Frequently asked questions about thinking, epistemology, and cognitive tools. 1668 answers
Select one agent you currently run — a rule, habit, or protocol you follow in recurring situations. Write it down exactly as it exists in your mind right now. Then apply the specificity test: (1) Can you identify the exact trigger — the observable event that should activate this agent? (2) Can you.
List five agents currently operating in your life. For each one, label it internal (runs in your head) or external (embedded in a tool, environment, or system). Then ask: which internal agents are unreliable enough that they should be externalized? Which external agents have you internalized so.
For the next 48 hours, set a recurring hourly timer. Each time it fires, write down exactly what you were doing and whether that action was deliberate (you consciously chose it) or automatic (it happened without a decision). After 48 hours, sort your entries into two columns: Designed Agents.
Pick one cognitive agent you've tried to install that keeps failing — a review habit, a decision protocol, a daily reflection. Strip it down to the absolute minimum version that you could execute in under two minutes, in any context, with zero preparation. Run that version every day for one week..
Pick one agent you currently run (or want to run) that handles more than one situation. Split it into two or three narrower agents, each with a single trigger condition and a single action. Write each one on a separate card or line. Test them independently for three days and notice which ones.
Pick one agent you already run — a decision rule, a recurring process, a behavioral protocol. Write it down in this format: (1) Name, (2) Trigger — what activates it, (3) Conditions — when it applies and when it doesn't, (4) Actions — the specific steps, in order, (5) Success criteria — how you.
Pick one agent (behavioral routine, decision rule, or AI workflow) you want to deploy. Before using it in a real situation, run a pre-mortem: imagine it is six weeks from now and the agent has completely failed. Write down three specific reasons it failed. Then run the agent in a low-stakes.
Pick one agent you already run — a repeatable behavior triggered by a specific situation. Write down the schema it operates on: what does this agent assume about the world? Then ask three questions. First, where did this assumption come from? Second, when was the last time I tested it? Third, what.
Identify one recurring social situation where you consistently react in ways you later regret — receiving criticism, giving difficult feedback, handling an interruption, navigating a disagreement. Write out the current script: what triggers it, what you typically feel, what you typically do, and.
Identify one recurring decision you face at least monthly — accepting a meeting, buying a tool, saying yes to a social invitation, choosing what to work on first each morning. Write out the criteria you actually use when deciding well (not when deciding hastily or emotionally). Format them as a.
Identify three recurring communication situations in your life — one email type you send repeatedly, one presentation format you deliver regularly, and one difficult conversation you tend to avoid. For each, select a framework from this lesson (BLUF for the email, Pyramid Principle for the.
Identify the health domain where you currently spend the most decision energy — sleep, exercise, nutrition, or stress management. Write one agent for that domain in full trigger-condition-action format. Be precise: specify the exact trigger (a time, a sensation, an environmental cue), the.
Audit your financial decision patterns for the past 30 days. Identify three categories: (1) recurring spending decisions you deliberate on every time despite knowing the right answer, (2) savings behaviors that depend on leftover money rather than automatic allocation, and (3) investment actions.
Conduct a Phase 21 integration audit. (1) List every agent you have identified or designed across Phase 21 — social, decision, communication, health, financial. For each one, write: trigger, condition, action, and current reliability rating (1-5). (2) Draw a simple diagram showing how these agents.
Pick one behavior you've been meaning to do consistently but keep forgetting. Write it as an implementation intention: 'When [specific situation], I will [specific action].' The situation must be something you already encounter reliably — not a time on a clock, but a contextual cue you cannot.
Choose one behavior you've been trying to do more consistently — stretching, journaling, reading, taking vitamins. Identify the physical location where that behavior should happen. Now place one visible, tangible object in that location that makes the behavior obvious: a yoga mat unrolled by your.
Choose one epistemic behavior you want to install — journaling, graph review, a weekly reflection, anything. Assign it a specific time: not 'in the morning' but '6:45 AM' or 'every Friday at 4:00 PM.' Set a single recurring alarm. Run the behavior at that exact time for five consecutive instances.
Map your next workday as a sequence of transition events — not times, but observable moments where one activity ends and another begins. Waking up. Finishing breakfast. Arriving at your workspace. Opening your first tool. Finishing a meeting. Returning from lunch. Closing your last application..
For the next three days, carry a small notebook or use a notes app to log every emotional shift you notice — not just the big ones, but the subtle ones: a flicker of irritation when someone interrupts, a dip in energy after reading an email, a surge of anxiety before a call. For each entry, record.
Map one existing chain in your life. Pick a reliable morning or evening sequence and write out every link: 'After I [completion of A], I do [B].' Identify where the chain breaks most often — that's your weakest link. Now design one new two-link chain: pick an existing behavior you already do.
Pick one trigger you currently use (or want to use) for a behavior change. Write down the last five times it fired. For each, mark whether the firing was a true positive (the situation genuinely warranted the behavior) or a false positive (the trigger fired but the behavior wasn't needed). If more.
Pick one behavioral trigger you currently use — a habit cue, an emotional response pattern, or an if-then rule you've set for yourself. Write down every context in which it fired over the past week. Mark each as 'correct fire' or 'false positive.' For each false positive, identify one qualifying.
Pick one trigger you have set for yourself that consistently fails to fire. Write it down. Then ask: Is the cue perceptually distinct from its background? Does it interrupt my current attentional focus? Is it tied to a moment when I have cognitive bandwidth to notice it? Redesign the trigger using.
Choose one behavior you want to trigger more reliably. Identify the exact physical or digital location where you'll be at the moment you want the behavior to fire. Place a cue there — a physical object, a sticky note, a tool positioned for immediate use. The cue must be impossible to miss and.