When barriers vanish behavior flows seamlessly

You’ve decided to cook healthier meals but find yourself ordering takeout at 8 PM. Why? Your kitchen feels like an obstacle course: chopping veggies, searching for recipes, washing a mountain of dishes. Your Gator brain says, “Nah—I’ll microwave.” Now imagine this instead: you subscribe to prepped meal kits and set out the veggies on your counter each morning. The cooking process suddenly feels effortless. The Gator says, “Great! Let’s do it.” That’s the magic of removing friction.

People tend to take the path of least resistance. Behavioral economist studies show that when you divide big goals into micro-tasks, completion rates jump. In one fitness study, placing workout clothes by the bed—no drafting complete exercise plans—doubled gym attendance. Why? You’ve made the first step too easy to resist, and setting a simple implementation intention (“I’ll put on my sneakers when my alarm rings”) anchors the habit to a daily cue.

The same principle applies everywhere, from software adoption to charitable giving. Customer Effort Score research finds that ease of experience explains a third of customer loyalty—more than satisfaction or price. Even the famed ‘5 A Day’ vegetable campaign quadrupled awareness but failed to move behavior because it never made eating vegetables easier.

You can shortcut resistance by focusing on ease first. Identify the pain points that stall your audience’s action and redesign your ask to ride on the Gator’s autopilot. Once you’ve cleared the runway, your rational arguments and incentives can really take off.

Strip away every tiny hurdle standing between your audience and your goal. Lay out each micro-task—no matter how small—and ask, ‘What’s the easiest possible way we can do this now?’ Maybe it means a quick template, a simple app, or bundling multiple tasks into one visit. When you’ve spoken the language of effortlessness, people will lean in without overthinking. Give it a shot with your next big project.