It’s 8.30pm: time for a cookie and some doom scrolling
I’m a pretty healthy person; I don’t eat gluten or dairy, I exercise every day, and I get regular doctor checkups. I can also get into some really unhealthy patterns. My favorite is eating sugary carbs in the evening. If I want to take it up a notch, I play games on my phone or doom scroll on social media while I eat those sugary carbs.
Sound familiar? It might be because it happens to a lot of us. Here’s why:
– In the evening, your brain’s battery for decision making (and will power) is often low or empty.
– Your brain is designed to keep you alive, not to help you thrive. Your brain is also lazy; instead of considering many options, it looks for what is easy and familiar. Your brain’s “logic” looks like this: “What did I do the last time I felt like this? I ate a cookie! I looked at dog videos on Instagram! Then let’s do that.” Easy? Yes. Thriving? No.
So how did I break out of this pattern most recently? I hand-wrote myself a little “contract” that I had to re-agree to daily. It said:
My commitment to me and my health for today:
1) Watch the sugar, even fruit. Only two small chocolate treats a day.
2) No phone after 8.30pm (FB, IG, shopping or games). No more than 30 minutes of an audiobook.
3) No games except crosswords (and Wordle).
Although I will probably need to recommit to the contract periodically, here are two reasons this worked for me. First, it was in writing, which makes the brain believe it is true; I also kept it where I would see it. Second, the contract is actually a series of “if/then” plans, which lazy brains love – no decision-making needed! For example, IF it is a chocolate treat, THEN it must be small and not a third treat of the day. And IF it is after 8.30pm, THEN all that is allowed on the phone is a max of 30 minutes of whatever audiobook I’m listening to. And IF it’s a game on the phone, THEN it can only be crosswords.
There are a lot of other things I could have done to interfere with my unhealthy habits. For example, I could make sure I don’t have sugary carbs in the house, and/or I could off-load the social media apps or block them during certain hours. In this case, I wanted to try to co-exist with these temptations – not banish them entirely, but bring them back into healthier alignment.
What is an unhealthy pattern you are trying to address in your life? Could a written contract (i.e., small if/then plans) help you? Please share your successes – or struggles – on this post at https://www.facebook.com/jenfrankcoaching.
Good luck with your own if/then plans!