Time and focus

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Turn “I’ll do it” into “When X, I’ll do Y”

Write one line: “Tuesday at 8, when I sit at the desk, I write the opening.” Across 94 tests, people who wrote if-then plans reached their goals more often (d = 0.65).

Cost: freeEffect: largeEvidence A

Best value

Protect a few seconds of thinking

An interruption of about 2.8 seconds roughly doubled the next mistake. About 4.4 seconds roughly tripled it. Close the door, or turn notifications off.

Cost: freeEffect: largeEvidence B