ConceptsNest

  As much as we wish for each day to be different, the cycle of repeating the same actions day after day is pretty common. Habits and routines are an important part of our lives . Making our bed in the morning, that first cup of coffee, grabbing a toast on our way to work, listening to our favorite music on the train, are some instances. And while we tend to use the words “habit” and “routine” interchangeably, they both mean two distinct things. Understanding their definitions can help us design good routines and build good habits . Shades of consciousness The main difference between habits and routines is how much aware and intentional we are. A habit usually manifests itself as an automatic urge to do something, often triggered by a particular cue. The stronger the connection between the trigger and the habit, the more ingrained the habit. Waking up, commuting, walking past a particular store, starting a meeting at work are all common cues that can trigger actions such as drinki

  ***Continued from Chapter 01 (Covered previously: Cognitive Biases and Debiasing, The Debiasing Process) Link to Chapter 01 Various Debiasing Techniques There are a few general debiasing strategies (sometimes referred to as  cognitive-forcing strategies ), which can help deal with many of the cognitive biases. Many of these strategies are interrelated since the underlying principles behind them are similar. A) Develop awareness of cognitive biases: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .>>   In some cases, simply being aware of a certain bias can help us reduce its impact. For example, consider the  illusion of transparency , a cognitive bias that causes people to overestimate how well others can discern their emotional state, so that they tend to think that other people can tell if they are feeling nervous or anxious even in situations where that is not the case. This happens because our own emotional experience can be so strong, we are sure our emotions ‘leak out.’ Howev

  C ognitive bias mitigation (or Debiasing ) is the practice through which we reduce the influence that cognitive biases have on people, to enable them to think in a more  rational  and  optimal  manner . Cognitive biases  are systematic patterns of  deviation from rationality , which occur  due to the way  our cognitive system works. Cognitive biases affect us in various areas of our life, from the way we interact with others to the way that we form our political opinions. Since these biases cause us to think and act in an irrational manner, their influence can be detrimental, which is why people often want to be able to mitigate them. Examples of Cognitive Biases Cognitive biases can influence our thinking in diverse ways, including the undermentioned: A) Cognitive biases can affect how we form impressions of other people : -. . .  For example, the halo effect  is a cognitive bias that causes our impression of someone in one area to influence our opinion of that person in othe