Articles
Explore articles by category or choose from the full list of every article ever published on the blog.
Latest 50 Articles
The Greatest Hustle in Human History
The central banking cartel has overseen the greatest hustle in human history. The curtain is about to be pulled back on its consequences.
Creeping Normality: The Dangers of State Gradualism
Creeping normality explains why what once was unacceptable to society is now an accepted normality. A powerful tool for governments and institutions, we should all be cautious of it.
CBDCs: A Monetary Highway to Hell
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are a future threat to freedom which we cannot ignore. Here’s a summary of the potential advantages and disadvantages of CBDCs – and how we can prepare for them.
Hedging Chaos: The Case for Investing in Gold
Gold is the investment that everybody loves to hate. But does it still offer a valuable hedge and opportunity for tough times ahead?
Sensory Deprivation (Flotation) Tanks: Here’s What You’re Missing
Flotation tanks (or “sensory deprivation tanks”) are an underestimated weapon in a world of external stimuli. Here’s an overview of the benefits of flotation tanks, backed by scientific research.
Why You Should Switch off the News (And Never Turn It on Again)
Consuming mainstream news is a waste of your time. Here’s why I think we should all switch off the news and never turn it on again.
The Psychology of Obedience: Are We in a Gigantic Milgram Experiment?
A history of war and psychology provides lessons on obedience which we can’t hide from forever.
Backcasting and Premortems: Working Backwards From Success and Failure
Backcasting and premortems encourage us to work backwards mentally from success and failure. Here’s why they can help improve our creativity.
Flow: The Psychology of Being in the Zone
Psychology research suggests that “flow” activities can help keep us healthy and happy. Here’s how to find yourself in the zone more often.
The Ultimate Decision Models for the Modern World
Mental models can help us think and understand the world better. Here are some of the best mental models for decision making and innovation.
The Costs of Clutter: Why Needless Accumulation Harms Us
Clutter has a wide range of costs for our well-being. Now, more than ever, we need to understand those costs and take action.
Confirmation Bias: The Mother of All Thinking Errors
Confirmation bias is perhaps the most dangerous of all our thinking errors. In a world of information abundance, we need tools to reduce it.
5 Big Ideas From Positive Psychology
Positive psychology is teaching us more about the foundations of a happy, fulfilled life. Here are 5 must-read ideas from the field.
Cognitive Biases: Predictable Thinking Errors and How to Avoid Them
Mastering the world of cognitive biases can open the door to better judgements and better habits. Here’s the only introduction to cognitive biases that you need.
Why Financial Independence Is More Important Than Ever
Three important trends underline the importance of financial independence more than ever. And everyone should be awake to them.
The Feynman Technique: 4 Steps to Learn Anything
The Feynman technique is a highly effective mental model to learn and understand concepts. These are the four steps to follow.
5 Ways to Increase Your Cognitive Flexibility
Modern routines can be a force for mental rigidity. Here’s what the research tells us about how to improve our cognitive flexibility and creativity.
Financial Independence and the Four T’s of Autonomy
The research tells us that autonomy can make us feel and perform better. So how can we find more of it in our work and personal lives?
The Psychology of Maintaining and Breaking Streaks
Our obsession with streaks can be a force for good or bad. Here’s why streaks play such a powerful role in our psychology.
Play Hard: The Four Pillars of High-Quality Leisure
Leisure statistics paint a mixed picture on how we are allocating our time and how we might allocate it better.
The Three Ingredients of Self-Determination
Self-Determination Theory points to three intrinsic needs which underpin our intrinsic motivation. Here’s why we should all be aiming for them.
The Benefits of Thinking, Working and Resting in Cycles
We are powered by cycles, but our routines often fail to respect this reality. Here’s why we need to think, work and rest in cycles.
The 30-Day Minimalism Experiment: Why Not Try It?
If you’re interested in minimalism but not sure where to begin, why not try a 30-day minimalism experiment?
Solitude and Socialisation: The Happy Medium
The health risks of loneliness pose one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. Finding a personal balance is more pressing than ever.
How to Use Commitment Devices to Form Lasting Habits
Commitment devices are an effective tool to form lasting new habits and kick old ones into the turf. Here’s how to use them.
Effort Justification: Weighing Effort and Results
Attempts to resolve the dissonance between effort and results can lead to years of misplaced energy. Here are some ideas to avoid this trap.
The Upside-Down World of Conspicuous Consumption
Conspicuous consumption is paradoxically biased towards poorer income groups. Research offers some lessons on where this trend may take us.
The Importance of Looking Beyond Survivors
Survivorship bias can lead us down a road of years of wasted time and money. And we may be more susceptible to it than ever before.
Compound Interest: When Your Gains Feed Your Gains
Compound interest is perhaps the most fundamental of all personal finance principles. Here’s an introduction to the concept.
Reset: The Benefits of a Social Media Detox
A social media detox can bring about renewed focus and clarity. Here are the steps, the benefits and the takeaways from my own experience.
Inversion: The Power of Thinking Upside Down
Inversion can help us see and solve problems differently by reversing the way in which we think about them.
The Financial Magic of Geographic Arbitrage
Geographic arbitrage can dramatically shift the calculations on financial independence. Here’s how it works.
The Psychology of Anchoring and Adjustment
The psychology of anchoring and adjustment can undermine our spending decisions, negotiations and relationships. But it’s also an underestimated opportunity.
Hanlon’s Razor: Things Aren’t as Nasty as You Think
Hanlon’s razor reminds us to avoid attributing behaviour to malice where it can be adequately explained by neglect or stupidity.
We Should All Maintain This Personal Finance Chart
Everybody would benefit by maintaining a version of this simple personal finance chart. It is the road to financial independence in two lines.
Finally, the Open-Plan Office Is Dead (Almost)
At last, the open-plan office is nearing its end. Here’s why the research shows us that’s something we should celebrate.
Hindsight Bias: Beware Those Who Were Right All Along
Hindsight bias suggests that with the passing of time we are likely to see our predictions more favourably. Here’s how to avoid this trap.
How to Delay Gratification (And Why It Matters)
How can we delay gratification for our own good? And why does it matter? A growing body of academic research offers some important answers.
Zero-Based Minimalism: Rethinking Clutter, Bottom-Up
Conventional advice on minimalism is reductive and implicitly tied with privilege. Here’s how zero-based minimalism moves the starting blocks.
The Power and Perils of the Default Option
The psychology of the default effect can be a powerful tool in our financial arsenal. But only when we put it to the right use.
The 24-Minute Rule: Why Napping Improves Performance
Deliberate practice is enhanced by the science-backed benefits of deliberate napping. Now is the time to embrace “the 24-Minute Rule”.
From Learned Helplessness to Learned Optimism
To get up time and time again in the face of adversity, we must move from learned helplessness to learned optimism. Here’s how.
The Truth About Finding Purpose in Your Work
What is the secret to finding purpose in everyday work? And are we looking in the right place? Here’s what the research tells us.
6 Principles for Coping with Volatility and Uncertainty
With recent extreme volatility on financial markets in mind, here are six principles for preparing and coping with volatility and uncertainty in investing.
The Curse of Hyperbolic Discounting – And How to Flip It
An understanding of hyperbolic discounting can unleash improved decisions across all aspects of our lives. Our future rewards depend on it.
The Minimalism Onion: An Introduction to Less
Minimalism is about much more than our stuff. Breaking down this common perception requires a deeper look at the layers of less.
The Psychology of Decluttering: Why It’s So Hard to Ditch Stuff
Decluttering our physical spaces can be a battle against our innate psychology. To win this battle, we must first honestly call out the enemy.
Crisis Psychology: Are You an Ostrich or a Meerkat?
In times of crisis, some take their information consumption up a notch, and some bury their heads in the sand. The case for the middle ground has never been more important.
Emotional Contagion: How Fear and Panic Spread
Modern technologies allow for the rapid spread of emotional contagion. In the face of an evolving global crisis, this may do more harm than good.
Stretch, Sleep, Repeat: The Neuroscience of Habits
Our brains play a powerful adaptive role in the formation of habits. Here’s the science and how to use it to your advantage.
