5 steps to build systems that prevent self-sabotaging, "bad" habits

Ever wonder why it's so easy to fall into habits you know aren't good for you?   The answer lies in the Law of Least Effort, a fundamental principle governing not just human behavior but systems throughout nature.  

The Law of Least Effort explains why we naturally choose "the bad thing", even when it doesn't serve our long-term goals.  

This isn't a character flaw; it's hardwired into our biology.  

The challenge?  

We've created a world perfectly designed to exploit our lazy brain.  

Food companies formulate products that override our satiety signals. Social media platforms engineer features that maximize scrolling time. Streaming services automatically play the next episode. In essence, we've built systems that keep our brain's addicted to the wrong thing.  

I'll walk you through my 5-question framework for creating systems that work for you rather than against you. You'll learn practical strategies like commitment devices, accountability structures, and habit tracking that can help you overcome these challenges.  

Whether you're struggling with phone addiction, mindless eating, or self-distracting productivity sabotage, these principles can help you design a life where doing the right thing becomes the path you take.  

Transcript

Introduction to the Law of Least Effort

Speaker 1 0:00

Hey guys, and welcome back to another episode of Change Wired podcast, the podcast for humans who want to grow, lead and create meaningful change in themselves and in the world. I'm your host, angela Shurina. Change leadership, culture transformation consultant, strategist, executive coach, 360. And today we are diving into something that quietly shapes every decision you make, every habit you fall into and every system that either helps or sabotages you. Today we are diving in the law of least effort and how you can actually use it for your benefit, not the benefit of Meta and Facebook and Netflix and Instagram or food companies. The law of least effort, this quiet law that governs our world, your life and pretty much everything you get in life. Pretty much everything you get in life. Guys, before we jump in into the practical stuff, and the practical guide and a practical plan that you're going to receive at the end of this podcast is going to be a set of questions, five questions that will help you to create systems, that will help you create habits that the future you is proud of, versus always thinking, oh, I did this again. Oh, I scrolled my phone many times again and I wasted my time, or I ate the wrong thing, or I checked my email and I had many chats that really didn't add up to my deep work, or I said the wrong thing to the wrong person and created this drama again, like all this stuff that we know just isn't working. Or again, binge watching Netflix or cat videos or whatever is your thing that you know isn't working for you, but you keep doing it for whichever mysterious reason. So today you're going to have a framework, and please do save this podcast episode for the next time you need it. So today you're going to get a framework of how to work around that. So, again, you make your world, your life, work for you, not for some other company's interest.

Speaker 1 2:26

Before we begin, guys, let me tell you a story. I was having a conversation with my sister, and let me actually find the beginning of this conversation. The conversation was about why we people have this problem of overeating ourselves to sickness and death. My sister asked me shouldn't there be a mechanism against that? Why did nature not create something that will protect us from that? We seem to put on weight and get ourselves sick because of that. We seem to be able to eat indefinitely and just nothing's stopping our brain or inside of us to protect ourselves from ourselves. Why is it? What is this flaw of nature? To which I said because I thought about it a lot, because of nature of my work that nature just didn't see the modern supermarket coming. If you think about that, I personally, in 17 years of my coaching career, never saw a person who overate themselves to sickness and disease with apples, chicken and you know, all the natural stuff that's out there, cooked in a minimalistic way.

Speaker 1 3:54

What got us in trouble is our own invention of only processed foods, foods that are manufactured, manufactured guys, designed with science and research to make us want to eat more and more and more. So why are we surprised that we end up doing just that? We designed for it? Well, food industry, at least. Again, nobody ever ate themselves to death in apples and bananas.

Speaker 1 4:24

And this guys doesn't just go to food, it goes to systems that makes us scroll stuff where our best interest actually is focused on deep work. It's movies and platforms like Netflix, manufactured to, again, keep you not scrolling, but just keep you watching, from the titles to customization, personalization of different movies that it offers to you to just start a new episode right after you finish this one, so you don't have to choose, but instead just keep watching what you kind of like already, all of these systems of Amazon One Click buying. It wasn't designed to make you more mindful about your purchase choices. The whole system is designed to make buying easy and frictionless, and your brain kind of likes buying, doesn't it? And now it's easier than ever. And so, again, we manufactured this system, humans. So are we surprised that are falling into the trap that we created, based on our best knowledge of how human brain works and understanding of our psychology? Like, why are we still surprised that we fall in our own traps, built by our best scientists? Of course, because we designed it. This is just to make you think that it's not magic.

Speaker 1 6:00

Nature has nothing to do with it. In a man-made world, nature will not save you. What nature can do. If you live in a natural world, it will help you to thrive in it, but not in a world where so many things are manufactured. You know we created all these conveniences, from taking the elevator instead of taking more walks, taking Ubers, all this public transport which is convenient and allows us to do so many things but also plays against a lot of things that we actually need, like walking or eating healthy. And so, guys, what's the reason for all of this actually working and happening?

Speaker 1 6:46

And I want to introduce to you here the law of least effort. What is the law of least effort? The law of least effort, also known as the principle of least effort, least resistance, suggests that organisms living and actually not only living, but all of the systems in the world systems will naturally choose the path of least resistance or the option requiring the least amount of energy to achieve a goal. And most of the time, guys, immediate goal, not the goal in 10 years, but the goal, the reward. So it's immediate, it's now. So most of the systems, living and non-living, are optimized to save energy.

Nature Didn't See Modern Temptations Coming

Speaker 1 7:29

That's why, you see, you know, people design these parks and pathways and then you see all these pathways all around just to cut corners, like that's what systems naturally do, and not because we are some bad people or something is wrong with us, because we do what nature designed every system to do. Not just nature, actually, also, again, artificial systems, information systems do the same. We are wired to create pathways with least amount of energy needed. So this principle is observed in various fields, from evolutionary biology and information science to everyday decision-making. Essentially, what it means is people tend to find the easiest way to accomplish tasks, even if it means taking a less optimal route or using less efficient methods. What it also means, in translation guys, is that we are wired to go for easy, even when it's harmful and self-sabotaging towards our long-term goals. So that's how, again, you end up having behaviors that you don't really enjoy, but they keep happening, from eating the wrong thing to scrolling too many things that you don't even necessarily like at least some part of you to binge watching Netflix and not having enough sleep because of that and not showing up as your best for your day. I'm going to hydrate a bit.

Speaker 1 9:09

So what can we do now? Well, what we can do is start making peace with this fact that most of the systems in our world are designed to capitalize on this law of nature and human brain to go for the easy thing, and so we need to create systems that make us do the right thing, not always the easy thing. Well, the easy thing is always there, so you don't really have to think much about that. But what systems do you need to put in place to make you do the right thing, not just the easy thing? Systems that make it easy for you to eat well, move, sleep and think well. Systems that make it obvious to do the work that matters, versus checking more email or messages the feeling like that is the productive thing. Systems that put friction around destruction and keep you focused again on things that matter. So that's what we are here to learn how to do, to learn to practice put into place so, again, you start doing more of the things or habits that the future you is proud of, versus all the things that companies and systems in the world want to benefit from.

Speaker 1 10:29

So the framework five questions that you need to ask yourself whenever you find yourself in a situation where you keep repeating the thing that you don't like doing. My personal example, still working on that one checking WhatsApp messages all too often. So let me walk you through my framework, based on 17 years of my coaching experience, on so many certifications and best practices and books and podcasts that I absorbed from the best researchers and practitioners in the field who help us to live more meaningful, fulfilling and yes, productive lives. So five questions. Question number one what is the habit that you want to change? In my case, I don't want to be checking WhatsApp messages all too often Because and that's the second question, right?

Speaker 1 11:26

So first, like, what is the habit that you want to change that is not working for you? Like, objectively, you keep doing it, but looking backwards, reflecting on that, you're like, ah, this damn thing isn't working. Looking backwards, reflecting on that, you're like, oh, this damn thing isn't working. I can keep eating the wrong thing, keep working on the wrong stuff and not doing the work that matters. Maybe that writing a book, or creating your business, or upgrading, updating your career path, your relationship, like whatever that is. So what is it that I end up doing that is hurting me long-term? First, you need to identify that goal very, very clearly and do not try to work on all of the things, because I understand there is usually a list for all of us the things that we end up doing, but aren't actually the things that we want to be doing, right? So, number one, what is it that you want to change right now? Alternatively, you can create a list and then choose the one that's hurting you the most at the moment.

Speaker 1 12:23

More water to keep my voice running. So what is it for me? Again, checking WhatsApp messages all too often. Now the second question you want to ask why is it happening? What's making it easy? For me, what's making it easy is when my phone is right by my side, so easy to reach. And not only that, I see it and your brain is such a machine that if you see it, you think about that. There is a saying out of sight, out of mind, and it actually works, and there for a reason. So the first thing for diagnosing it, after you understand what exactly is not working the behavior. The second thing why does it keep happening? Again, the law of least effort. What is making it easy? Understand the whole infrastructure environment around that For me, again, when it's right there, visible, available, and triggers my brain to think around that. For me, again, when it's right there, visible, available, and triggers my brain to think about that. Here also, I would suggest to think about well, actually it probably goes more towards the first question, like what is the behavior I want to change and why is it I want to change? The reason, why is very important for human brain to understand, to have motivation to actually work on changing it? So for me, why is?

Speaker 1 13:45

Well, I spend this time checking my messages and I would often lose my track of thought, my ideas, and I would literally want to create a piece of content, or there would be an idea to work on some work project or a client file, or for my future presentation or my book, et cetera. And then it gets uncomfortable because, well, now I need to capture it and it's additional work for me and I'm not sure how to approach it. And, instead of actually solving this problem and working on this important thing, I get uncomfortable and I want to check my messages. Well, you know, checking my messages, the explanation in my brain there might be something work related, your clients related, or you need to take care of errand or somebody else. You know your family, friends need you, and so let's check it and then get back to work. But what happens is I lose my train of thought, I lose the idea and something else will take my attention and feel urgent to actually do it. So I'm losing my genius work to that WhatsApp messaging which, in all honesty, could wait a couple of hours to be addressed. So that is why, for me, it's important I'm wasting my time also on these messages that, again, can be checked once a day, or not once a day, but once in, let's say, three, four hours.

Speaker 1 15:10

So all of this, why I'm losing my time, I'm losing my ideas, I'm not doing meaningful work. That is the pain that I'm experiencing long-term from all these messages. Plus, also, there is this if I check my messages and social media all too often, at the end of the day it's like my day is fractured, I haven't accomplished as much as I wanted and it feels like I'm jumping from one thing to another and I actually feel my brain is so much more fatigued because of that. And there is this switching cost, or basically your brain spending more energy than it needs to when you switch tasks. So that is also neurobiologically proven that when you switch tasks and you break down your deep work with these moments of checking messages, emails, social media, you actually are making your brain more fatigued and you have less energy for the work that matters. So that's also a part of my why.

Understanding Why We Choose "Bad" Options

Speaker 1 16:08

So in the first question what's happening? What am I willing to address and work on and why is it hurting me? Very important. And then the second question what is making it easy? Why is it easy? Why do I keep doing it? The law of least effort, right, you got to understand all of the features of your situation. Then the third one is what's the ideal state For me, given this circumstance that I do have some work stuff on my WhatsApp and I do need to collaborate with other people via it.

Speaker 1 16:45

So for me ideal state is actually checking it four times per day 9 am, 12, 3, and 6 pm. That would be my ideal. So I don't check it before bed, so I don't check it first thing in the morning, but I do check it in those meaningful moments in my day. So for me that's the ideal state. And before you work on anything, creating that ideal state, again, clarity what success looks like. That is very important because then you can measure against it. Are you getting closer? Important because then you can measure against it. Are you getting closer? Nowhere Is it getting better? Like what do I need to actually hit that goal, that ideal state? So in the question number one, we created clarity around what it is you don't like and why it's hurting you. And in this question number three, what's the ideal future state for me is checking my phone at 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm and 6 pm. Number four how can I create a system that makes what I want to do easy and what I don't want to do more difficult For me. I can better explain through example. It means making it more difficult.

Speaker 1 18:02

Putting my phone away in some cupboard, somewhere where I don't see it and would even forget where it is. So I don't see it and I'm not prompted again. Out of sight, out of mind, really works. Some people use what is called commitment devices. Those are things like meeting safe, like literally a small box with a lock on it where people put their devices or their snacks for a period of time. The lock usually has a timer, and so for the next, let's say, the lock usually has a timer, and so for the next, let's say, four hours, I'm not able to access my phone at all because it's in this timed small safe and you can find it on Amazon or whatever online store you can access. They are quite popular. So, accessibility, I remove it. That's the thing I can do.

Speaker 1 18:56

For me, what works is simply putting it in a hidden place where I just don't see it and making a commitment, a clear commitment, that I rehearse with myself whenever I have an urge to pick up my phone. Like, ah, I can't find my phone because I put it away with a specific reason, to not check it, unless until that specific time. So putting it away. For me, that creates enough friction. Maybe if I had a safe, I would also use it, but it works when I just hide it away. I just need to remind myself to do it more often. Which brings me to one of the ideas in this step is create metrics. I have an app which helps me to track my habits, so I can add a habit checking my phones at specific times and not at any other times. So I created this habit and I put a check mark on in every day when I'm able to accomplish that, and I can also add a journal entry oh, I did that, that worked, or I did that and that didn't work.

Five Questions Framework to Do the Right Thing Instead

Speaker 1 20:02

So in this step step number four you're creating the how you're going to do that. The main idea here is make what you want to do easy, simple, a no-brainer, something you don't have to think much about, and make what you don't want to do as difficult as possible from buying a safe if you know you really need extra protection, extra device to keep you from doing the thing that you don't want to do, or, again, simply putting it away. Or creating accountability with other people giving your phone to a spouse or, I don't know, your kid, whoever it is in your vicinity, maybe at your workplace, just suggesting creating a box where everyone puts their phone to manage them better. And that creates also pressure because people see if you just you know manage them better. And that creates also pressure because people see if you just you know come to that box all the time, like, didn't you mean to stay focused on work instead of going to that box and checking your phone I don't know how many times a day, right? So the how make what you want to do easy, make what you don't want to do hard.

Speaker 1 21:13

And number five, number five, create a reward. And by reward, guys, I don't mean necessarily some financial reward or you buy yourself something. Reward for us, for humans, is often just a feeling. Acknowledge your successes. You do one day without checking your phone outside of appropriate times, and you acknowledge. You're like ah, you know I did that and I did accomplish more meaningful work, and you know my day did feel better and I did feel more focused. And now I'm proud of myself for doing this thing that I said I would do so, acknowledging that at the end of each day, for when you're working on this specific habit is really important.

Speaker 1 22:04

Bj Falk, neuroscientist from Stanford, who worked and is working a lot on research in habit formation. He says that giving yourself a positive emotion for accomplishing a new habit, new routine, new action, ideally right after the action, you know it has to be immediate. It's like your habit formation on steroids. Your brain releases dopamine and whatever your brain releases dopamine around gets sort of tattooed in your brain. In even simpler terms, you basically do it better, do it more often. So don't sort of brush it off as unnecessary thing. No, making yourself feel good about doing the right thing actually will help you to do more of the right thing, and that's about it.

Creating Systems That Make Good Habits Stick

Speaker 1 22:55

Let's again go through the whole set of five questions. But before we do that, guys, don't forget to share this podcast episode with at least one other person a buddy of yours, a family member, a spouse, your children. Learn together, practice together, keep each other accountable. So share this podcast episode with your co-workers, with your team, if you find it useful and you would love other people to know about that and practice it collectively, socially, which is another super powerful human motivation that will help you to learn better, do better and accomplish a lot more things. So share this podcast episode rate review, help me to reach more ears open to learn and grow and make the world and themselves better. So that is it, and let's jump into summing up the episode. So five questions to help you design systems to work for you for the future, you that you're proud of, versus bumping up some profits of companies like Netflix, instagram, youtube which are not bad companies, but you know, sometimes that stuff just isn't in our best interest.

Speaker 1 24:15

So, number one what is the habit exactly that you want to change? What is not working for you and why? And why, guys? Why is it not working? What are you losing because of that? Losing is a very important motivator for human beings, so spell it out for you. What are you losing and missing out on in your life, in your future life, because you're doing this habit? Number two why is it happening? What is making it easy in your environment? Why is it easy for you to just fall into doing this thing to the point that you don't want to do it, but you still do it?

Speaker 1 24:53

Number three your ideal future state. What is a better future like? What does it look like when you do the right thing, not the thing that you want to stop. Be very, very specific. It's very, very important. Number four how? How are you going to make the thing that you don't want to do difficult and the thing you want to do easy? What are the commitment devices? Accountability, additional friction and, again, making the right thing easy.

Speaker 1 25:24

And number five don't forget to celebrate, to make it rewarding. It works best when, after doing the desired behavior, then you acknowledge the brain works this way, that if you do desired behavior, then you acknowledge the brain works this way that if you do the behavior but reward yourself, far away from the action, the brain doesn't make the connection, so it doesn't work that well at all. So when you, let's say, when I check my WhatsApp messages at that point, at that specific time, that it is designed for it, that's where I actually need to celebrate, and then also, at the end of the day, just acknowledge you did the right thing. You're a cool, awesome human being who is working on themselves. That really matters for you doing even better next time with that habit, until it becomes your second nature and you start working on something else.

Speaker 1 26:14

That's it for today, guys. I hope it helps. Again, don't forget to share, rate, review and keep working on building systems that make you the you that you're proud of, and don't rely on nature, because nature did not predict supermarkets, netflix and all the conveniences that we humans created. Nature will not protect you, so you need to design systems to help you do what you believe is in your best interest, the right thing. Thank you for your attention, for listening. Until next time, keep growing.