There is a saying…mowing the lawn while your house is on fire - that means the most important activities aren’t being addressed first. We can all get focused on the “wrong” things. Whether you notice it or not, the everyday activities you prioritize reflect your health, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in countless ways.  Your environment reflects all of those, too.

Consider the following questionnaire from a study of over 60,000 people. If you want to try this as an experiment, pre-set alarms on your smartphone at various times throughout the day. Participants did this over 27-days. Keep track of your answers to assess. Answer both of the following simultaneously:   

• Rate your current mood on a 0 (very unhappy) to 100 (very happy) scale. 

• What activity are you doing? 

The participants choose from a standard non-mutually exclusive list of 25 activities.

According to the graph, it’s normal to choose activities that enhance mood and feelings. The longer-term payoff involves mood-boosting aimed to overcome engaging in everyday activities that reward short-term happiness. You can amplify developing this skill by prioritizing occupational health activities.

Deciding to do these everyday is easier when your environment is abundant with mood-enhancing triggers. Make those long-term choices more noticeable and accessible. Put that fire out first.

Where can you have less of what makes things harder? Can you eliminate or minimize barriers, obstacles, or trigger activities at home? At work?

Where can you have more of what makes things easier? Can you enhance support and convenience? Can you trigger or amplify long-term payoff activities?