The coronavirus pandemic has most people in lockdown—or at the least, unable to hit the gym and hesitant to venture into the outside world. It seems to have sparked a positive change in some people’s diet and exercise regimens, but it’s had a negative impact on others.

When it comes down to it, it’s easier than ever to procrastinate on your fitness goals because it feels like there’s plenty of time to reach them before the world opens up again. The good news is there are ways to help yourself improve self-control and make healthy decisions during these trying times, and one of them is self-nudging, according to an article published in Behavioural Public Policy

But what is self-nudging?

Basically, it’s setting yourself up for success using your environment—in this case, your home. The world around you plays a big part in the short-term decisions you make, and creating a space that nudges you to make healthy choices can help you keep making progress toward your long-term goals.

“Various needs and desires are always competing for attention in our minds and bodies. Self-nudging can help us to negotiate these internal conflicts. It is a practical tool that can enhance self-understanding,” study author Samuli Reijula, a philosopher at the University of Helsinki, said in a release.

That could mean rearranging the food in your refrigerator, or something as simple as setting up reminders on your phone to give yourself a push in the right direction. Humans tend to be big fans of instant gratification, so a pint of ice cream at the front of the freezer right now will probably eclipse the prospect of hitting the beach without having reached your physique goals later.

To help you keep working toward your goals in quarantine, researchers from the University of Helsinki and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development shared four key ways to use self-nudging to help improve your short-term decision making.

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