How to Quit Bad Habits Right Now Using "Friction"

In tech, friction refers to the steps a customer needs to take to perform a certain action. Too many steps and your funnel starts to leak.

For you, on the other hand, the harder it is to perform a habit, the less you will want to do it. This is crucial.

• Grab a piece of paper and write down all the habits that you think are unhealthy and want to get rid of. Once you have finished, rank them in order. Now start with number #1. Forget the rest for now.
• Add layers of “friction” to your vices to make it harder for yourself to keep doing them. Keep adding layers of friction of time, money, or both.

• Remove all social media apps from your phone
• Change your passwords to something impossible to remember. Save them in a document/cloud
• Log out after each session.
• The radical option: Delete your accounts.

• Use a time tracker to figure where you spend most of your web browsing. Knowing the time-wasters is the first step
• Remove the Bookmarks bar. Next time you want to browse something, you’ll have to manually type it
• If you use the Pomodoro Productivity to work, use special tools to disable distracting websites while on a 25-minute sprint
• Radical option: blacklist websites that aren’t essential for work.

• Sell, donate or throw away your coffee maker at home. If you want coffee, you’ll need to go outside.
• Put tea next to the coffee.
• Don’t drink sodas, as most of them are caffeinated.
• If you must drink coffee, always drink decaf and no more than 1 per day.
• Don’t go to coffee shops.

• Never buy an item on the first impulse.
• Unsubscribe from all newsletters with “discounts” and “special offers”.
• Same for the physical life: don’t go to the mall to buy something you can get somewhere else.
• Don’t carry credit cards in your wallet. Leave them in a drawer at home instead. No 1-click purchase with PayPal and no using credit cards online.

• Don’t even buy snacks at the supermarket.
• Switch your meals to defaults by eating the same things over and over again.
• Trade unhealthy snacks with healthy ones.
• Don’t go to fast-food restaurants.