Blog
The quiet workof becoming.
Thoughts on goal setting, habit building, and the quiet work of becoming who you want to be.
February 15, 2025
·10 min read
Progress, Not Perfection: Why Good Enough Wins
Progress, not perfection, is more than a slogan. Research on perfectionism and self-compassion shows why good enough, done often, keeps goals alive.
Perfectionism rose 32% in one generation - and it's not making anyone better
February 8, 2025
·10 min read
Morning Routines That Actually Work
A morning routine built on research: protect your first hour, skip the phone, do one thing that matters, move and write. Fit it to your body clock.
Cortisol peaks 30-45 min after waking - your built-in focus window
February 1, 2025
·10 min read
What to Look for in a Self-Improvement App
A checklist for choosing a self-improvement app: the B=MAP test, honest vs predatory hooks, real accountability, and what it does on your worst day.
The average app loses ~77% of its daily active users within 3 days
January 25, 2025
·10 min read
How to Break Down Goals Into Small Steps
Big goals feel overwhelming. The fix is better structure, not more motivation. Here's how to break down goals into small steps you'll actually take.
Students estimated 34 days for their thesis. Actual: 56 days.
January 18, 2025
·10 min read
How to Share Your Goals So They Actually Stick
In Matthews' study, people who told a supportive friend and sent weekly progress reports rated their goal achievement nearly twice as high. Here is how.
The accountability group scored nearly twice as high on goal achievement
January 11, 2025
·10 min read
How to Stay Motivated When It Gets Hard
How to stay motivated when the excitement wears off: design for flat days, match challenge to skill, reconnect to your reason, and plan for the middle.
Motivation needs 3 things: autonomy, competence, and relatedness
January 4, 2025
·10 min read
5 Goal Tracking Methods That Work
Five goal tracking methods, from numbers and checklists to journaling, milestones and accountability, and how to pick one you'll still use.
Checking your progress reliably improves your odds of reaching a goal - most of all when you record it and make it visible
December 28, 2024
·10 min read
Journaling for Goals: What to Write and Why It Works
Journaling for goals works when you write to spot patterns. Simple morning and evening prompts, plus what Pennebaker's writing research found.
4 days of writing improved health for months afterward
December 14, 2024
·10 min read
Why Goals Fail (and It's Rarely Laziness)
Why goals fail has little to do with laziness: vague plans, positive fantasies, no feedback and all-or-nothing thinking. Here's what to fix instead.
Only 19% of resolutions survive to the two-year mark
December 7, 2024
·10 min read
How to Build Habits That Last
How to build habits that stick: why 66 days beats the 21-day myth, how cues and rewards work, and how to shrink, stack and design habits into your day.
It takes 66 days to form a habit - not 21