How to Build Habits147organizing our environment to make it easier to make a
particular choice. It’s what grocery stores do to sell more of
certain items. They place those items at eye level or at the
front of the store. We can use this same method to help us
build better habits.
Anne Thorndike performed a study at the Massachusetts
General Hospital cafeteria that showed how awareness and
placement of healthy options at the hospital cafeteria impacted
the choices people made.
Thorndike and her team performed this study in two
phases. In phase one of studying choice architecture, they used
a labeling system to make customers aware of the health value
of the items they purchased. Red meant unhealthy, yellow
meant less healthy, and green meant healthy. And in phase
two of studying choice architecture, they moved the healthy
items to the most visible, convenient locations in the cafeteria.
After three months, sales of unhealthy beverages dropped
by more than 29 percent, and sales of water increased by more
than 25 percent.^4 No one had to use willpower. No one was
told to make healthier choices. Thorndike and her team simply
labeled and rearranged, and they saw a significant change in
customers’ habits.
How can you apply choice architecture to your mornings?
It might be as simple as putting all your morning supplies,
such as your journal, Bible, and pen, into a basket so you can
wake up and get started. Maybe it involves gathering all the
Bibles you have and placing them in key spots around your
home. Maybe it’s buying a fitness tracker so you’re aware of
how much you’re moving throughout the day.
Whatever habit you want to focus on, a key step to building