Activation Energy - using mental models to trick myself into working out

This is similar in concept to low/high friction points (if you are unfortunately familiar with such corporate lingo). Essentially, the concept is that if there are a lot of tasks or effort that is required before you even start something, it's going to be harder just to get to the starting point, which over time will reduce your desire to get to the starting point. I've experienced this myself when it comes to working out. I don't want to go to the gym to do a workout because I have to drive to get there (extra time), pack up clothes and equipment and learn what exercises to do (extra effort). Those were my points of friction that prevented me from weight training. Some of my friends don't mind the gym preparation and travel but need a gym buddy to go with. Everyone has different points of friction for different things and I suppose my goal is to eliminate points of friction for the things that matter to me.

What did I do to remove this unnecessary (in my eyes) and unwanted effort? I bought myself home workout equipment. This way, I can do the same workouts without needing to physically leave my house. I bought a pair of dumbbells with weights that could be added on, a training bicycle, an ab roller, cables, put them in my bedroom, googled a full body workout and selected the third option (it had the best explanations) and called it a day. After that, I've had pretty consistent workouts. I just do the same workouts 3-5 times a week, alternating between doing upper and lower body workouts at home. The only times I did otherwise was when I got busy with work or was sick. I have definitely found that lowering the activation energy lead to lowering my resistance to working out, resulting in a more consistent workout routine. If anyone is keen to know the results, I went from 24% body fat to 17% body fat and noticeably bigger muscles in about 1 year. Similarly, I have found for me that I can apply the same principles to cooking food. I love the act of cooking delicious decadent food but I don't really care that much for eating decadent food. So when my new goal is to cook gym-friendly food, which is usually more simple, I get kind of bored and don't want to do it. I wished I intrinsically loved decadent food. It definitely appeals to the self-survival part of my brain that wants to store fat but unfortunately my taste buds don't crave it. The way I have found to be excited for cooking now is to use a lot of seasonings. I love paprika, rosemary, and garlic powder. Onion powder is my best friend in the kitchen. They can make any food taste amazing - my air-friend chicken breast now tastes similar to those you get in charchoal chicken shops, just maybe a bit less burned and more un-uniform seasoning.

I am now trying to find ways to apply ways to lower activation energy for studying, working and writing this blog, as these are my goals for the year. If I find any ways to make it significantly easier for me, I'll update this blog in the future so that maybe other people can also use the same methods. I hope this blog was helpful to you if you are also a bit lazy and need to convince yourself extensively to do something.