Last week was a fantastic week for you. You were doing so well. You played a game of soccer with friends, went on a walk with your partner every single day, and spent all weekend gardening. Then a sudden freeze...
Don’t Settle for Engagement if You’re Looking for Impact
No healthcare buzzword has been more used and abused in the past decade than “patient engagement,” despite the fact that — or perhaps because — there seems to be little agreement on how the phrase is actually defined. The hottest...
To Achieve Goals, Focus on Behavior
The holiday season is upon us, whether you’re ready for it or not. Many people overeat in the holiday season (all those leftover treats at home, cookies in the office, how could you resist?!) And — no surprise — it...
When Digital Health Research Meets the Real World
You just finished presenting the results of your research project at the annual conference for your field. Your novel digital health intervention demonstrated a meaningful and robust impact on outcomes. This is a big moment; you’ve worked hard to get...
How Motivational Fuel Can Help Us Avoid the Fate Of Aesop’s Grasshopper
One of Aesop’s better-known fables features some ants and a grasshopper; the industrious, hardworking ants who labor all summer to store up for the harsh winter, and the lazy, indulgent grasshopper who spends his time playing the fiddle and enjoying...
Making a Doctor’s Appointment Should Be Easy (It Isn’t)
I recently had a friction-filled experience when I tried to make an appointment for a routine physical exam. It’s been a while since I’ve had my annual exam, as my previous doctor moved away in 2015 and I haven’t gotten...
Decrease Friction and Add Fuel for Health Behavior Change
Human behavior is anything but simple, and for that exact reason I believe that oversimplifications can be useful in the first step of designing for behavior change. When it comes down to it, there’s a lot of human behavior that...
Make Plans, Not Resolutions
Your new year’s resolution is very likely to fail. Most do. Resolutions are just not built to succeed. They rely on willpower, hoping and wishing (which last about a week, a month if you're lucky). New year’s resolutions are like...
Birds Of a Feather Don’t Just Flock Together. They Also Influence Each Other’s Behavior.
Your beliefs don’t always predict your behavior While it’s true that your beliefs may spur action when you’re particularly passionate about something (if you believe that Coke is superior to Pepsi, you’ll choose Coke over Pepsi until you die), it...
If Social Media Is Bringing You Down, You’re Probably Not Doing It Right.
Social media is everywhere and shows no signs of slowing down. There are now more monthly active Facebook users in the world than there are households owning a television set. Any product experiencing this degree of success is bound to...
A How-To Guide For Setting Better Goals
We often hold vague notions about what we want to do for our health. You might say you want to exercise more, eat healthier, or stick to the doctor’s orders. But it’s not often that we transform those fuzzy desires...
Implementing Our Best Intentions
“If I am parking, then I will park in the spot farthest from my destination.” “If I wake up tomorrow morning, then I will put on my shoes and go on a 20 minute run.” “If I am feeling tempted...
