Money
Do cab drivers quit early on good days? What Uber data said next
A 1997 study found NYC cab drivers worked fewer hours on high-pay days. Later data mostly disagreed. One lesson is about the time frame you judge money by.
October 2026
Success
The Peter Principle, Measured: When Top Sellers Become Managers
In a large study of sales workers, top sellers were likelier to be promoted, and their teams tended to sell less afterward. How to check your next rung.
Wealth
Save More Tomorrow: How Saving Went From 3.5% to 13.6% at One Firm
At one U.S. firm, pledging future raises lifted participants' average saving rate from 3.5% to 13.6% over 40 months. How it worked, and its limits.
Mindset
The Theater Tickets That Explain Why You Can't Quit a Bad Plan
In a 1982–83 theater study, full-price buyers used more tickets in the first half of the season. Why spent money pulls at you, and one question to check it.
Motivation
Stop mid-sentence: the part of the Zeigarnik idea that holds up
A 2025 meta-analysis found unfinished tasks aren't remembered better, but people do tend to resume them. Here's how to use a deliberate stopping point.
Wealth
The $75,000 happiness ceiling, and the three studies that redrew it
A 2010 study said daily happiness stops rising near $75,000. Three later papers redrew the picture. What they found, and what's still in dispute.
Motivation
Should You Announce Your Goals? It Depends Who You Tell
A 2009 study linked announced identity goals to less effort. A 2020 study found telling a higher-status person helped. Here's what each one measured.
Money
Why cars at 79,900 miles sold for about $210 more than at 80,100
In over 22 million used-car auction sales, average prices dropped at each 10,000-mile mark. How left-digit bias can tilt what you pay and are offered.
Habits
The one-sentence plan behind a 38% vs. 91% exercise gap
A one-sentence if-then plan beat motivation alone in a small exercise study. What the wider research shows, why it works, and where it falls short.
Success
Sydney Opera House: 4 Years Planned, 14 Built — Why Plans Run Late
The Sydney Opera House opened ten years late. Thesis students, on average, finished after their own worst case. Why plans run long, and one simple check.
Motivation
The Hot Hand Was Called a Myth for Decades. Then the Math Flipped
A 1985 study called basketball's hot hand an illusion. A 2018 math fix found a modest one in the same data. How to use a streak without overbetting it.
Mindset
The IKEA Effect: Why Your Own Plan Can Look Better Than It Is
People who built a plain IKEA box bid about 63% more than people shown it prebuilt. What that means for your own plans, plus a simple stranger test.
Habits
The Habit Chain Seinfeld Disowns, and What Happens When It Breaks
Seinfeld says the X-on-a-calendar method wasn't his idea. Research on broken streaks suggests why one missed day can stall a habit, and how to plan for it.
Success
The bullet-hole plane and why success stories can mislead you
Abraham Wald's 1943 bomber memos anchor the famous survivorship-bias story. What he actually wrote, and one question to ask before copying a success story.
Money
Your tax refund is a 0% loan. Why does it feel like a bonus?
A tax refund is your own money returned at 0%. Research on inertia and mental accounting shows why it feels like a bonus, and when it costs you.