Principles
2,201 principles · page 42 of 46
Before entering a difficult conversation, explicitly…
Before entering a difficult conversation, explicitly articulate both your perspective and the other person's perspective, then identify where the two stories diverge as the locus of actual dialogue.
Pre-solve communication structure through templates so…
Pre-solve communication structure through templates so cognitive resources can focus on content rather than form.
Design stress management responses around simple…
Design stress management responses around simple physiological protocols that can execute under cognitive load, not complex cognitive strategies that require intact executive function.
Establish a strict priority ordering between agents so…
Establish a strict priority ordering between agents so that when conflicts occur, the higher-priority agent's instruction is automatically implemented without real-time deliberation.
Build feedback loops into agent systems through regular…
Build feedback loops into agent systems through regular review of whether agents fired, whether they produced intended outcomes, and whether conditions have changed that invalidate their design.
Decompose complex recurring behaviors into narrow-scope…
Decompose complex recurring behaviors into narrow-scope agents with clear interfaces rather than building multi-purpose agents, as complexity should live in agent interactions not in individual agent logic.
Document agent specifications externally rather than holding
Document agent specifications externally rather than holding them in memory, as undocumented agents cannot be inspected, debugged, or systematically improved.
Insert temporal buffers between impulse and action…
Insert temporal buffers between impulse and action for high-stakes decisions to allow deliberate processing to engage before automatic responses execute.
Use pre-set criteria to convert maximizing behaviors…
Use pre-set criteria to convert maximizing behaviors into satisficing behaviors for recurring decisions, eliminating the psychological cost of exhaustive search without sacrificing decision quality.
Match intervention timing to the causal chain by targeting…
Match intervention timing to the causal chain by targeting earlier decision points rather than trying to override behavior at the moment of execution.
Maximize trigger detectability by using cues that register…
Maximize trigger detectability by using cues that register through perception rather than requiring memory retrieval or introspection.
Reroute unwanted behavioral patterns by maintaining…
Reroute unwanted behavioral patterns by maintaining the original trigger and reward while substituting a preferred routine.
Anchor new behaviors to existing reliable behaviors rather…
Anchor new behaviors to existing reliable behaviors rather than abstract temporal or motivational states to create event-based triggers with higher detection probability.
Place behavioral cues in the visual field of locations…
Place behavioral cues in the visual field of locations you already occupy during existing routines rather than in locations requiring separate retrieval actions.
Remove competing affordances from the environment to reduce…
Remove competing affordances from the environment to reduce automatic activation of unwanted behavioral patterns.
Bind behaviors to environmental contexts through repeated…
Bind behaviors to environmental contexts through repeated execution in the same physical space to leverage context-dependent memory encoding.
Externalize time-based triggers through alarms or scheduled…
Externalize time-based triggers through alarms or scheduled notifications rather than relying on internal time monitoring to compensate for the high cognitive cost of self-initiated prospective memory.
Align cognitively demanding analytical tasks with circadian…
Align cognitively demanding analytical tasks with circadian peak arousal periods and insight tasks requiring broader association with circadian trough periods.
Design triggers to fire at transition moments between…
Design triggers to fire at transition moments between contexts rather than within stable contexts, as transitions are perceptually distinct and represent natural decision points.
Train interoceptive awareness systematically to detect…
Train interoceptive awareness systematically to detect somatic markers early enough to intervene before automatic responses execute.
Label emotions with maximum granularity rather than broad…
Label emotions with maximum granularity rather than broad categories to activate prefrontal regulation and enable precise response selection.
Design emotional trigger actions that are executable within…
Design emotional trigger actions that are executable within the emotional state itself, not actions that require the emotion to already be regulated.
Place materials for the next behavior at the physical…
Place materials for the next behavior at the physical location where the current behavior completes to reduce transition friction and support automatic chaining.
Begin with a more conservative trigger threshold than feels…
Begin with a more conservative trigger threshold than feels initially appropriate, prioritizing trust through consistent relevance over maximizing activation frequency.
Instrument triggers empirically by logging activation…
Instrument triggers empirically by logging activation outcomes for a fixed period, then adjust thresholds based on the observed ratio of true positives to false positives.
Set agent activation thresholds to favor sensitivity over…
Set agent activation thresholds to favor sensitivity over specificity when false negatives are costlier than false positives — catch more at the cost of more alerts.
Add explicit qualifying conditions to triggers as guard…
Add explicit qualifying conditions to triggers as guard clauses that evaluate context before execution, rather than discovering context mismatches after the trigger fires.
Increase signal salience by raising perceptual contrast…
Increase signal salience by raising perceptual contrast rather than lowering detection thresholds when triggers are being missed.
Switch sensory modalities when designing triggers to exploit
Switch sensory modalities when designing triggers to exploit parallel attentional processing rather than competing within the same channel.
Create mandatory physical interactions with trigger objects…
Create mandatory physical interactions with trigger objects by placing them in the path of default behaviors rather than relying on passive visual cues.
Combine trigger conditions from multiple independent…
Combine trigger conditions from multiple independent dimensions using Boolean AND operators to reduce false positives while preserving true activations.
Limit compound trigger conditions to two or three because…
Limit compound trigger conditions to two or three because adding conditions beyond that threshold reduces activation probability more than it improves precision.
Stack trigger conditions across different dimensions…
Stack trigger conditions across different dimensions (temporal, spatial, internal) rather than within the same dimension to maximize independent information and selectivity.
Position trigger cues at decision forks in actual movement…
Position trigger cues at decision forks in actual movement patterns rather than in logically appropriate but rarely encountered locations.
Design environments to create friction asymmetry where…
Design environments to create friction asymmetry where desired behaviors become easier and competing behaviors become harder through strategic object placement.
Curate notification environments by disabling all…
Curate notification environments by disabling all non-behavioral triggers to prevent attentional competition from degrading intentional trigger effectiveness.
Rotate trigger cue formats, timing, and delivery channels…
Rotate trigger cue formats, timing, and delivery channels periodically to counter habituation and maintain attentional capture.
Use social presence and accountability as commitment devices
Use social presence and accountability as commitment devices that attach reputational costs to behavioral non-execution rather than relying solely on internal motivation.
Design social accountability around observable processes…
Design social accountability around observable processes rather than outcomes to trigger constructive activation instead of performance anxiety.
Curate your regular social environment deliberately because…
Curate your regular social environment deliberately because observational learning automatically triggers behavioral imitation of visible, rewarded patterns performed by similar others.
Build team rituals that create recurring social triggers…
Build team rituals that create recurring social triggers through group structure rather than requiring individual relationship maintenance.
Design trigger systems to maintain signal-to-noise ratios…
Design trigger systems to maintain signal-to-noise ratios above 60-80%, removing any trigger that produces useful behavior less than 60% of the time it fires.
Externalize trigger infrastructure into trusted systems…
Externalize trigger infrastructure into trusted systems rather than relying on internal mental tracking, treating unreviewed triggers as degrading assets that consume attention without producing value.
Schedule periodic reviews of behavioral infrastructure…
Schedule periodic reviews of behavioral infrastructure at intervals proportional to environmental stability, conducting immediate audits after any major context change.
Design triggers to work at your minimum cognitive state…
Design triggers to work at your minimum cognitive state rather than your maximum, placing signifiers in the environment rather than relying on internal state detection.
Prioritize trigger coverage over trigger perfection…
Prioritize trigger coverage over trigger perfection, accepting that an adequate response that reliably fires is more valuable than an optimal response with no activation mechanism.
Maintain rare-event triggers through deliberate practice…
Maintain rare-event triggers through deliberate practice since natural repetition is insufficient to keep low-frequency, high-consequence responses calibrated.
Pre-computing resolutions for recurring decision types…
Pre-computing resolutions for recurring decision types through frameworks eliminates compound cognitive costs by converting expensive deliberative operations into cached pattern-matching retrievals.