Are you really in charge when it comes to changing your habits?
While self-help books promise transformation, true change often stems from a shift in environment. Explore how small differences can influence your daily routines.
Let's jump on the environment bandwagon because it knows where you and I are headed.
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By the early 1990s, reading among children had plummeted.
The National Endowment for the Arts was more than a little concerned, as adult reading rates had dropped ten percentage points in a single decade. However, the slump was a lot worse for teens and early adults.
Then, along came Harry Potter.
Suddenly six out of ten children changed their minds about reading. My nieces, for example, worked their way through 4224 pages of Harry Potter, and then went on to the Percy Jackson series. While Harry Potter sold hundreds of millions of books, the Percy Jackson series sold a staggering 35 million copies.
Then, just as suddenly, the reading dried up.
Why? Did the kids suddenly hate reading again? No, that's not the case at all. Kids expressly stated that the reason they were reading much more was that they started with Harry Potter. 65% also said they did better at school since reading the books. So why did the reading decline all of a sudden?
The answer is in school buses.
Think of how you and I went to school as kids. We didn't clamber into a giant gas-guzzling SUV. Instead, at a particular time, we'd wave goodbye to our parents and walk down to the bus stop.
In 2022, over half of students took a private car to school. In countries where cars are not the primary mode of transport, people often clamber onto motorcycles. Yes, there are many reasons why people can't take the bus. These include budget cuts, driver shortages, and other factors, but the biggest reason is remarkably linked to Harry Potter.
Kids stopped reading as much because their friends stopped doing so.
If you're the only one in school with a load of books, you're considered weird. As humans, we all look for external cues. If “all the parents” are taking their kids to school by car, maybe we should too. In a world where parents are overworked, they spend two hours a day getting kids to and from school.
The environment decides what we need to do; otherwise, we are quickly excommunicated. You can't convince a 12-year-old that a mobile phone isn't crucial, and you sure can't convince parents that the school bus makes sense. They take their cues from the outside world.
We think we make our own decisions, and we do, but it's a lot less than we think.
Take almost anyone who drives in a country like India, and you will find they honk the horn a lot, while driving. Even on empty roads, the horn is used endlessly. Put them on a plane and let's say that person lands in Bangkok and then rents a car.
The first time they honk, they get stares from other motorists. The second time, it's a similar set of stares. Within a matter of streets, their behaviour radically changes. Put them back on the plane, and the honking takes hold again.
Your environment plays a much bigger role than you give it credit for.
We tend to find our comfort in books on “how to change our habits”, yet we make only temporary fixes. The people who change their behaviour almost overnight tend to be in a different environment.
Just deciding that you'll go to bed early isn't going to help if you live in a country that sleeps late. While Kiwis, Australians, and even Japan will have finished their meals by 6 pm, Italians, Greeks, Spaniards, Indians, and much of Asia will still be snacking.
If everyone around you is still up, you're pretty much like the only kid in school without a smartphone. You're considered the weird one. Often, you don't even have to go outdoors because an internal environment can prevent you from going ahead with your plan.
Maybe you've decided you need to sleep early.
However, if your partner sleeps late, there's little point in you going to bed early because you're likely to be disturbed. An internal environment can dominate your behaviour just as easily.
Your environment isn’t just the city or culture you live in. It’s your desk, your phone screen, your playlist, the people in your chat window. Each of them is quietly shaping your behaviour.
We believe grit, discipline, and willpower are what drive change. But even the most determined person struggles when the environment is working against them.
However, you can also make it work in your favour.
Just as kids stopped reading when the cues disappeared, we can deliberately design cues back into our lives. Leave the book on the pillow. Keep the phone in another room. Sit next to people doing the thing you want to do.
Environment plays an outsized role, but only if there’s some design behind it.
When I joined a French course last December, the environment looked perfect: real people, real energy, a proper classroom. But it was chaos in disguise. There was no sequence, no accountability, no design.
Yet, when you encounter a well-designed environment, everyone benefits. People stop honking, start reading, go to bed earlier, and do things that they know are beneficial to their needs.
We like to think change happens from the inside out — that if we shift our mindset, our world will follow. But most lasting change happens from the outside in. The right environment shapes our attention, and attention shapes our reality.
Without design, the environment is just noise.
With design, it becomes a silent teacher.
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