I’ve noticed that lately I’ve been really looking forward to my workouts.  Huh?  But it’s been true. I haven’t been doing my usual delay tactics of checking my phone one more time, fussing in the kitchen thinking about what we’ll have for dinner, or stuffing some things in the laundry.  Right after I close my work computer for the day, I throw on my work out clothes, hit the road, put my earbuds in and turn on my…   Oh, now I get it!  I turn on my audiobook and listen to the next chapter of my book, the one I’m really enjoying.

It turns out that I’m engaging in a clever ploy noted by behavioral economist Katherine Milkman at Wharton University of Pennsylvania.  She coined the term “temptation bundling” for this technique, wherein you use rewards (or the things you enjoy that bring instant gratification) to invoke the willingness to complete the things you don’t want to do, but offer longer term benefits.  By pairing these two activities, you, in essence, kill two birds with one stone, getting done what you should do in order to get to do something you want to do.  

This differs from other reward strategies in the timing of the reward.  Most often we think of rewards as something we get AFTER we do what we’re less motivated to do.  I can watch the Warriors game after I go to the gym, or I can call my friend after I do the dishes.  The problem is, if you’re like most people, you tend to jump straight to the reward, fooling yourself that you’ll do the less desired thing later.  But in reality, once the reward is done, so is the motivation.  

The genius of temptation bundling is that you can set things up to only get the reward if you do the less desired activity.  For example, I never have the time to listen to an hour of my book, unless, I’m hiking!  Sometimes I even hike a little further, just to hear another chapter.   In this way, I get the short term reward of finding out who killed Joy (you’ll have to read Apples Never Fall) and in doing so, I get the long term benefit of increased stamina and stress relief.  Some other examples of temptation bundling are writing a long avoided e-mail while getting a pedicure, doing the dishes while you listen to your favorite music, or spending time with a not so desirable relative while going to your favorite restaurant.

Temptation bundling offers a vast array of pairings, so be creative.  Make a list of things you love to do and then a list of things you should do.  See how you can mix and match them.  Check your work emails in the hottub, have a dance party while you change the cat litter, or listen to the training while you online shop for those cute shoes.  The combinations are endless.  Just be mindful of your safety!    Watching  Game of Thrones while you’re slicing the tomato may not be the best idea!