes a difference.
Batching the Small Stuff
I’ve heard of this idea before, but never implemented it until now. I now batch minor tasks and put them all into a dedicated day. For me, I call this “Batched Wednesdays”. Feels great to annihilate 10 small things. I scheduled a haircut, called Comcast, listed stuff on craigslist, and did four other things during a recent Wednesday. This lets me focus on the important stuff the rest of the week.
Delaying your First Cup of Coffee
Drinking coffee first thing helps with our fix but, isn’t optimum. You want to wait for 1.5 to 2 hours before your first cup. This has to do with cortisol being at its peak when first waking up. Unless you are doing something cognitively intensive or performance-based right away, wait an hour or two. I am trying this out by forgoing coffee in the morning during an easy Monday run.
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Thank you for reading. Be well.
Irfan
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