Photo by Priscilla Du Preez
“Willpower is overrated. If you want to eat healthier, don’t work hard to avoid stopping at the cookie jar when you walk into the kitchen. Get rid of the cookie jar.” Seth Godin
Let’s apply this thinking –
If staff are distracted in meetings,
Start with screens closed.
If you don’t want mountains of clothing in the ‘lost and found’ cupboard,
Remove the cupboard.
If your grounds are covered in food wrappers,
Ensure wrappers are removed before heading into the playground.
If a group of kids keep playing after the bell,
Introduce a schoolwide ‘rule’ that any points scored after the bell don’t count.
If the area around the Otto bins is covered in rubbish,
Move the bins to a more public space.
The secret is to change the fundamentals so you don’t enter a loop of nagging people to show more will power or self-control.
Change the rules – change the game.
Dave
PS The examples above are real. I dare you to act on example 2 regarding ‘lost’ property. The trick is to completely remove any central ‘dumping’ area and insist that found items are returned to the area in the school where people of that size work. It’s magic in action.
PSS A fortnight ago I asked people to share whether or not they were meeting the WHO guidelines for basic weekly exercise. The results are below (61 people responded). Where do you fit?
