Put useful things within reach and temptations farther away
People consume less when the same snack is farther away, with a medium-sized effect. Fewer available options also reduce selection. Rearranging the environment reduces dependence on resisting temptation at the moment it appears.
What it takes
Free, a few minutes once. Leave the phone in another room and your book or computer ready on the desk.
What you may gain
A Cochrane review of 24 randomized trials found lower consumption when food was placed farther away: standardized mean difference −0.60 (95% CI −0.84 to −0.36; 12 studies, 1,098 people; low certainty). Reducing availability lowered selection more strongly: SMD −1.13 (95% CI −1.90 to −0.37; 3 studies, 154 people; low certainty). Regression suggested larger effects with greater distance and fewer options.
Context & considerations
Grade B: all 24 included studies concerned food, none alcohol or tobacco; 14 were laboratory studies and all came from high-income countries. Applying distance effects to phones or games is extrapolation. Phone visibility itself has been studied; see keeping the phone out of sight.
Research & references
Hollands GJ, Carter P, Anwer S, et al. (2019). Altering the availability or proximity of food, alcohol, and tobacco products to change their selection and consumption. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 9, CD012573. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD012573.pub3