Automatic You

A blog about behavioral engineering.

To Fix Your Problems, Find the Root Cause

There’s a root cause for distraction lying deep within us. It’s the reason we rationalize away our actions even when we know they’re not what we intended.

If You Don't Plan Your Time, Someone Else Will

By defining how we spend our time in advance and protecting that time just as we protect our money, we ensure we do the things that matter and ignore the things that don’t.

How to Tame Your Wandering Mind

By understanding why our mind wanders and taking steps to deal with distraction, we can stay on track.

One Question to Help You Get More Done

If we use external triggers properly, they can help us stay on track.

The Pursuit of "Flow" Is Overrated

Reimagining difficult work as play is empowering. Knowing how to harness this power can make any task more manageable, even when flow eludes us.

Children and Technology: 3 Things Parents Need to Know

Whatever your view of tech’s impact on our children, here are three common-sense rules we can all follow.

What Is Motivation? You May Have Been Thinking About it Wrong

By finally understanding what motivation really is, and what it is not, we can harness it when we have it and use other methods when it runs dry.

"Just Say No" Is Bad Productivity Advice

It may sound smart to "just say no" more often, but it's not practical in everyday life.

How Technology Tricks You Into Tipping More

We remain woefully unaware of how digital payment interfaces leverage our deeper psychology to change our behavior by design.

Why the Illusion of Control Is Hurting Your Goals

In a survival scenario, for most people, staying put and doing nothing just seems like a bad idea.

Are You a Wage Slave?

Being a wage slave means you are stuck doing a job solely for the money. You can’t quit, because leaving would have terrible consequences for you and your family.

What Is the Opposite of “Distraction?”

You can't call something a distraction unless you know what it is distracting you from.

Don’t Fall for This Excuse Trap

Don't be content to stay stuck in the status quo; you have to be willing to make a change in order to bring about change.

Screen Time for Kids: Give Them What They Need

Society's fear of technology destroying our children's future has reached a fever pitch.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Calendar

By turning our values into time, we make sure we have time for traction. If we don’t plan ahead, we shouldn’t point fingers.

How to Be Less Distracted

Relinquish your notions about what fun should feel like and open yourself up to seeing your daily activities in a new way.

The Problem With the Idea of Tech Addiction

Clearly, there are many problems Big Tech needs to be held accountable for. But spreading the untruth that our devices are controlling all of our brains doesn't help anything.

What Everyone Should Understand About Willpower

Holding on to the idea that willpower is a limited resource can actually be bad for you, making you more likely to lose control and act against your better judgment.

Is Tech Ruining Kids? How to Safely Manage Screen Time

When kids act in ways we don’t like, parents crave a scapegoat. It’s easy to blame sugar, or technology, or whatever other culprit lurks nearby.

How to Repair a Toxic Work Culture

Psychological safety is the antidote to unhealthy work environments and a toxic work culture.

How to Stop Doing Things That Don't Serve You Well

The process of unwinding bad habits takes years, but progressive extremism is an effective way to stop behaviors that aren't serving you.

How To Disarm Internal Triggers and Improve Focus

While we can’t control the feelings and thoughts that pop into our heads, we can control what we do with them.

The Most Important Skill Kids Need

Technology is becoming more pervasive and persuasive. It’s their responsibility — as well as their right — to use their time wisely.

The Reason Apple and Google Want You to Use Your Phone Less

Apple and Google are making it easier for consumers to cut back on phone use because it is in their interest to do so.

1 Thing You Need to Know to Save You From Your Email Inbox

By proactively making time in your day for people to discuss important issues that would otherwise clog your email inbox, you’ll spend less time emailing.