three tiny changes on my environment and healthby Maria Molfino Twitter: @mjmolfi10/13/2012

changes in my dorm

• I spend 60 % - 70 % of my time in my dorm

• my dorm is where most of my daily “anchors” (i.e., habits) happen - beginning of the day/end of the day

• it’s a confined space, where every space is used and visible - besides the bathroom there are no closed rooms

change #1: pics of best veggies and their benefits on my fridge + veggies laid out inside

change #2: cylinder foam roll for stretching out of the closet + visible on my dining stoolBefore After

closet

change #3: new alarm app that sets guided meditation as wake up ring

new alarm

old alarm

promoted to first page

demoted to last page

changes across important health areas

• Change #1 - nutrition: vegetable intake

• Change #2 - physical health: deep muscle/tissue stretching

• Change #3 - stress-reduction: meditation

dorm layout with changes

Bed

KitchenBathroom

Entrance

ClosetChange #2

Change #1

Change #3

expected results• tying environmental change to a daily

“anchors” made it easier: opening fridge (#1), sitting to eat a meal (#2), waking up to alarm (#3)

• changing behavior on high motivation is easier (veggies) than on less high motivation (stretching/exercise)

• moving in the direction of behavior is easier- for ex: in opening fridge to decide what to eat, the pic of veggies is in the direction/flow of the behavior sequence

unexpected results• greatest challenge was honing in on solid and

impactful changes to make

• belief and motivation are VERY tied together: I’m highly motivated to eat veggies because I believe they’re really good for me - less convinced about my foam cylinder

• the veggies change worked best; I think because I was primed to see pics of veggies *before I opened my fridge, which influenced my decision to integrate more veggies into my meal + high motivation

impact of changes• I ate more variety of veggies in my meals -

tried to integrate as many that I had as possible in any given meal

• I used my foam cylinder more than when it was in my closet, I would say went from 0% use to 20% use (several glances or pick ups did not convert to usage)

• I did a guided morning meditation every morning but never sat up, I was in a relaxing state between sleeping and waking (not conventional “mindfulness” meditation ) - it was a semi-nice way to wake up

conclusions and tips• pick things that you really believe make a

difference to your health

• don’t be afraid to pivot early - in a day or two you should be able to tell whether the change is really making any valuable impact

• think across domains of health that matter to you

• run what’s not working with your changes by colleagues/friends for suggestions