deepstash
Beta
Deepstash brings you key ideas from the most inspiring articles like this one:
Read more efficiently
Save what inspires you
Remember anything
How to Make Smarter Decisions by Designing Your Defaults
8
Key Ideas
Save all ideas
Default choices
90% of your daily decisions happen automatically, many shaped by your environment. Thus, most decisions are a habit, not a deliberate choice.
To make smarter choices, design smarter defaults. And habits can be developed by shaping the invisible defaults of your life.
6.56k SAVES
36.0k READS
Designing your life
Design your life like a choice architect:
- Encourage smarter decisions you want to do by making them more accessible.
- Add friction to habits you want to quit, making them less accessible, or remove the option to perform them completely.
5.33k SAVES
20.9k READS
“First, never underestimate the power of inertia. Second, that power can be harnessed.”
Richard Thaler
4.05k SAVES
27.6k READS
Eat healthier
- Don't keep in the house food that isn’t on your diet or you know is unhealthy.
- Buy items from the outer edges of the grocery store. The aisles are usually used for junk and processed foods.
- Trick your brain into eating less by using smaller plates and bowls.
- Plan and prep your meals in advance so you always know what to eat each day.
4.05k SAVES
8.17k READS
Exercise more
- Use a gym partner to create accountability and make sure you exercise.
- Lay out your workout clothes the night before and put them in a visible place.
- Park your car at a healthy distance from your destination.
- Take the stairs when you can.
- Stand up during meetings at work.
3.68k SAVES
7.26k READS
Spend less
- Use cash for your daily expenses by default.
- Never buy something on impulse. Think about how many hours it took you to earn that money.
- Go for quality, not quantity.
- Stick to the list when grocery shopping.
- Go to the supermarket when you are full.
- Cancel unused subscriptions and everything you can live without.
4.93k SAVES
8.83k READS
Deep Work
- Work in full-screen mode to remove all distractions and focus on the task at hand.
- Always wear headphones.
- Plan your entire week on Sunday.
- Listen to the same song on repeat. It help you lose track of time and focus on your task.
- Design productivity spaces for different types of work.
6.03k SAVES
10.1k READS
Productivity
- Clean your desk at the end of the day.
- To avoid decision fatigue early in the morning, choose all your outfits for the week on Sunday night.
- Use the 2-minute rule: if it can be done in 2 minutes, just do it; if it takes more than two minutes, start it.
- Only use a handful of productivity apps to get things done.
5.66k SAVES
9.90k READS
SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
3
Key Ideas
The Default Choice
While prompted to make a decision with a given set of options, a person has the freedom to refuse to actively make a choice.
The decision-making process of the person is affected by the
How Economic Incentives Affect Our Choices
If a person is told about the economic incentives of their selection, they are more likely to make an active choice.
If the person is told about the pros and cons of their decision, they have a logical reason to make the desired choice, as it can minimize any potential loss.
Rewards And Penalties
Organizations need to understand when to provide a reward to the person making the choice to promote active choice-making, or to initiate a penalty to make them provide a concrete answer.
4
Key Ideas
Default options
Deciding is too much effort so we’re likely to just stick with the default or safer option if it’s already been chosen for us.
When we get offered too many choices, the same...
Best decision making happens in the morning
This is when serotonin is at it’s natural high, which helps to calm our brain. Thus, we feel less risk averse and so we can face risks and make harder choices.
The part our bodies play in decision-making
If we’re feeling hunger, thirst or sexual desire, that can actually spill over into the decision areas of our brains, making us feel more desire for big rewards when we make choices.
This can lead us to make higher-risk choices and to want for more.
4
Key Ideas
Position of products influences our decision of buying
Default decisions and their influence
Although we usually have the freedom to make a wide range of choices at any given moment, we often make decisions based on the environment we find ourselves in:
- If you sleep with your phone next to your bed, then checking social media and email as soon as you wake up is likely to be the default decision.
- If you keep a water bottle with you throughout the day, then drinking water rather than soda is more likely to be the default decision.