# Friction - A Secret Tool for Successful Habits

> Design your environment to make good habits easy and bad habits hard.

Source: https://curiouslychase.com/posts/friction-a-secret-tool-for-successful-habits/

**Friction** is the resistance between you and an action.

Low friction = easy to do. High friction = hard to do.

Your job is to reduce friction for good habits, increase it for bad ones.

# Reduce Friction for Good Habits

Make the right choice automatic:

- **Exercise more:** Sleep in gym clothes. Pack gym bag night before, keep in car.
- **Eat better:** Pre-chop vegetables when you get home from grocery store. Don't buy junk food.
- **Write daily:** Journal + pen on nightstand.
- **Stay hydrated:** Water bottle wherever you sit most.

# Increase Friction for Bad Habits

Make the wrong choice annoying:

- **Impulse buying:** Delete saved credit cards. Remove Apple Pay. Keep wallet in another room when browsing.
- **Endless scrolling:** Log out of apps. Delete them. Use [Apple Screentime](https://curiouslychase.com/posts/apple-screentime-settings/) with 10-min limit.
- **Distraction at work:** Website blockers during work hours.

# The Pattern

Every friction adjustment rewires your brain's default setting.

You're not fighting willpower. You're designing your environment so your ideal self is the path of least resistance.

# Try This

Pick one good habit to build, one bad habit to break.

List 3 ways to reduce friction for the good habit. List 3 ways to increase friction for the bad one.

Implement all 6 changes today.