Summary

The article suggests using a walk as a technique to interrupt unproductive behavior and shift towards more positive actions to salvage an unproductive day.

Abstract

The article argues that a simple but effective strategy to reverse the course of an unproductive day is to interrupt self-destructive habits by going for a walk. It emphasizes that once individuals engage in behaviors like lounging or binge-watching, it becomes increasingly hard to break out of inaction. The act of walking serves multiple purposes: it distances the individual from the source of temptation, prompts healthier choices, and leverages the 'snowball effect' to accumulate positive actions, ultimately reversing unproductive behaviors and boosting self-esteem.

Opinions

The article posits that action stimulates further action, just as inaction can propagate more inaction.
Resisting negative habits requires not just willpower but also environmental modifications, such as removing oneself from proximity to temptations.
The 'snowball effect' is highlighted as a key psychological concept: small changes, like starting with a walk, can lead to larger, transformative habits.
The article suggests that change is more feasible if one physically removes oneself from the environment promoting negative behavior.
Engaging in physical activities like walking can reenergize an individual and provide the clarity needed to make better choices, significantly improving their day's productivity.

The Simple Hack You Can Use to Turn Any Unproductive Day Around

The scientifically-proven way to stop self-sabotage in its tracks

You went to sleep last night promising yourself that tomorrow would be a productive day.

It is now 12:00 PM the next day and you’ve done nothing but lounge around on your couch, binge TV shows, eat junk food, and attempt to ignore the growing guilt you feel for betraying yourself. What now?

You are left with two options: you can succumb to the voice in your mind telling you to take the entire day off since you’ve already messed up, or you can flip the switch and make the most of the hours remaining in the day.

Most people want to choose the latter option. However, succeeding with the latter option requires overcoming the mental resistance to positive change created by engaging in self-destructive behavior.

I’m sure we have all experienced moments where we have had the opportunity to change for the better but have continued to engage in self-destructive habits, much to our own dismay.

The explanation for this conundrum is simple: action breeds action, and inaction breeds inaction.

Once you get rolling on the train of inaction, it becomes increasingly difficult to pull the brakes and start moving in the opposite direction.

Here’s how you can get in the conductor’s seat of your life again.

Go on a Walk

The moment you feel the temptation to continue self-destructive behavior, stop immediately, stand up, and go for a walk.

If you are facing self-destructive behavior regarding technology, turn whatever device you are using off, stand up, and go for a walk.

If you are facing self-destructive behavior regarding the urge to procrastinate, stand up and go for a walk.

If you are facing self-destructive behavior regarding food, get away from whatever food is tempting you immediately and go for a walk.

The most important thing about this trick is that you have to immediately separate yourself from whatever it is that you are tempted by. You may have some mental resistance to this trick at once, but the more you implement it, the easier and more effective it will become.

This trick has two benefits:

Firstly, it will get you away from the source of your urge to continue self-destructive behavior. It is easier to make rational decisions once you are physically separated from that source.

Imagine if you were trying to lose weight and came across a hot, freshly-baked donut. Would standing in front of the donut, looking at its shiny glaze, its delightful smell wafting to your nose, make it easier or harder to resist the temptation to eat it?

Research would indicate that standing in front of the donut would make it infinitely harder to resist its sugary goodness. An article published by renowned psychologist Angela Duckworth and Ivy League philosophers Tamar Szabó Gendler and James J. Gross concluded that sheer willpower is not enough to break negative habits in most cases.

Their suggestion? Change your environment.

Duckworth, Gendler, and Gross observed that people were able to replace bad habits with positive ones by simply changing their environment.

Whether that means hiding the donuts, walking away from the donuts, or throwing the donuts away altogether depends on the person, but the act of separating yourself from your temptations will undoubtedly make stopping self-sabotage that much easier.

Secondly, engaging in a healthy activity such as walking will screech the train of unproductive behavior to a halt, giving you the opportunity to make the train travel in the other direction.

The official term for this phenomenon is the “snowball effect”. The simple explanation of the snowball effect is that making small changes in your life, whether they are positive or negative, increases the likelihood that you will make more changes of that nature in your life, therefore allowing those many small changes to “snowball” into big change. Psychologists believe that the snowball effect has a big role in why successful people act positively in most facets of their lives, while unsuccessful people have poor habits in most facets of their lives.

(If you are further interested in learning about the snowball effect, you can read this UC Berkeley article on how you can use the snowball effect to transform your happiness.)

Regardless, walking stops self-sabotage by stopping negative behaviors from snowballing and offering you the opportunity to create a snowball effect of positive behaviors in your life.

Though walking may seem simple, the act of caring for yourself by doing something healthy for your body and mind will boost your self-esteem, recharge your motivation, and make it infinitely easier to turn your day around.

This trick is an absolute life-saver for anyone who wants to get control of their time and productivity, and the best part about it is that it becomes easier and more effective with each implementation.

As you go on through life and face the inevitable highs and lows of motivation and productivity, remember that you have this powerful trick in your toolbox.

This simple investment, a five-minute walk, is all it takes to prevent hours of self-sabotage and turn an unproductive day into your most productive day all week.

Never let the train of inaction gain momentum again.