How to Make Best Use of Gym Equipment at Home & Dan Ariely!

I recently bought an elliptical at home for work out. In order to find quick opinion, I asked for suggestions on Facebook. I did get some valuable inputs from friends and acquaintances which helped me make a buying decision.

But there was this one friend who said that buying an equipment at home is not a good idea. He said that one usually loses interest in working out sooner and then the equipment just becomes part of the furniture at home. I knew what he meant. Couple of years back I had brought home a stationary cycle which met exactly the same fate.

And finally ended up as scrap.

But this time I was determined to change that.

And I made the investment. And
to ensure I don't fail again, I devised a plan.

The idea is simple. It is based on Dan Ariely's story of how he managed to go through a very tough course of medication in his book The Upside of Irrationality.

As I step on the machine, I switch on the music channel on TV, preferably Tamil Film  music. Trust me the actors and actresses of Kollywood take away the boredom of me fighting against my weight. On an average a song lasts for five minutes; with six songs I am able to complete my 30 minutes of exercise feeling refreshed by the beautiful faces, nice moves, lovely music and scenic locales.

As Dan mentions in his book, we behave very irrationally. We are unwilling to undergo negative immediate effect (read exercising) for the sake of a positive long-term effect (read good health). But with some smart planning, this can be overcome. As Dan did; as I do! 

Just hope I keep doing it. 

Management lessons from tennis court

During my hotel management days, students were advised to pursue a degrees from universities because Hotel Management was a Diploma program which could hinder chances of pursuing higher education.

So, in order to safeguard my future, I enrolled for BA Sociology. Not sure if I understood and followed whatever I studied as part of the course. But then something must have registered while mugging for the exams. One of the chapters that I studied was on the difference between Psychology and Sociology. Don't remember much but the crux was that human beings behave differently as individuals and very differently when in a group. Got a taste of that at the tennis court, recently. And that too from the set of acquaintances and friends with whom I play regularly.

So like any other day, I reached the court. And like any other day, there were already people playing. Usually, when a set gets over, one of those players come out to accommodate the person waiting. This day was different. As the game got over and I got up to play, I noticed that no one was planning to sit out.

My ego was so hurt that I walked out and determined never to play with those with whom I have played for years. But then, quick calls from them followed by apologies, I relented and went back to playing.

One thing that I learnt in the episode was that the demand and supply theory also applies to gentlemanly behavior. That this applies in the tennis court with supposedly the erudite and sophisticated was interesting. Now, it is not for no reason that it is one of the fundamental economic theories.

But then evolution is also in human nature. It was discussed as to how we can avoid such situation. We decided to apply the Inventory Management technique - Last in, first out (LIFO).

Apparently, it is a common practice in other clubs. Just that our learning curve took a bit longer to arrive there. Or probably, it was become fiercely competitive.

Thankfully, we have now managed to go back to being gentlemanly on the court.

The Power Of Nudge

The Economist is probably the most reputed magazine in the world. I have always wanted to subscribe it. But never did.

Then I started receiving the these emailers from The Economist. Just Rs. 500 for a quarter! Enticing, isn't it? Upon reading the mail, I came to understand that it was an invitation price and that the subscription rate for the following quarters is a substantially larger figure. The payment is automatically debited on the credit card one authorizes. And of course, if you do not want further subscription, just reach out to the publisher and it is done.

Easy, isn't it?

The Economists' marketing/circulation department have been brilliant in this campaign of theirs. They realized the important of Status Quo Bias which means that people have tendency to stick to their current situation.

I am no different. Now every quarter, my credit card is charged for the quarterly subscription of The Economist which I hardly find time to read. But then it is almost a year and I still haven't stopped the subscription.

If you are in a position where you have to influence the behavior of people, then Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein is just the book for you.

A fantastic read, the book offers tremendous insights on how people behave. So it is not necessary that you must be a professional to leverage the ideas in this book. You could be a parent trying to figure out how to make your kid eat good food. Or you could be a family man wondering how to secure the financial security of the family.

Even if you don't intend to influence or nudge others, you will certainly learn a thing or two about your own behavior.

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