Hey guys and welcome back to another episode of Change Wired Podcast. My name is Angela Sharina, I'm your host, I'm your partner in change, executive leadership coach at 360, meaning on this podcast we tap into this beautiful connection, intersection of workings of our body, our minds and systems for strategic execution or meaningful work. And on today's podcast we're going to talk exactly about these systems, these strategically designed and deployed systems in our life and in our work. So we not only have intentions for our better selves, whether that's personally, professionally, health-wise, relationship-wise, so we don't just get bigger and bigger intentional bucket Like I'd like to be better at presentation, at speaking, at sales, at Italian, at relationships. I'd like to invest more into my health, into my fitness, I'd like to travel more, I'd like to dedicate more time to my family or my hobbies, whatever that might be. We have this long list of intentions and we truly value them, in a sense that it's not just often what somebody says we should do or it's some society's expectations. It's often the things that we truly want to do, but then things get in the way. So what do you do to get more effective, more strategic, to do more of these things that you say you want to do Today is about this one simple tool that modern behavioral scientists use to help people take more consistent actions on things that are important, like, for example, it's often used to increase people's physical activity or to help them adhere to taking medication.
Speaker 1But the same thing you can design for yourself with the availability of modern technologies. So you, too, take more consistent actions on things that are not urgent, like they're not gonna kill you today. If I don't learn my Italian today, I'll probably I don't know never have any negative consequences because of that, but I'll miss out on certain things in my life that my soul, for whichever reason, gravitates towards and who knows what and why my soul, my heart, something inside of me gravitates towards it. But I like to explore it. Our potential, our hidden, untapped potential, often dies in those intentions that are there, but they're not about putting the food on the table or taking care of your immediate needs, and so very often we end up never really tapping into our true potential, something that would differentiate ourselves from the rest of the world, helping us to bring this unique value into the world, or just living a truly fulfilling life. So today's podcast is all about that how to bring more meaning and fulfillment. But also it is a very simple, practical podcast because it's going to give you a simple tool that you can deploy, starting today. You all have all the necessary technology and ability and today you're also going to get the knowledge how to deploy this simple tool in your life to help you to again take more action on these intentions that often just die unfulfilled. Just die unfulfilled, untapped, and therefore we get less joy, exploration, adventure and, at the end of the day, meaning and fulfillment in our lives.
So let's dive in G-ties. You saw that in the title of the podcast and you probably. Is it some sort of Star Trek stuff? No, it's actually a term from behavioral science. Gtis in behavioral science stands for just-in-time adaptive intervention. These interventions utilize mobile and sensing technologies to deliver personalized support precisely when and that is very important, guys precisely when an individual's internal state and external context basically how you feel, what's happening inside of you, like your energy state, your motivation and external context, like your ability, the resources and just being around, the things that you need to take action. So An individual's support precisely when an individual's internal state and external context indicate a need for assistance, adapting to real-time data to promote behavior change in areas like weight loss or addiction recovery, but, as you can see, it can be deployed to also help you study up for improving your behavioral science implementation in organizational context, or to learn more Italian, or to work on your communication skills, your presentation, your sales skills, whatever that might be that you keep delaying to a better time. Like there's going to be this magical time when you get all the time, all the resources. Like there's going to be this magical time when you get all the time, all the resources, all the things you need in the world, this perfect condition, when you finally get to take the action on all of these intentions that your some metaphorical bucket is filled with. Like really, will we ever get this time? Anyhow? Back to G-ties.
Speaker 1Key characteristics of GTIs Just in time support is delivered at the optimal moment, not on a fixed schedule, and in the example that I'm going to give you in a few minutes, you're going to understand what it all means and how you can apply it immediately into your life. So just in time the support is delivered at the optimal moment, not on the fixed schedule. Adaptive the content, timing or type of support is adjusted based on real-time data collected from the individual right, so it adapts to your circumstances. They're not fixed. They're flexible. So that's what adaptive means Mobile or digital tools, so detaiers usually leverage smartphones and sensors to gather data and deliver interventions. And again, you're going to learn how to use it on yourself as your own behavioral scientist applied behavioral scientist to help you create more fulfillment, meaning and untap your potential that might be sitting there dormant, never explored.
Personalized interventions are tailored to an individual's specific needs and evolving internal and external states. How do Ts work? Monitoring, mobile device and centers that collect the data, analysis, and then the system analyzes what you do when you do it, and then adaptation based on data analysis. And again, I'm going to explain to you how it all works. You don't really need all of these details, and I'm using, by the way, google's AI to give you this high level understanding of what GTIs are in science. So they're used for weight loss, for example, providing tailored guidance on diet or physical activity. Physical activity, encouraging activity breaks from sedentary behavior. If you have a feed bed or apple bracelet whatever you call it, a whoop, any wristband you have, they gather the data and, for example, they can nudge you for standing up when you've been sitting down for quite a while, or they might remind you to get started your pre-bed ritual, because usually around that specific time you start getting ready for bed, right? So mental health offering timely support for managing mental health systems.
Speaker 1Now back to reality and back to practical implementation in your life how to apply this new science-backed tool that is used in practice to your own life to help you again fulfill or take action on those intentions, on those meaningful things that you say you want to do? Right, for example, if you want to improve any skill but it's not like urgent, nobody at work or in your business requires you to urgently improve on that skill and you are not being kept socially accountable. Or even things like weight loss or your fitness level. It's not like somebody is monitoring you, asking you are you doing that and if not, there's going to be some punishment. And even though sometimes you might have social support, accountability, it does not always work. Very often you would need some sort of self-nudging discipline, figuring out how to make yourself do the thing that you truly want to do. So GTIs are all about that.
Speaker 1So on our previous podcast you can listen to that when you check out the podcast before this one we talked about how story is important, how the story needs to be connected to our value system, what's important to us? We talked about triggers, how even the best intentions or the best stories, even when we know something is important, all of this can die if we don't have something to remind us to take action on those things. And then the fourth one we talked about easiness, of that right Creating the environment which makes the desired action an easy action to take. Like, for example, if you want to eat better, do you have cut ready-to-eat fresh fruit, all the proteins and veggies, ready-to-eat All the healthy foods that you want to be eating? Simplify to a point that eating them is easier than not? So that's what we are talking about when we're talking about ease.
Speaker 1Now, detais are a specific kind of reminders that are smarter reminders, if you'd like. So, for example, every day around mid-morning I check my email and there are a bunch of emails, and in the mid-morning I'm mostly interested in my work email like what is there that I need to reply to work-wise, my clients, different partnerships, collaborations, maybe something urgent came up that I need to pay attention to, and so I screen my email for that specifically. But then obviously there are emails that come into my inbox, not on my ideal schedule when I look into things although I think companies should look into that Like when do people usually open up their emails or send those emails at that time? But you can do that for yourself. So what I do?
If there is an email or a few emails related to the things that I'm studying like, for example, business models at the moment, also things related to change management and behavioral science I have a few newsletters related to that, and if there are things that I know I'd like to study up, so they are related to my areas of studying right now, and I usually do studying at the end of my day, somewhere around 6, 7 pm, I start studying and that is where when I'd like to check those emails. So what I do is I snooze my email till 6 pm, so the same email will come in again at 6 pm I also start it. So it's different from all the other emails that I might be getting at the same time. And when I sit down to study, I now have a habit of checking my email for those specific emails that are related to my studies, but now I'm in a position to actually open, pay attention to and study what I need to study, read, absorb that information and perhaps do a studying session with ChatGPT as well to figure out how I can apply it to my work, to different projects that I'm working on, and that would be an example of my engineered personal JITI just-in-time adaptive intervention. Now, it is just-in-time because that is the time when I study. It is adaptive because that time when I study might change. So these days I study at this time. Maybe in some time, in a few weeks, months or years, I will study at other time and maybe this system will no longer work. So I'll need to create a different system which will make sure that the right kind of information get through at the specific time when I can act on that information. Now, that's just one example.
Speaker 1A few other examples. When I work with my clients and they say, for example, I want to work on my communication, or I want to work on my self-awareness, or I want to work on my planning skills, I never allow that to just go unnoticed, but instead I ask them okay, that's amazing, let's work on that. So how do you think you want to work on that? And then I propose some solutions. They propose some solutions. I'm like, okay, let's choose that specific action. Now, when are you going to do that? And they say, well, most likely, I'm going to do that on Tuesday afternoon. Okay, now, what will remind you to do that on a Tuesday afternoon so you actually get it done? And instead of setting some alarm or reminder that comes in at a random time, you're like, okay, you think that Tuesday afternoon next week is going to be a good time for you to do, let's say, some journaling as a self-reflection practice. They're like, yeah, I think that is the most likely time for me to do it.
Speaker 1Then I would ask when do you need this reminder to pop up on your phone, in your calendar, so you actually see it and you actually take action on it? And my clients will say, well, I just need to see it on my calendar, probably when I check my stuff early in the morning, and then there has to be a reminder at that time, exactly when I need to take action. So fabulous, now we have this reminder that will pop up exactly when and where the clients will see it. And then we go even further like, do you have everything you need to do that practice? What do you need? Do you need some sort of journal? Do you need a pen? Do you need a place? Okay, how, when it's going to happen. So we talk about that too, making sure that they have everything ready to go. And if they don't, and if something simple like oh, I need to remember to bring my journal, I'm like, okay, when can I remind you to bring your journal? So this thing actually happens. And also, ideally, we put that journal out on their desk, so it sits there till that session and every day they see additional reminder ah, this put that journal out on their desk, so it sits there till that session, and every day they see additional reminder ah, this is for my session on Tuesday that we talked with Angela about.
So just-in-time intervention. The whole idea is on a basic level, guys, it's not enough to just set a reminder every time on Monday or on the morning of Tuesday that you need to work out more this week. Now, that reminder, that trigger whether it's an alarm on your mobile phone, whether that's something on your calendar got to be supported by triggers and reminders that will remind you of the action when you can take that action. So, for example, if you want to exercise at 6 pm of I don't know Monday, wednesday, friday. Then make sure that everything you need is ready to go, like your bag with some gear, and that you have a reminder popping up exactly at the time when you can act on that or when it's most likely that something can get in the way of that exercise. So, setting up your reminders at that specific time when you can act on that, setting up additional reminders to do the preparation, so when you actually need to take action, you have everything ready to go right.
Speaker 1In this case, with my studies, it is very easy. I open my computer and I'm going to do my studying on my computer as well. So I'm going to check this email and I'm going to read it and then I can do the session with ChatTapio. So everything is ready to go. It's just very seamless. The session with ChatTPU. So everything is ready to go. It's just very seamless.
Speaker 1But again, that's because I also know my routines and probably somebody else, without knowing these routines, might advise oh, you just need a reminder in the morning to, I don't know, read that thing again. But in the morning is not when I take action. So even when I sit in the morning, by the time it's 6 pm at night. I will forget about that and that's why I snooze my email. So it pops up and that I don't forget about that. And it starts because I also, by that time, have a bunch of emails that I don't necessarily going to be replying to, but it's there and so the right email doesn't get lost. I also start, and so the right email doesn't get lost. I also start. That's how, just in time, adaptive interventions can work for you.
Speaker 1So what you want to take away from this episode, very short, very practical, very simple guys. It's not just enough to have some reminders, some triggers that my clients would say well, you know that thing, I put it on my calendar and I forget about that. It's just like sitting there, like some background. Well, that means that that specific system of reminders does not work for you. So you need maybe something in your physical environment, like again for a lot of clients with journaling, if they want to journal before bed, I'm like put it on your pillow, so with a pen. Put'm like put it on your pillow, so with a pen, put a journal with a pen on your pillow. So when you're about to go to bed, you're like, ah, I need to do my journaling, and the journal is right there and the pen is right there.
Speaker 1And also we make sure that they know what to write about, that they have very specific instruction. You're just going to sit down and write for one page exactly Whatever is on your mind. Doesn't have to be anything specific at all, just dump it all down what's on your mind, right? So the specificity also needs to be there. It's just in time, it's very specific, it's exactly when you can act on that, internally and externally.
Speaker 1And what I also want to mention here you want to make sure that the reminder and action is aligned with your internal state. What does it mean? Well, it means that for most of my clients, I advise, for example, to exercise in the morning, and the reason is in the morning they have more control over their time, how their day going to go, and also they have the most energy and motivation when we wake up, when we are fresh, when we are fuller with energy. Maybe like, not in your ideal state, but you are so much more likely to just get the thing done, especially if it's something that you designed to be easy, accessible, not like going to another I don't know, end of the city or just you know, with a lot of friction. So you want to make it super easy, and again in the morning. We choose the morning because you are more motivated, you are more energized, you have more time, more control. You just have for most of my clients that is true so much more likelihood to act on that, compared to if you decide to exercise at night.
A lot of things get in the way. Plus you're tired, plus the couch looks so much more appealing. You might be hungry, there might be a ton of urgent thing popping up that now you need to take care of. So many things can get in the way internally. You just might not be in the place of exercising. So it's not just you align your external circumstances, but you also make sure that you align how you feel inside. I always say that your brain is a different brain at 6 am in the morning, or 9 am in the morning, at 6 pm at night, and the reason is because you accumulate fatigue, you accumulate all this decision-making stuff. Your willpower gets used for all the different things throughout your day, so your state is not the same at different parts of the day and so if you fail to do something at a certain time. Try changing the time and see how much better it can work for you. So that's it for today.
Speaker 1Guys, before you jump off, don't forget to share this podcast episode with another person. And the reason is not that you, you know, promote this podcast or you're gonna help me out to help more people. The reason is not just that what they learn in science is when you share things like this podcast and you talk about it with other people, you teach it to other people. Guess what happens? You are now more, you feel more like an owner of this knowledge and you feel and that is again based in studies that well, now that you taught it to someone else, you kind of like blue bat if you don't do anything about it yourself. And also, when you explain to other people and you share where you heard it, and then you have something in common to talk about, you start understanding it a lot better. When you try to explain, you'll start to lean into the knowledge more to make sure that you understand it before you can explain it. So all of this additional benefit from sharing this podcast, from talking about it with your friends, spouses, kids, relatives something you have in common, so please do share.
Speaker 1But besides that, gti, just-in-time adaptive interventions, a smart kind of trigger or reminder that takes into account your internal state, your external circumstances, and is delivered to you in a way, shape and form that is effective. So you take actions on those things that you say that are important to you, but get lost in the midst of all this urgency and stuff you're bombarded with on a daily basis. So, g-ties, sit down today and ask yourself how can I create a system of the smart reminder? So I'm smart reminder, so I'm much more likely to take desired actions on things that I say matter in my life. That's it for today, guys. Something from behavioral science on a mission to help you change, grow and tap and develop more of your potential. Thank you for listening, thank you.