The Importance of Randomness in Self-Help

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There's an extreme arbitrariness to these techniques, right? Like why is it that Saturday and Sunday is off, you know, when I'm Friday and Saturday or whatever. Almost every self-help system has some arbitrary number going on in it,. You're just maybe more kind of using that for comic effect, I think. We don't get into defending it. We're like, yes, of course it's absurd. That's the point.

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What is "extreme" moderation? What is the "No S" diet? What is a "shovelglove"? Why be a luddite only on the weekend? What are some better alternatives to traditional habit tracking?

In the real world, Reinhard Engels is a librarian, software engineer, and father of three. But on the Internet, he's a diet, exercise, and productivity guru. His shtick is something called "Systematic Moderation": simple, common-sense, psychology-based rules for building sustainable good habits — and a touch of humour to help you laugh away the ridiculous excuses you'll come up with trying to get out of them. Find out more about Reinhard at everydaysystems.com, watch his shovelglove demonstration, or email him at reinhard.engels@gmail.com.

Staff