I remember one of my good friends saying he only watches “trash” TV when exercising (Think reality TV or drama/soap-opera-type shows).
He claimed that watching these shows while working out was his reward for doing something good and that he would only pair this indulgence with a good habit, like exercising.
Only recently did I learn what he was doing… It’s called temptation bundling.
Temptation bundling refers to the pairing of an indulgence with a behavior that produces delayed rewards. In turn, this makes these delayed rewards much more gratifying and rewarding.
- So, how does this work exactly?
- What are the benefits?
- And where can you apply this in your own life?
What Are the Benefits of Temptation Bundling?
Dubbed a “simple way to boost your willpower” and a way to “stop procrastinating,” temptation bundling can help you foster healthier habits with greater ease.
In summary, it can help:
- Enhance productivity
- Improve mental and physical health
- Avoid procrastination
- Reduce short-sighted decisions
- Improve motivation
And it can be applied in so many different ways or scenarios.
Temptation bundling in the form of listening to enjoyable audiobooks while exercising even increased adherence in one study by 51%. Considering a large portion of the population is overweight, this is a big deal.
And if you’ve already got an exercise routine down-pat, don’t worry; temptation bundling is more than just exercise. It can apply to so many different habits.
So, let’s dig into how this works exactly. How does temptation bundling trick your mind into creating the habits you’ve been trying to create for years?
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How Does Temptation Bundling Work?
Temptation bundling uses a psychological principle called Premack’s Principle. According to good ol’ Wikipedia, this principle states,
“more probable behaviors will reinforce less probable behaviors.”
In other words, to perform an undesirable activity, we can perform a desirable activity alongside it to make the undesirable one seem not so bad. In turn, this helps reinforce the less desirable activity, creating a habit.
It can help you quit the whole cycle of “I should do that…” or “I need to do that…” where we end up feeling guilty and as though we’ve let ourselves down yet again. In other words, it allows you to focus on your wants rather than your shoulds, while still doing right by your health.
Related Article: Helpful Tips to Break Bad Habits
What Are Some Temptation Bundling Examples?
Some common examples of temptation bundling include:
- Only listening to your favorite audiobook or podcast when exercising.
- Only watching your favorite TV show when exercising.
- Getting a pedicure and answering overdue emails.
- Watching your favorite show while doing household chores.
- Only listening to your favorite artists while cooking healthy meals for the week.
- Only eating at your favorite restaurant when conducting an important meeting.
The examples are truly endless!
How to Start Temptation Bundling Right Now!
So, how can you begin temptation building. Here’s a quick breakdown.
- Create two columns in a note or on a piece of paper.
- One column is titled things you want to do or pleasures you enjoy (your “wants”).
- The other column includes a list of what behaviors or tasks you should or need to be doing but always end up procrastinating or not doing at all (your “shoulds”).
- Examine your lists and try to connect the dots.
- What activities on each list can be paired with another activity on the other list?
- What shoulds go with what wants?
James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, further suggests bringing habit stacking into the mix. This means attaching habits you want to perform to already existing habits. An example of this is performing five squats after each time your brush your teeth.
Often, the reason we don’t end up doing our “shoulds” is because they aren’t urgent. Yet, we know they’d benefit us.
Thus, by using tricks like temptation bundling and habit stacking, we can become more efficient at doing our “shoulds” and reaping the long-term benefits like those that exercise offers.
Get Started Now…
Then, you can implement your plan tomorrow.
If we make this list while we have a spare moment currently, we can begin to start to improve our lives and quit putting off those “shoulds.” Overall, this can lead to a healthier, happier, and more fulfilling life, one where we go after our goals and crush them.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published Aug 9, 2023 and has been updated to improve reader experience.
Photo by cottonbro studio