Be a better worker with "sludge," the behavioral science productivity trick — Quartz at Work: Meet Sludge. Sludge appears to have been concocted by Thaler himself (with a hat-tip to his co-author) on Twitter:
Thaler’s response was a reference to the bureaucratic red tape that undermines the effectiveness of government programs. In this particular tweet, he was responding to the complexity of the US tax code and its impact on tax filers.
This example paints sludge as a nefarious force that should be eradicated at all costs. But what if sludge could be used as a tool for improving our work lives?
It turns out, I’ve been a sludge aficionado for quite some time, particularly when it comes to my addictive relationship with my iPhone. I disabled TouchID and created a really, really long password and have also used Parental Controls to help me tune out the incessantly depressing news flow. Sometimes I purposely leave my laptop charger at home to force myself to focus on my most important tasks first (before the battery dies). In all these instance, sludge acts as a mini-speed bump that forces me to reflect and focus on the task at hand.
Thaler’s response was a reference to the bureaucratic red tape that undermines the effectiveness of government programs. In this particular tweet, he was responding to the complexity of the US tax code and its impact on tax filers.
This example paints sludge as a nefarious force that should be eradicated at all costs. But what if sludge could be used as a tool for improving our work lives?
It turns out, I’ve been a sludge aficionado for quite some time, particularly when it comes to my addictive relationship with my iPhone. I disabled TouchID and created a really, really long password and have also used Parental Controls to help me tune out the incessantly depressing news flow. Sometimes I purposely leave my laptop charger at home to force myself to focus on my most important tasks first (before the battery dies). In all these instance, sludge acts as a mini-speed bump that forces me to reflect and focus on the task at hand.