Are you someone who can’t cook until the kitchen counters are clean? Do you find the smells or noise in your environment affect your ability to concentrate or be productive? Your environment has a huge impact on how you work, how well you work, and what you do.
In his book Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond points out that the shape of a continent affected how agriculture spread. The East-West shape of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia meant that crops spread easily because the climate was the same, compared to North and South America, where the climate varied massively from the deserts of Nevada to the Rockies of Colorado, to the wet Amazon rainforest.
This meant that agriculture spread two to three times faster in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia compared to North and South America, which meant that the population grew because there was agriculture to support it. Thus armies developed and technologies and innovations grew. Potentially, this was one of the main reasons why the Europeans rose to power. How freaking cool is this? I love this kind of stuff, it’s SO exciting, isn’t it??!!
So, what can we do about our environment? Well, we can create an environment that supports our healthy habits. Hide the naughty food in your house (or don’t buy it at all), lay out your sneakers and gym clothes by the bed for your morning workout, and use mobile apps to block use of your phone or social media websites during work hours.