How to hack your home—or office or car—to stay on track

Behaviour technique

By Weight Watchers

Last updated 11 September 2024

A woman sitting at a desk using a smartphone, with a laptop, coffee, and snacks nearby.

A hot interior design/life tip: You can tweak the setup of your space to encourage healthy habits. Here’s how.

Create visual cues for what you want to do. • Swap your kitchen bench biscuit jar for a fruit bowl. • Bring ZeroPoint® foods to the front of your fridge. Help out Future You. • Store your meal-prep tools where they’re easy to access. • While cleaning up dinner, take out everything you need to make breakfast. Designate rooms or places for healthy behaviours. • Move screens out of the bedroom so you can focus on sleep, not TV or Instagram. • Make your table the only place you eat when home.

Got habits you want to stop? Disrupt your default. • Store foods you tend to see then mindlessly eat in rarely-used cupboards or the back of your fridge. • Move your alarm clock across the room to avoid snoozing through a morning workout.

Let’s dive a little deeper…

Have you ever been going about your day then suddenly see, say, lollies or biscuits (or anything, really) and end up just popping ’em in your mouth? The see-it-eat-it effect is real! In fact, research suggests our environment can play a big role in what we eat and do (or don’t).

Luckily, you can harness its power by making healthy choices more visible, accessible, and easier, while also creating spaces that are less conducive to behaviours you want to change. (*Cough* mindless snacking.) And it doesn’t only work for food: Try keeping your joggers and earbuds by the door to prompt a daily walk or use smaller plates to encourage right-for-you portions.

It can feel as if high-Points® foods and drinks are everywhere, while time for activity, meal prep, and sleep is scarce. But in spaces you control—your kitchen, office, car, or bedroom—small changes can make a big difference in keeping you on track.