Can we create friction to improve an experience?

We normally talk about removing barriers and decreasing friction, however, there are times when adding friction is a good thing.

I can across and spoke to the founder of a company called Stolp last week Julien Yee.

They created a physical device to stop you from checking your phone, which I thought was an interesting intervention.

As we know, we can create habit loops with our phones and the apps inside.

I'm guilty of this sometimes, where I just pick up the phone for no reason at all, open it, check social media and then put it down, just to do it again a few minutes later.

So what is a habit loop?

As per Jud Brewer, MD, PhD the director of research and innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center (I'm a huge fan of his work) a habit loop comprises three things:

1) Cue: A cue is what triggers a habit. Cues are powerful responses to external stimuli in the environment

2) Routine: The routine is the habit. This is the cycle of behavior that is prompted by various cues

3) Result: Relief: The reward is the thing that makes you repeat actions because you desire particular outcomes.

Positive reinforcement causes the brain to hardwire neural pathways that retrieve this information when a similar situation happens in the future.

This feedback loop can extend to unwanted behaviors.

So what can you do to stop a habit loop that is not helpful, in this case checking your phone automatically and every time and for no good reason?

You can change the physical environment and add friction.

What other things can you do?

>Remove reminders
>Increase the costs
>Decrease the benefits
>Use commitment contracts
>Remove Defaults
>Commit to friends and colleagues

Nir Eyal also has a great book on this, called Indistractable, in case you were curious about reading it.

Dr. Jud also has some amazing books including The Craving Mind and Unwinding Anxiety.

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