The fastest way to get out of a rut · Zamboni Inner Circle

The fastest way to get out of a rut

I'm a productivity coach and it PISSES ME OFF how many of my clients are struggling with bad habits.

And I don't blame them. Genuinely, our body is built for a world that no longer exists and it's destroying our lives.

So the main issue EVERY ONE of my clients has gone through, including myself, is this: being unable to get out of a rut (stuck doing bad habits). And here's the fastest way to fix that.

📌 Storytime

So in 2024, I was far along on my self-improvement journey, doing the good habits, meditating, reading, journaling, etc. I also didn't really do any bad habits. Only used Insta to text friends. No doomscrolling. Sugar detox. You get what I mean.

Then, around July, my parents wanted to go to India. So we pack our bags, suitcases, etc, and head out to India for vacation. Now, I still did have some work I wanted to do in the summer, but as for YouTube, I was kinda covered (I recorded 12 videos before the 1-month trip). So I expected myself to relax a bit on work.

So we go to the airport, check in and all that, and I'm just having fun taking nice pictures to post on Instagram. Eventually, we head on our flight and make it to India.

A few days later, I'm enjoying India, eating snacks, having fun on vacation, but still doing my necessary work. And then one day, I open up Instagram on my phone. Accidentally, I click on a reel, and then start watching a bit. It's like "I'm on vacation, might as well enjoy a little."

Some time later, I check the clock and realize 3 HOURS had passed. And keep in mind, I'm a disciplined, productivity machine. I don't do this shit... but even I had gotten addicted.

The next few days I'm stuck scrolling 1-3 hours of Instagram EVERY DAY.

I was in a rut. And unfortunately, there was no quick fix that saved me. Every day I was at home on vacation, I would scroll for at least 30m.

Until 30 days later, we head on our flight back home. On the flight I'm prepping myself again saying how I'll be productive.

I reach home, go to bed, and wake up the next morning. And here's the shocking thing. That entire day, I didn't scroll a single reel.

And it wasn't just coincidence. Because the entire week, I didn't scroll. I was back to my usual, disciplined self.

And that's when it hit me: the cure-all for ruts.

It wasn't starting small like every YouTuber tells. It wasn't destroying your ego. It wasn't making things as specific as possible.

It was a massive change: an environmental change.

📌 Environment

There's so much to talk about this, but it won't fit into one single post. So I'll save the extra details for later, but for now, you need to understand this.

If you want to change your entire mental state (cure your rut), you need to change your entire physical space. Now, you don't need to change whole countries like I did. You only need to change your workspace.

That means your room.

And it's as simple as this. Change the entire layout of your room.

See that dressing table in the corner? Move it to the middle. Is your desk toward the top left? Move it to the bottom right.

What do you have on your desk right now? Do you need all this?

Is there anything in your drawer's that aren't organized? Well, fix it. Make it neat.

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And don't just stop there with your physical space. Change your digital space too.

I remember back then I changed my entire computer theme from dark mode to light mode. Now I use both, and it makes working so much better.

I'm using a completely different browser (it's really not complicated to do that; most automatically transfer data).

If you want, you can also change your physical appearance. Every morning when you wash your face or brush your teeth in a mirror, you can have a subtle reminder of the new person that you are.

One of my clients buzzed his hair. I simply changed my hairstyle.

📌 Why This Works

Each of these new changes increases dopamine, your (pleasure/motivation) molecule. Novelty increases dopamine. Also, by being in a new environment, you increase alertness.

Think about it like this:

If you were a hunter-gatherer and moved into a new environment, greater alertness & more motivation would help you explore the environment better, watch out for predators, and potentially find a new food source to feed your tribe.

And those same instincts remain with us today. So by changing your physical environment, you increase your motivation (reducing the desire to engage in instant pleasure) and alertness (letting you catch yourself doomscrolling before it gets bad).

📌 Actionable Step

I don't want you to just hear this and do nothing about it.

You're in a rut, and, let's be honest, even YOU don't trust yourself to act. I definitely didn't when I was in a rut.

So let me break it down for you as simple as possible.

I want you to make 1 NEW change to your environment today. Then, tomorrow, or some time within the next 7 days, you must COMPLETELY REMODEL your entire physical environment.

If you can't change your room, change your desktop. Switch browsers, switch themes, switch color schemes. Do whatever you can to show the world that YOU ARE NO LONGER THE PERSON YOU USED TO BE.

Listen bro, too many people go through the same thing as you. I don't this stupid little rut to ruin your life. And you know that well enough yourself.

The answer's so simple. You know exactly what to do, but you just can't do it.

So listen to me. And I mean it. TURN OFF YOUR BRAIN BRO.

It's convinced you to scroll too many reels. Eat too many snacks.

It's not our fault that we're so addicted... but that doesn't change the fact that it's still OUR responsibility to fix that.

So listen to me bro. Trust me. And we'll make it outta this together bro.

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The fastest way to get out of a rut