186. Do You Need a Routine?

No Stupid Questions

Would you be more adventurous if you had more structure? Do you multitask while brushing your teeth? And what would Mike’s perfect brother Peter do?

• SOURCES:
  • David Brooks, opinion columnist for The New York Times.
  • Colin Camerer, professor of economics at the California Institute of Technology.
  • James Clear, writer.
  • Mason Currey, author.
  • David Goggins, ultra-endurance athlete and retired U.S. Navy SEAL.
  • Jesse Itzler, entrepreneur and author.
  • Katy Milkman, professor of operations, information and decisions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and host of the Choiceology podcast.
  • Aneesh Rai, professor of management and organization at the University of Maryland.
  • Tony Robbins, author, motivational speaker, and life coach.
  • Sydney Scott, professor of marketing at Washington University in St. Louis.
  • Cass Sunstein, professor and founding director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School.
  • Elanor Williams, professor of marketing at Washington University in St. Louis.

• RESOURCES:
  • "A Field Experiment on Subgoal Framing to Boost Volunteering: The Trade-Off Between Goal Granularity and Flexibility," by Aneesh Rai, Marissa A. Sharif, Edward H. Chang, Katherine L. Milkman, and Angela L. Duckworth (Journal of Applied Psychology, 2023).
  • "What’s Next? Advances and Challenges in Understanding How Environmental Predictability Shapes the Development of Cognitive Control," by Yuko Munakata, Diego Placido, and Winnie Zhuang (Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2023).
  • "A Neural Autopilot Theory of Habit: Evidence From Consumer Purchases and Social Media Use," by Colin Camerer, Yi Xin, and Clarice Zhao (Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 2023).
  • "In Goal Pursuit, I Think Flexibility Is the Best Choice for Me but Not for You," by Sydney E. Scott and Elanor F. Williams (Journal of Marketing Research, 2022).
  • Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, by James Clear (2018).
  • Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond (2016).
  • Living with a SEAL: 31 Days Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet, by Jesse Itzler (2015).
  • "The Good Order," by David Brooks (The New York Times, 2014).
  • Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, by Mason Currey (2013).