Overview

• • Ronan Byrne, an electricl a engineering student in Dublin, Ireland, enjoyed watching Netflix, but he also knew that he should exercise more often than he did. Putting his engineering skills to use, Byrne hacked his stationary bike and connected it to his laptop and television. then he wrote a computer program that would allow Netflix to run only if he was cycling at a certain speed. If he slowed down for too long, whatever show he was 3waching would pause until he started pedaling again. He was, in the words of one fan, "eliminating obseity one Netflix binge at a time."

  • He was also employing temptation bundling to make his exercise habit more attractive. Temptation bundling works by linking an action you want to do with an action you need ot do. In Byrne's case, he bundled watching Netflix (the thing he wanted to do) with riding his startionary bike (th ething he needed to do). 

  • Temptation bundling is one way to apply a psychology theory known as Premack's Principal. "More probable behaviors will reinforce less probable behaviors." In other words, even if you don't really want to process overdue work emails, you'll become conditioned to do it if it means you get to do something you really want to do along the way. 

  • The habit stacking + temptation bundling formula is:

  • 1. After I [CURRENT HABIT], I will [HABIT I NEED].

  • 2. After [HABIT I NEED], I will [HABIT I WANT].

• After I get my morning coffee, I will say one thing I'm grateful for that happened yesterday (need). 

• After I say one thing I'm grateful for, I will read the news (want)

• p. 108-110 atomic habits

Core Components

• • S

Habit Stacking