on UX, behavior design

What is Behavior Design?

The problem is: People try to change and they fail. No matter the ambition—making lasting, positive behavior change can be incredibly difficult. You can pick up an unhealthy habit very easily, but creating healthy behaviors is another deal entirely. Ever since I dropped out of University in 2009 to run my first tech startup I have been trying to change and grow as a person. At the heart of any personal or organization change is human behavior. I have experienced the challenge of creating lasting behavior change countless times. I can think back to many ambitions and all

on reflection, New Orleans, journal

2020 New Year Reflection: A journal excerpt from October 2009

I was reading through some of my old writings today as I reflect and plan for the year ahead. One poem stood out to me and I thought I would share: October 09 2019 | Loyola University, New Orleans I thought about dreams today. 
How life itself is a dream in a way. 
How life is not what it seems. 

What if the reason we dream is to be shown things we cannot otherwise see? 

I wonder if G-d dreams... 
What if life itself was G-d's dream? 
Out of utter Darkness came Light, 
And out of that Light came Life.

 Just

on behavior design, digital minimalism, digital wellbeing

Three Steps to Digital Wellbeing

Many of my behavior design clients have a shared aspiration: They want more peace in their lives, more time with family and less time in front of their screens (specifically their phones). I've been designing behavior interventions to fulfill this aspiration for myself over the last five years. The following steps are based on BJ Fogg's Behavior Model and his methods for troubleshooting behaviors. Step one: Get clear on your aspiration First, you need to define which behaviors you deem are unhealthy. In his latest book Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport describes a process we must all go through to evaluate

on behavior design, tiny habits, productivity

Tiny Habits + Pomodoro: The Ultimate Productivity System

Our society is separating into two camps: People who can focus (are masters of technology) People who can't (are slaves to technology) You have 80,000 hours of your career. Are you going to spend 10,000 of those hours flicking through social media posts?  If you're like the average smartphone user then yup, you will. The average smart phone user spends 3 hours per day on their phone. That's 21 hours a week 1,092 hours a year... The call to action In a society of constant distraction, how can you focus on the most important task every minute

on behavior design, device addiction

Tech: Are you the slave or the master?

In 2015 I realized I had a problem. I woke up first thing in the morning and checked my email on my phone. I skimmed social media and read articles on my commute to work. I spent all day at work in front of a screen. I continued my phone-in-face routine on my way home, after dinner and before bed. I was so tired by the end of each day I often felt sick. Something had to change... I was a slave to technology. Trying to solve the behavior addiction I've been trying different approaches to moderate my device addiction.

on behavior design, device addiction

How one simple change can give you 21 more hours of life every week

We're all busy. We all want more time. What would you do if you had 21 more hours to live every single week? Finding My 21 Hours The average smartphone user spends 3 hours actively using their phone every single day. That's 21 hours a week—nearly three full 8-hour working days spent texting, flicking through social media and checking the news. That's crazy. Does this investment of time produce reciprocal benefits? Over the past few days a series of articles challenged me to reevaluate my relationship with technology from the perspective of a new father faced with the

on career, reflection, prototyping

Designing My Life | Part VI: Prototyping Experiences

I’ve spent the last 11 months of my life prototyping experiences in effort to identify the best way to create a meaningful vocation for the next chapter of my life. The idea around prototyping is to create a small test where you can learn as much as you can without building ‘the real thing’. In this instance, the ‘experiences’ are different versions of your working life. Rather than committing to a specific job or venture for the long-term, you create a prototype experience to test it. The book Designing Your Life encourages readers to prototype experiences of their different

on short story, journal, faith

The Man in The Puffy Red Coat

When a man falls back and ceases to breathe in your hands, when his eyes roll into the back of his head, and when his wrists no longer pulse—you hope and pray with all your might and strength that if there is a G-d, He will save this man. I remember hearing a man come out of the restaurant Jaja Bistro on 5641 Nevada in downtown Littleton and say “Thank G-d you were there for him.” and saying “Yes, there is a G-d.” It may have been in my head where I said it, or it may have been

on design, bootcamp, review, behavior

Review: Behavior Design Bootcamp w/ BJ Fogg

When was the last time you invested in yourself in a way that created lasting, meaningful change? So many workshops and conferences seem to be of similar ilk: People talking about what they know and other people listening—some discussion in between... then everyone goes home. A few weeks ago I participated in a two-day 'bootcamp' that was markedly different. Dr. BJ Fogg is a researcher and professor at Stanford University who runs the Behavior Design lab. For two days BJ and his team taught us everything they possibly could in a 48-hour training at a beautiful venue in

on review, design, bootcamp, sprint

Review: Design Sprint Bootcamp w/ AJ & Smart + Jake Knapp

In June I had the pleasure of attending a 2-day bootcamp run by AJ & Smart with Jake Knapp on the 'Design Sprint' process described in Jake's book Sprint. It was the kind of training that deserves a review, so I thought I would invest some time in sharing my experience in Berlin. I'll start off with a high-level overview and then go into deeper detail for each of the two days for those who want to learn more. This is not a sponsored post, just something I wanted to do to say 'thank you' and reflect upon what I