Setting The Tone

I am a big fan of priming your environment to complete your tasks faster and do things more efficiently. It feels like I am recycling my content at this point, but this information has become relevant again in my life. Furthermore, I think writing again about the same topic is interesting since I will bring a new perspective.

First, let's discuss why or how your environment affects you. It's rather simple – we associate certain behaviours with certain environments. The bedroom is associated with relaxation and school (should be) associated with work. This is great, this means that our brain turns off when going to sleep and turns on when going to school. Or so it should be.

There are way too many factors that play a role in reality. That's just the general concept which is nice to know – we associate environments with certain tasks and workloads. That being said, we can still work on some tricks to help train our brains to think differently.

Next, I will talk about micro and macro environment changes. Let's dissect what I mean by that. Micro changes are small changes in our already pre-existing environment to prime it. Macro changes correspond to changing the whole environment by finding or creating a new one.

For example, a micro change I implemented in uni was a work desk. It was just a table in the corner of the room. Nothing special about it. Apart from the fact that I only worked behind that table. I made it a rule to not eat or watch entertainment at said table. It made it so that when I sat down my brain understood that now it is time to focus.

The point is to only do one kind of task in one "micro" space. Associating a certain table, chair or couch to work in our home is a great way to get into a flow state faster. The same goes for having a space for relaxing. This helps us actually rest and turn off when needed. Rest is just as important as work. This just helps create a clearer switch between those two states.

Onto macro changes. Sometimes those micro changes just do not do it. The bad habits are embedded into our daily routines. That is when macro changes come in. I know many people who are completely unable to work from home. The distractions are just too present. That is the point at which we need to change the whole environment.

Go to the library, a café or to school. It is about going to a place where we do not have habits engraved into us (or already have positive ones). I would argue that macro changes are a lot more powerful. I am using it right now for writing this piece in a café.

I will give another example of macro changes – at the same time I started this blog (about two and a half years ago), I moved from Belgium to France for university. In high school, I was on and off with nicotine but I was interested in quitting. I had made breaks but never fully committed to it. Then two weeks before moving to France I set my mind to it and went cold turkey.

I have been clean since. The people around me simply did not think of me as a smoker. So through my environment which shaped my identity as a non-smoker, I started associating myself with that same identity. It was a lot easier than I expected.

To conclude – the environment matters (pun intended). Play around with it, try finding micro and macro changes to implement into your life. Just keeping this concept is enough. No need to meticulously construct your life, go with the flow, and just steer the ship sometimes!

This Week's Suggestions:

🎬 Sisyphus and the Impossible Dream:

Casey Neistat is an incredible storyteller. I got goosebumps watching this video. It's a story about a dream. I can not suggest this video enough! It was truly inspirational and filled me with hope.

🎶 "Wasted Youth" by goddard. and Cat Burns:

This is a beautiful drum and bass song. Everything about it is good — from the vocals to the production. The drop really brings it home as well. Have a listen!

Cheerio!