Tiny travel motivators
When I travel, I have a preflight checklist.
Not for the plane. For me.
Like a pilot, I know my brain can’t always be trusted to make the best calls under pressure (or jet lag). So I build systems to support my best self. And even though hundreds of lives don't depend on my tiny travel preflight checklist - the most important life, my own, gets a tiny bit better.
My preflight list is simple:
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Still water
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Protein bars
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Fruit and supplements
That’s it. Nothing fancy. But it works every time.
When I woke up this morning, landing at Dubai airport, with the second night in a row on the plane in me - there was a 0.5L still water bottle staring at me from the pocket of the seat in front of me.I didn't need to exercise my memory or willpower, try to make good decisions, or even think.
I just got what was in front of me.
No superpowers needed.
In the world where your brain is bombarded with an ever-increasing number of messages per minute, not including your own 40+ thoughts - staying focused on all the things your better, future self needs you to take care of is simply unrealistic.
For big or small stuff.
Whether it’s staying hydrated on a plane… or choosing where and with whom you’ll spend the next decade of your life.
The only way to stay effective is to design your own little motivators all around you. So that you don't end up overloading your cognitive capacity to think well with small stuff, and are able to make more choices your better, future self will thank you for.
When jet-lagged, or just going through another over-busy day.
Your own little motivators, defaults, and systems that make it easier to do the right thing, even when you’re tired, distracted, or bombarded with too many options.
As Nina Mazar and Dilip Soman put it in Behavioral Science in the Wild:
"...if there were Olympic medal for the most effective tool in behavioral economics, the clear winner would be decision defaults. Defaults define one option as the action to take unless the person selects a different course of action. In some settings, a major reason why defaults are effective is that many people don't make a decision and instead let the default occur."
And so the question of the day to put this into practice:
What one little motivator can you put in your path today to do the right thing, EVEN when it's the last thing on your mind?🤔
