Cool Behavioural Tricks To Get Your Butt in Motion

Written By Caroline Bujold

Mostly Organized Dispatch

Hello and Happy October 🎃 (how are we in October already 🤯?!?)

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of behavioural and neuroscience posts on my social media feeds, and I love it.

We think we're so smart, but our big brains trick us all the time. We have biases, everyday stressors, and anxieties from past experiences that help keep us alive, sure, but they don’t always work in our favour when we’re trying to bring change into our lives.

It’s wild that simple behaviour changes can get us to our goals faster than any amount of willpower ever can, and our brains can be rewired with simple tricks.

Anyway, it’s been refreshing to see that kind of positive content, and I wanted to share some of my favourites below 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻.

Let me know if you have other go-to science-based tricks to help you find motivation.

Caroline

Mostly Organized is committed to creating functional and clutter-free spaces that support your lifestyle. Continue reading for more tips.

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Tips From A Pro Organizer

🔆 TIP | Decluttering Tip From A Professional Organizer: Give Yourself a This-or-That Option

For example, give yourself the option to declutter your junk drawer while listening to a podcast or while watching your favourite comfort TV show.

The question isn't whether you’ll declutter your junk drawer, but how you will do it. 

This works because it gives you a sense of autonomy and freedom without sabotaging your resolve. 

📌 HABIT | Small Habit To Help You Get Organized: Make It a Game

Gamifying your tasks can, in the short term, boost your interest and motivation to declutter.

There are so many versions of this iteration, so pick one that you like and is most likely to excite you:

  • Write mini decluttering tasks on pieces of paper and draw one per day for October;

  • Pick one task you're dreading and put a timer on (or one song you like) - Try to beat the timer;

  • Pick a specific colour. Walk through your space and find 5 items of that colour that you no longer use or need, then declutter them.

This works because the game triggers the brain's reward system and drives motivation; it also gives you a little dopamine hit and creates anticipation.

🧩 MINDSET | Clear Your Mind And Get a New Perspective: Reduce the Number of Choices

We think having a lot of options is fun and will bring variety to our lives, but often it’s paralyzing. A 2000 case study showed that too many choices may be attractive at first, but they rarely lead to action.

Essentially, “we get rather overwhelmed and confused when we get more and more choices“. 

So, reducing the number of choices works because it prevents decision fatigue and analysis paralysis that can stall your efforts.

Reducing the number of choices looks like:

  • Preparing your outfit, breakfast & coffee, and bag the night before;

  • All your travel essentials stored in your suitcase (so you don’t have to look for them all over the house);

  • Deciding once that you will run errands on your way home (mail, prescription, returns, etc.) every Tuesday.

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Caroline Bujold
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