What are the most significant barriers to behavior change?

“A commitment device is a tool where you treat yourself the way you would normally think of a government or a manager treating you. You give yourself deadlines, maybe with penalties associated with them for failing to achieve a goal. The firmer your commitment, the harder it is to back down and procrastinate. There are even websites you can use, like stickK.com and Beeminder, where you can put money on the line that you’ll be forced to forfeit if you fail to achieve a goal by a certain date, and you can be held accountable for that by a referee who you name. And that helps a lot of procrastination because now, you have a penalty that you’re going to incur if you don’t achieve your goal by this stated date.”

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What makes a city great? It’s Not Just Bikes

YouTube stories of excellent urban planning and urban experiences from Amsterdam and the Netherlands. Explore with a Dutch urban planner matters of sound pollution, suburbs that don’t suck, fundamentals, public transportation, and bicycle planning. Given that the Netherlands is regularly one of the most liveable countries, it's interesting to review the small, invisible choices that make Dutch cities tick.

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App location data needs more regulation

“Experts have warned for years that data collected by advertising companies from Americans’ phones could be used to track them and reveal the most personal details of their lives. Unfortunately, they were right," Senator Ron Wyden told Motherboard in a statement, responding to the incident. "Data brokers and advertising companies have lied to the public, assuring them that the information they collected was anonymous. But, as this awful episode demonstrates, those claims were bogus—individuals can be tracked and identified.”

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Habit Canvas by Samuel Salzer

We know what we are supposed to do, but we struggle with turning our good intentions into action and implementing them into our messy lives. The good news is that the struggle just got a whole lot easier. Introducing the Habit Canvas — a one-page tool that can help you easily craft a science-backed plan towards building lasting habits and achieving your personal goals.

Created by habit expert Samuel Salzer and based on behavioral science's latest insights and behavior change strategies, this is your one-page master tool to take you towards an easier and more fulfilling life.

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