Success! Factors behind my new composting and health habits

Those that have witnessed one of my CBSM presentations (or read last week’s post) have heard my sustainable behavior change failure story (Failure stories are fun, right?  Read mine here.)

But this post isn’t about my failure…it’s about my recent SUCCESS!  

Four months ago, I started a new job.  This new job meant a longer commute (15-45 minutes longer each way), and longer hours (an extra hour 4 days a week to allow one day off every other week).  But it also meant I’d be surrounded by sustainably-minded colleagues again, and I was looking forward to the challenges and opportunities of the new position.  So, on one hand, I had greater limitations on my time and energy, but on the other hand, I could start with a clean slate and perhaps have the support of my new work environment.

What’s the result?  Two distinct changes that demonstrate the behaviors many of us strive for in our own lives, or to promote in others’.

• 

  The worm bin!

  I’ve been successfully maintaining a healthy and thriving vermiculture  compost for the last 4 months.  Barriers?  …See my failure story.

• I’ve been exercising regularly and adopted other healthy habits for the last 4.5 months.  Barrier #1: I decided morning was the most fool-proof plan to integrate physical activity into my schedule.  But getting up at 6am is a whole 1.5 hours earlier than I typically was getting up…”Uff da”!  Barrier #2: I hated running…and really exercise in general.

If my story of failure demonstrated the challenge of behavior change, I hope my success story can begin to uncover the multiple and layered factors that make up a new behavior and habit.  (Hint: Note the theme of community and social support throughout these factors…)

Change #1: Composting with Worms!

• Clean Slate (new job) Composting perhaps seemed like an appropriate way to celebrate the new job and commemorate a return to sustainability, plus summer was upon us in June – a good time to turn a new leaf
• Cognitive Dissonance (aligning identities) I felt like I had abandoned my sustainable self back at CERTs where I felt the gentle and positive pressure to put forth a little bit more effort to be a bit more gentle on the earth.  Further, I was getting tired of telling my failure story over and over for the last several years.  In my new work place, the Dept of Environmental Protection, I felt it was time to invite my earth-friendly values to manifest.
• 

  Patio facing the woods (one plus to suburban life)

  Infrastructure (patio) We finally had a patio and we made plans to stay in this apartment for awhile.

• Social Norm (descriptive) At my new job, I met a colleague whocomposts at home.  Iwas referred to her, she beingsomeone that “walks the talk” and Susanne gave me great composting advice and confirmed for me that this is something my new colleagues do and support.In July, my worms arrived and the rest is history.  I’m pretty sure I’ve doubled my worm population and am now looking for solutions to insulate them from the cold this winter!

    

Change #2: Exercising and other healthy stuff!
This one baffles me.  Why would I decide to add exercise to my routine when my commute time is doubling and I’m working longer days?  Plus, I had this aversion to sweating and running…

• Social Diffusion (example of a colleague)  I thought of my friend and colleague who juggled a family, managed a rapidly growing nonprofit, and yet her morning run was (or seemed to be) one of the most consistent parts of her life.  I’ve looked to her as a mentor for many things, and her running routine wasn’t lost on me.
• Clean Slate (new job and routine)  Despite the new time costs of the new job, at the beginning of the summer, I was excited, refreshed, and had the morning sun to my advantage.  I think I was also cognizant of the new responsibilities of the job and felt exercise would be an important part of me being able to handle it.  HBR talks about how exercise is an important part one’s mental and emotional (and of course, physical health)…and self-care is an important aspect of a leadership practice.
• 

  Post-run stretching spot

  Self-Perception (changed by action) …since my work colleagues never knew the me-that-didn’t-exercise, all they know is me with my new habit.  This has done a number on my self-perception: my physical activity is a big part of who I consider myself to be now.

• Convenience (trail out back, good weather) I’ve got a beautiful trail in my backyard for running (I can see it from my patio) – it skips over beautiful creeks, I witness fox and deer on a regular basis, and this summer wasn’t so painfully hot and humid as the previous ones. On that same token, my gym is near work, and when I go to the gym early, I beat traffic and save 15 minutes or so off my commute.

• Prompts (reminders)  For my other health-oriented habits, like drinking more water, getting enough fruit, and heading to bed on time, I knew that these wouldn’t take much time at all, but I needed to do them throughout the day – not all at once.  I’m using an app called Balanced, which provides a nice reminder based on frequency (not time of day) to have that glass of water, get up and take a walk, be grateful, water my plants, and get 8+ hours of sleep most nights.

For both behaviors, ACCOUNTABILITY by COMMUNITY played a significant role.  My community – as an example, as a support, and as a positive reward – plays a central role.  At work, I have found a community that supports and congratulates a composting habit, among other sustainable practices.  My partner at home, trainer at the gym, and yoga instructors and fellow yogis provide a supportive community for my new healthy habits.  Community can be the tipping point: A friend, who has really picked up running, said that she had tried to “be a runner” for the last 10 years, and finally felt like she was one now that she was doing Team in Training and has a community to run with.

For all the research studies and linear processes of community-based social marketing, it is important to remember that behind the “social norms” and other tools, it is community that is truly still the most potent lever and key to persistent change.  Actions not supported by a community will not last.

Build a community that (at least looks like it) supports a certain behavior, and we can begin to unlock that composter, energy conservationist, garden grower, yogi or runner in each of us!

Social Capital and Social Diffusion: The importance of Trust

Tonight, I was given the very fun opportunity to make the remarks after the opening BECC Icebreaker.  By recommendation of my colleague, Chris Jones, I focused my talk on teams and social capital, which I see as the generator of social diffusion.  Just for fun, a few excerpts:

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We hoped tonight’s icebreaker was a fun way to meet some new people and reconnect with old friends and colleagues, but we also hoped it would get you think about some elements of behavior change.

Last year’s keynote speaker, David Gershon, shared with us the power of the EcoTeam model. For those that might have missed it or are unfamiliar with Gershon’s work, the EcoTeams Low Carbon Diet Program assists households in engaging in environmental actions. A household joins an EcoTeam with 5-6 others and they meet regularly over the course of a four-month period. Each team member chooses actions that match their larger goals, resources, and interests. And over the four months, neighbors get to know each other, they coach one another on completing their actions, and hold one another accountable.

The EcoTeams model has demonstrated outstanding success.  One representative case reduced energy use by 14%, vehicle miles traveled by 8%, waste by 40%, and water use by over 30%. In other words, the EcoTeams are highly effective units for supporting sustainable behavior change.

You see, when we work in teams, our behavior changes, and we get certain benefits:

• We’re apt to practice leadership and team-building skills
• We innovate, by trading and exchanging ideas
• We’re more confident because we’re not alone
• We’re building trust.  In teams, we make connections, we cooperate, and collaborate.  We earn the trust of one another.

And when we are building trust, we’re building another resource….

Social Capital.  Social capital is the collective value of all ‘social networks’ and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other.  Social capital is the ability to confidently ask your neighbor for that cup of sugar, or the confidence that if you to pull over to check on a stalled car, you won’t get taken advantage of, and that when you’re stuck on the side of the road, someone will help you out. It’s the confidence, as one professor once told me, that when I give into this community, I can reasonably expect to receive something back for no other reason than that we’re socially connected.

When we are in teams and working together, we are building social capital, a trust in one another. Research shows that in communities and groups with high social capital, there is more trust, more collective activity, they are often more effective, and more apt to adopt each others’ ideas, recommendations, and behaviors. The adoption of ideas through trusted peers, we known as….Social Diffusion

Unlike social norms, and the “herd effect,” social diffusion is about trust, not numbers. Think of the last time you took a chance on a movie or picked up a new book to read. Likely, it came by recommendation of a friend or colleague that knows you and who you trust.

Social diffusion is why we trust the recommendations of friends and colleagues over Yelp reviews, why farmers adopt no-till practices only after they’ve been proven by their neighbors, and why it might take a trusted neighbor or friend (or an obnoxious but trustworthy local hardware store guy) to convince folks to change their light bulbs.

Underlying all of this is social capital, and that sense of trust or sense of community. The better we get to know one another, the more we might trust each other, and more quickly we can exchange ideas and learn from one another.

We hope that tonight was a helpful start to expanding your trusted network and building a sense of community here at BECC, because we all want innovation, idea exchange, cooperation and learning!

We hope that within your team you met someone new, maybe found someone you would like to talk with further, or that the icebreaker increased your confidence that you’re going to learn something new this year at BECC.

BECC offers several days of opportunities to build our community, foster new connections, and facilitate collaborative learning. We hope that this year’s BECC and our social media (via Twitter, LinkedIn Group, and Facebook) continue to offer a rich exchange of ideas here and throughout the year.

 

 

Where’s my social diffusion?

Social diffusion refers to how we follow signals from our trusted peers.  Think of the last new restaurant you tried, or movie you went to see.  Likely you went by recommendation of a friend who’s taste you trust.  This is social diffusion, how we influence each other one-on-one. Since moving to DC I have learned how often I rely on social diffusion, simply to navigate my life.

I’ve mentioned about social diffusion when it comes to its use in community-based social marketing. It’s an important illustration of how we as individuals act in a social context, influenced by our peers, and rely on more than our math and knowledge to make decisions.  Since moving out here, here’s a short list of things I find I rely on a peer network for:

• Finding a doctor
• Finding a dentist
• Good restaurants to go to
• Establishing a bike route
• Finding a good coffee shop
• Finding good beer
• Deciding which hiking trails to try

Part of my bike commute, recommendation by a biker in my office

The first ingredient to social diffusion is having peers. Now initially when I moved out here, I had a few friends that I knew, but we rely on multiple peer groups to help us make decisions. For example, I need friends who do a lot of biking to help me learn about bike trails. I need someone who also lives around Arlington to help me identify a good restaurant for different occasions. Over the last few months, I have now found my go-to people for biking, local restaurants, coffee houses, weather forecasts, beer, and biking trails.

The next ingredient is trust. Trust plays an important part in social diffusion. A couple of colleagues of mine and I were talking about restaurants one day and one suggested a French restaurant in her neighborhood, and he recommended a German restaurant in another neighborhood. I’m sure that they wouldn’t lie to me about the food and dining experience, but it occurred to me that I don’t know them well enough to just take their word. (I also happen to not get that excited about German or French food, except for the French fries.)

Java Shack, by recommendation of a long-time Arlingtonian

I noted that the bikers that I trust are both commuters and even more serious than I, I trust the coffee house recommendations from a woman who has lived in Arlington for decades, and found a good beer from a friend with whom I have similar tastes (hops, please). It’s about trusting someone’s taste and also trusting that they know your taste well enough too.

That’s why it’s one thing if your friends are raving about a new book or movie, but another when they say – “Hey, you like science fiction and time-travel types of books/movies. I think you would really like ______.”

And that’s precisely how this can be used to advance energy-efficient and sustainable behaviors. So, if you know something about positive sustainable actions, let your friends and colleagues know that you’re happy to answer questions or recommend easy first steps. Be the go-to person when it comes to your favorite sustainable action (I like to help people pick out the right light bulbs)! And if you’re interested in taking action, but don’t know where to start, ask one of your peers what they might be doing and see if that could make sense for you.

Happy diffusing!

Community-based social marketing: A simple summary

It occurred to me earlier today (thank you to one of my readers who pointed it out), that the post I have been referring back to, here, describes what I find most compelling about the community-based social marketing (CBSM) framework, but does not actually explain the framework itself.  

This post offers a very basic and succinct summary of the CBSM framework.

CBSM is a research proven approach to achieve sustainable outcomes in your community.