What the research says

Saving it frees your mind, if you trust the save.

People who saved what they’d just studied remembered the next thing better. Told the save might fail, they lost the benefit.

Why one missed day doesn’t undo a habit

Habits grew from repeating a behavior in a consistent daily context, and missing a single day did not materially affect the process. Here is how the researchers found that out.

In an analysis of hundreds of workday diaries, nothing lifted motivation more than making progress in meaningful work.

Across 94 studies, deciding when and where you’ll act had a medium-to-large effect on whether people actually followed through.

Across 35 years of research, specific and challenging goals consistently beat “do your best.”