Читать книгу Sustainable Management for Managers and Engineers - Группа авторов - Страница 37

People often realize that they are biased or make poor decisions and seek mechanisms to overcome these shortcomings. In general, people want to save more, be more conscious of their consumption and be more productive at work.

Individuals can use self-nudging to regulate their behavior when they recognize systematic self-control failures. Examining the larger picture, enhancing education and data-driven decisions, planning for the long run, and defining rules a priori increases individual autonomy to create an environment architecture that encourages better choices. Individual self-nudging may be self-motivated or promoted by policymakers through education, information disclosure and programs.

To save more and invest better, individuals can set up automatic savings plans by defining an amount to save monthly or saving with a pension scheme. Planning a priori for the long-term, and considering tax efficiency, is a key feature for success in saving and investing. Individuals can also nudge themselves to control consumption by paying off credit cards in full each month (avoiding high penalty interest rates of 20–30%) and can avoid overconsumption by reducing credit card debt. For more sustainable consumption choices, it is possible to subscribe and receive local, seasonal and organic fresh food boxes (for example, weekly boxes catered to household size) or to subscribe for recurrent supply needs. Individuals stay on track to make better choices when they are in control of defining simpler choices or suitable defaults.

Individuals can likewise define a priori rules to reduce temptation. For instance, to develop self-discipline in deep work, people can use apps that reduce distraction, such as access to social media or recreational websites. Many free apps set rules of productivity a priori, such as blocking certain websites completely or at specific dates and times (e.g. from Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., no more than 30 minutes per day). Once set, some apps require the user to wait up to 24 hours before changing the settings. Obviously, it is possible to get around these limits, but the goal of self-nudging is not to block access but to filter negative impulses, improve self-regulation and facilitate self-determination.