The 7 Big Ideas:

• Problems of distraction

• Decision Fatigue

• Need to eliminate options

• Use habits to build automatic behavior

• Bright lines – create black and white rules to make choices easy

• Parkinson’s Law – give yourself ultra short timelines to accomplish things

• Pre-commit as an automatic rule

My Highlights From the Book:

Problems of distraction

The persistence of distracting thoughts is an indication that the unconscious mind is asking the conscious mind to make a plan.

Once formed, the unconscious can stop.

Decision Fatigue

Decision fatigue helps explain why sensible people do really crazy and dumb things.

Decision making depletes willpower, once depleted, you’re less able to make decisions.

Need to eliminate options

On any decision, choosing one means killing off the other and people have a hard time giving up options, even when those options aren’t any good. Afraid of cutting off something good

Closing a door on an option is experienced as a loss and people are willing to pay a price to avoid the emotion of a loss…But we often don’t see the long-term price we are paying to keep all options open.

Use habits to build automatic behavior

Orderly habits can improve self-control in the long run by triggering automatic mental processes that don’t require much energy.

Automatic behaviors tend to be limited to habits, controlled behaviors tend to be unusual or one-time events.

Bright lines – create black and white rules to make choices easy

Bright lines: clear, simple, unambiguous rules. Cant help but notice when you cross them. Zero tolerance

Parkinson’s Law – give yourself ultra short timelines to accomplish things

Set a time limit for tedious tasks – you will always fill up the available time- so make it short

Pre-commit as an automatic rule

Pre-commitment is the ultimate offensive weapon. Monitoring is crucial for any plan.