Manage Your Stress And Time More Effectively

Cognitive bias is when we filter information to support an idea we already believe. While they may seem like they are always negative, they can help us see patterns, form connections, and find easier methods of doing things. However, they are not rational, they are assumptions. Cognitive traps or distortions are problematic, exaggerated forms of cognitive bias that have a negative impact. They trap us from seeing the big picture. Cognitive traps are situations where we assume only negative outcomes, we assume someone is thinking negatively of us, we consider emotions to be evidence of truth, and we view everything as black and white.

Download the Cognitive Biases worksheet.

Heuristics help explain human inconsistencies concerning judgment and decision making. They are mental shortcuts that enable quick judgments about the likelihood of unknown events. Biases can be identified in multiple ways. They can be group-specific, they can impact decision making, alter judgments, impact memory, and reflect motivation. Many biases are self-serving or self-directed. Age affects cognitive bias. Younger adults tend to have more cognitive flexibility.

Download the Biases and Heuristics worksheet.

Cognitive shortcuts are automatic cognitive patterns that people use for efficient decision-making. However, they can also be misused, resulting in biased decision-making. In this lecture, we will discuss how these shortcuts can be helpful, but also how they can be harmful. We will also go over information bias. We will also talk about how stress plays into this and give you coping mechanisms for combating stress. Remember to be mindful of your cognitive distortions.

Download the Stress and Habits worksheet.

In this lecture, we will talk about the Fogg Behavioural Model, factors in motivation, and factors that are sabotaging your efforts. This will help you to become more aware of how to hack your own mind for more efficiency. There is a lot to go over in this lecture, so if you need to go back and repeat it, feel free to do so.

Download the Designing Change Part 1 worksheet and search for The Behaviour Wizard online, which BJ Fogg and his team built to assist you in exploring the many forms of behaviour modification.

In this lecture, we will study methods to improve your abilities, identify your own biases, and use simplicity as a tool for organisational behaviour. Knowing how to actively develop talent is a skill in itself, and learning how to learn is an invaluable meta-skill that you can apply to anything.

Download the Designing Change Part 2 worksheet, which is the perfect way to get started.

Here, we will visit the Fogg Behaviour Model and learn about the prompts in more detail. We will also look at some real-life examples to demonstrate the effectiveness of implementing these prompts. Change is about programming yourself to do what you want.

Download the Prompting Change worksheet, which will help you design prompts for the changes you want to make.

Congratulations on making it to the end of the course! Throughout the previous lectures, we discussed how stress affects the human brain in ways such as impacting overall health and changing how the brain forms memories. We looked at how cognitive biases and traps can distort thinking in ways that cause stress. We also looked at how you can save time and mental fatigue from decision-making by using heuristics, how to overcome bad habits, how to apply minimalism, how to use Fogg's behavioural model. We hope you enjoyed learning about all the tools and techniques you can use to tackle the above problems so you can enjoy a future of wellbeing, in both mind and body.