TIRUCHY: It’s a New Year, and that means, time for resolutions. Most resolutions revolve around getting fitter, developing good habits, and being consistent. Many join the gym or enrol with coaches. What if a calendar helped you by ‘nudging’ you to make better choices?
That’s exactly what Tiruchy based Dr Sakthivel Sivasubramanian, a hormone and lifestyle physician has done.
Economist Richard Thaler won the Nobel Prize in 2017 for his contributions to behavioural economics and the ‘Nudge’ theory. He wrote a book, ‘Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness’, that looks at the choices we face every day.
“Most of the decisions we take are based on two alternatives, the convenient versus the most suitable. We usually choose the easiest option rather than the most suitable one. All we need to correct this behaviour is a psychological nudge – an intervention that gently steers us to the desired action. This calendar aims to help us make the right choice through lifestyle nudges,” says Dr Sivasubramanian.
Dr Sivasubramanian says that his Plan-endar (Calendar plus Planner) is based on Thaler’s Nudge theory. The calendar is titled ‘Lifestyle Nudges’.
“Chronic disorders like obesity, hypertension, diabetes, are sometimes caused by wrong lifestyle choices. If we tell someone to change their lifestyle, it can’t be done in a day. Small nudges are required. Like Thaler says, we can’t change society in one go, it should be done by small nudges. If we tell someone who sleeps at 12 daily to sleep at 10, they cannot do it suddenly,” says Dr Sivasubramanian.
He says that the calendar will guide one step by step to making better choices. Each month has a theme, 'Find your Why’, ‘Find a mentor, Declutter’, ‘Goal Setting’ etc. Each page has three QR Codes, explains Dr Sivasubramanian.
“The first QR Code will lead you to a book related to the theme and will carry its summary. The second QR code has a Youtube video related to the theme. The third QR code is a PDF that I have made to assist you to do the task. One will have clarity on what, why and how to do the task. The QR codes are designed to read, listen and do,” adds the doctor.
The latter parts of the calendar also include pages on how to recoup and bounce back if you lose focus, or fail. The calendar also has 48 stickers. The calendar is available for Rs 499, and you can check Dr Sivasubramanian on Instagram @Drsakthivel.Endo.