How are we using old software in a modern hardware?

Understand why avoiding what makes you anxious brings short-term relief but worsens anxiety over time. Learn the science behind avoidance and effective ways to break the cycle.

Learn how sleep affects productivity, cognitive function, memory, focus, and emotional well-being. A science-based guide to optimizing your performance through better sleep.

Why does this always happen?

Discover the best ways to learn new skills

Stuck in your head? Discover why overthinking feels productive, how it sabotages your performance, and simple ways to shift into real action.

References: Wood W, Quinn JM, Kashy DA. Habits in everyday life: Thought, emotion, and action. J Pers Soc Psychol . 2002;83(6):1281–1297. Wood W, Neal DT. The habitual consumer. J Consum Psychol . 2009;19(4):579–592. Neal DT, Wood W, Labrecque JS, Lally P. How do habits guide behavior? Perceived and actual triggers of habits in daily life. J Exp Soc Psychol . 2012;48(2):492–498. Wood W, Mazar A, Neal DT. Habits and goals in human behavior: Separate but interacting systems. Perspect Psychol Sci . 2021;16(1):1–16. Graybiel AM. Habits, rituals, and the evaluative brain. Annu Rev Neurosci . 2008;31:359–387. Smith KS, Graybiel AM. Habit formation. Dialogues Clin Neurosci . 2016;18(1):33–43. Yin HH, Knowlton BJ. The role of the basal ganglia in habit formation. Nat Rev Neurosci . 2006;7(6):464–476. Graybiel AM. The basal ganglia and chunking of action repertoires. Neurobiol Learn Mem . 1998;70(1–2):119–136. Schultz W. Dopamine reward prediction error coding. Dialogues Clin Neurosci . 2016;18(1):23–32. Schultz W, Dayan P, Montague PR. A neural substrate of prediction and reward. Science . 1997;275(5306):1593–1599. Nasser HM, Calu DJ, Schoenbaum G, Sharpe MJ. The dopamine prediction error: Contributions to associative models of reward learning. Front Psychol . 2017;8:244. Kahnt T, Schoenbaum G. The curious case of dopaminergic prediction errors and learning associative information beyond value. Nat Rev Neurosci . 2025;26:169–178. Lally P, van Jaarsveld CHM, Potts HWW, Wardle J. How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. Eur J Soc Psychol . 2010;40(6):998–1009. American Psychological Association. Harnessing the power of habits. Monitor Psychol . 2020;51(8):78–83.

References: Baddeley A. Working memory: theories, models, and controversies. Annu Rev Psychol . 2012;63:1–29. Chai WJ, Abd Hamid AI, Malin Abdullah J. Working memory from the psychological and neurosciences perspectives: a review. Front Psychol . 2018;9:401. Rogers RD, Monsell S. Costs of a predictable switch between simple cognitive tasks. J Exp Psychol Gen . 1995;124(2):207–231. Rubinstein JS, Meyer DE, Evans JE. Executive control of cognitive processes in task switching. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform . 2001;27(4):763–797. Garner KG, Dux PE. Knowledge generalization and the costs of multitasking. Nat Rev Neurosci . 2023;24:98–112. Zhou X, Lei X. Wandering minds with wandering brain networks. Neurosci Bull . 2018;34(6):1017–1028. Sorella S, Crescentini C, Matiz A, et al. Resting‑state default mode network variability predicts spontaneous mind‑wandering. Front Hum Neurosci . 2025;19:1515902. Sweller J. Cognitive load during problem solving: effects on learning. Cogn Sci . 1988;12(2):257–285. 

Why do we procrastinate even when tasks matter most? Discover the emotional roots of procrastination and how to stop