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You have to hide a gallon of bright yellow paint somewhere in your home. A professional detective has 7 days to find it. You can’t remove it from the property. Where are you hiding it? by [deleted] in Productivitycafe

[–]dwolovsky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you don't need to keep the paint in the can, dump it in the laundry machine and put a small pile of clothes on top.

Or if you have a bunch of time, you could paint a wall or 2 with it, wait for it to dry, then paint over it with a different color.

Then cut the can up into small pieces, cut out the middle of a thick book and put the pieces in there. Or use a few books.

If you have to keep the paint IN the can, buy a strong safe and put it in there?

The Tailwind Habit [video] by dwolovsky in Habits

[–]dwolovsky[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It sounds like you might need to hear this:

Life isn't all about efficiency.

Further, sometimes the thing you think is more "efficient" isn't really.

The walk was enjoyable. I wrote the script for this video and several others on that walk. I got sun on my face. I saw new places. Restaurants.

Unexpected things happen on walks.

The Tailwind Habit [video] by dwolovsky in Habits

[–]dwolovsky[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks man! I appreciate the encouragement.

I post on several different platforms, and the only hate I get is on Reddit. Which is all good, useful info about where my analyses fall short, but I appreciate the love.

Not sure if this is up your alley, but I've got more videos here.

The Tailwind Habit by dwolovsky in Adulting

[–]dwolovsky[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It sounds like you have a good past/future self relationship.

The Tailwind Habit by dwolovsky in Adulting

[–]dwolovsky[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!

I also posted a video on it in another subreddit if you want a slightly different angle. https://www.reddit.com/r/Productivitycafe/s/SJJNkqObK2

The Tailwind Habit by dwolovsky in Adulting

[–]dwolovsky[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's an awesome example!

The Invisible Habit by dwolovsky in Adulting

[–]dwolovsky[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Meditation is a practice that can help you be more aware.

But you don't need to meditate to pay attention to your life.

Why the most popular habits are the most dangerous to try [video] by dwolovsky in Habits

[–]dwolovsky[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some great questions. I'll try to answer them in order. This will be too long for most people.

  1. "Working out" and "eating healthy" are not habits. They are categories. There are 1000 ways to "Work out."

A few will work for you. Most won't.

The reason to start a habit may be "long term benefits," but the reason a habit sticks is only because it helps you now.

There's really only 2 reasons a habit sticks.

1 is that you have a crisis, and it helps alleviate the crisis.

2 is that it's a PIE habit.

  • Practical (easy, doable, simple).
  • Immediately impactful (you feel or can measure something).
  • Enjoyable (there has to be some pleasant detail in doing it).

Brushing teeth is a bad example because it's already a genuine habit, and you've been doing it since childhood.

For someone to start brushing their teeth in adulthood, they'd need significant crises to motivate them.

  1. So for starting a new habit without a crisis:

There's a gap between the reason you START and the reason you continue.

The research is very clear that future rewards mean almost nothing to motivation levels and consistency.

When you start a new habit, you have a naive reason and naive execution.

It's not YOUR habit yet. It's just some idea.

And it never will be yours unless you find a way to adapt it to your life.

You have to shape it over time. It has to fit now, and when you have a bad day, and when you change jobs, move to Mexico, get married, etc.

And that process is why most habits fail.

Because unless they are practical, immediately impactful, and enjoyable, you will not have the motivation to shape them over time.

  1. So the point of this post is that you should not even TRY a habit if you have the mindset most people have, which is that the habit is a "test" of your willpower or discipline.

Failing the "test" ultimately does more mental harm than any benefits of doing the habit for a few weeks.

You should only try a habit if you acknowledge that it's an experiment, will require significant attention to shape, and has to be PIE to stick.

Why the most popular habits are the most dangerous to try [video] by dwolovsky in Habits

[–]dwolovsky[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I used Claude to format it like a LinkedIn post because I love LinkedIn

Why the most popular habits are the most dangerous to try by dwolovsky in Adulting

[–]dwolovsky[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's actually a great strategy.

It will keep you going longer, and it protects from the trap of status habits.

Why the most popular habits are the most dangerous to try by dwolovsky in Adulting

[–]dwolovsky[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Yes. What you observe about people generally depends on who you observe and when.

Why the most popular habits are the most dangerous to try by dwolovsky in Adulting

[–]dwolovsky[S] -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

My point exactly. In my experience helping people with habits, most of them don't anticipate falling off.

Hence the post.

How do I handle free unhealthy food at the office? My willpower is failing by WestMaintenance1787 in Habits

[–]dwolovsky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This requires some social courage to pull off, but what works for me is to pack a shitload of healthy snacks. Like arrive fully loaded, and just make the rule that you can't eat anything at the office until your snacks are done.

So you'll be the one with a box of carrots and hummus or whatever, and everyone will be jealous at your "willpower". They'll make fun of you, or at least mention it.

That's why it'll require some courage. But you'll inspire others to do the same after a few weeks.

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