The 10-Day Friction Cut

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Most January plans focus on adding things: new habits, new tools, new goals. The problem? Many workdays are already crowded. When everything is additive, momentum slows before it starts.

The 10-Day Friction Cut flips the approach. Instead of adding, you remove. For ten workdays, eliminate one small source of friction each day — something that quietly drains time, energy, or attention. No overhaul required. Just subtraction.

Friction shows up in familiar ways: too many notifications, repetitive tasks that could be automated, meetings that no longer need to exist, tabs you never close, or decisions you remake every day because nothing is set by default. Individually, they feel minor. Collectively, they create drag.

Behavior research consistently shows that removing obstacles can be more effective than adding new behaviors. When barriers are reduced, follow-through improves without requiring extra motivation [1]. That’s why this challenge works — it changes the environment, not your willpower.

Here’s how to approach the ten days:

  • Day 1: Unsubscribe from noise you never read.
  • Day 2: Automate or template something you do repeatedly.
  • Day 3: Close open loops — tabs, drafts, half-finished tasks.
  • Day 4: Decline or shorten a meeting that doesn’t need the time.
  • Day 5: Set a default (lunch, workout time, check-in cadence).
  • Days 6–10: Repeat with whatever creates friction in your day.

The goal isn’t minimalism for its own sake. It’s clarity. Studies on cognitive load show that fewer interruptions and simpler systems improve focus and reduce stress, especially in knowledge-based work [2].

What makes the Friction Cut sustainable is its scale. Ten small removals don’t feel dramatic — but they add up. By the end of two weeks, most people notice faster starts, fewer context switches, and more mental space for actual work.

January doesn’t need to be louder to be productive. Often, it needs to be quieter. Removing what gets in the way is one of the fastest ways to get there.

Less drag. More signal. That’s a strong way to start the year.

Sources

[1] James Clear. “How to Make Your Future Habits Easy”

How to Make Your Future Habits Easy

[2] UNC Learning Center. “Distractions”
https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/take-charge-of-distractions/

[3] HSI. “What is Cognitive Load, and Why Does It Matter for Corporate Training and Development?”
https://hsi.com/blog/what-is-cognitive-load-and-why-does-it-matter-for-corporate-training-and-development

 

The “Good Enough” Upgrade

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January has a way of convincing people they need to get everything exactly right. The perfect plan. The perfect setup. The perfect decision. And somehow, that pressure often does the opposite of what it’s meant to do — it slows things down.

The idea behind the “good enough” upgrade is simple: progress beats perfection, especially at the start of the year. Instead of waiting until you’ve compared every option or optimized every detail, you make a decision that’s solid, informed, and workable — and you move on.

Psychologists have a term for what happens when choices pile up: decision fatigue. The more decisions we face, the harder it becomes to choose well, and the more likely we are to delay altogether [1]. In January, when people are resetting routines and making plans, that fatigue shows up fast.

A “good enough” upgrade doesn’t mean settling. It means recognizing when the marginal benefit of more research or tweaking is small — and the cost in time and energy is high. For example, scheduling preventive care early in the year instead of waiting for the “perfect” week. Choosing coverage that meets your needs rather than endlessly comparing options. Setting a realistic routine instead of designing one that collapses by mid-month.

Research consistently shows that people are more likely to follow through when goals and decisions feel achievable, not idealized [2]. Small, completed actions build momentum. Perfection often builds friction.

This mindset is especially useful in tech environments, where optimization is second nature. But not every decision needs to be optimized to the tenth decimal. Some just need to be made — thoughtfully, but decisively — so you can focus on what actually moves the work forward.

The “good enough” upgrade also creates flexibility. When you act early, you can adjust later. When you wait for perfect, you often lose the window entirely.

January isn’t about locking in flawless systems for the next twelve months. It’s about setting a baseline that works — one you can refine as the year unfolds. A few solid decisions now create space, clarity, and energy for everything that follows.

Good enough, done early, tends to outperform perfect, done never.

Sources

[1] The Decision Lab. “What Is Decision Fatigue?”
Link

[2] Parents Foundation. “The Power of Small Wins in Mental Health: How Little Victories Build Confidence”
Link

[3] Medium. “Perfectionism: How It Holds You Back, And How You Can Overcome It”
https://medium.com/@vivien.tai1012/perfectionism-how-it-holds-you-back-and-how-you-can-overcome-it-64bd23ec99c5

 

 

The January Maintenance Window

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In tech, we don’t wait for systems to fail before we act. We schedule maintenance windows. We patch early. We stabilize before traffic spikes.
January is that same window — just for people.

After the pace of Q4, most of us start the year running on whatever carried us through December. That works for a while. But small issues — skipped checkups, outdated coverage choices, low-grade burnout — have a way of turning into bigger disruptions once the year accelerates.

Preventive maintenance matters because it’s easier, cheaper, and far less stressful than emergency fixes. Early care and regular check-ins help reduce the likelihood of surprise issues that pull focus and energy away from work and life later in the year [1]. The same logic applies whether you’re managing infrastructure or your own health.

January is uniquely well-suited for this kind of reset. Calendars tend to be lighter. Deductibles have reset. Appointments are easier to schedule. And mentally, there’s more space to deal with the basics before priorities stack up again.

A personal maintenance window doesn’t require dramatic change. It’s about checking the fundamentals:

  • Are you current on routine care?
  • Do you know where to go when something minor comes up?
  • Are there small issues you’ve been ignoring because they didn’t feel urgent?

Those questions matter because small delays often lead to bigger time sinks later. Everyday health and productivity research consistently shows that addressing issues early reduces long-term disruption and stress [2].

This is where access and simplicity make a difference. Having a clear path to care — whether that’s virtual, in-office, or workplace-based — lowers the friction that keeps people from acting early. When care is easy to access, it’s more likely to happen before problems escalate.

Think of January as stabilization, not transformation. You’re not reinventing anything. You’re making sure the system is healthy enough to run at speed.

A little maintenance now keeps the year running smoother — and that’s a return on investment most people can feel by February.

Sources

[1] Med Star. “Why Preventive Care Matters.”
https://www.medstarhealth.org/blog/why-preventive-care-matters-a-doctors-perspective

[2] Trail Runner. “You Should Be Doing More Body Maintenance. Here’s Why.”
https://www.trailrunnermag.com/training/you-should-be-doing-more-body-maintenance-heres-why/

[3] Fiton. “The Power of Preventive Care: Taking a Proactive Approach to Health”
https://www.fitonhealth.com/blog/benefits-of-preventive-care

The Year-in-Small-Wins Reflection Trick

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December has a funny way of stretching time. Suddenly, you’re looking back on the whole year, wondering how January was eleven months ago…but also somehow last week. Before the new-year noise kicks in — the resolutions, the goals, the “this is my year” energy — there’s a quieter, more realistic way to close things out: the Small Wins Reflection.

It takes five minutes. No journaling system, no workbook, no color-coded life audit. Just pause and list five things — big or tiny — that went right this year.

Why small wins matter more than big ones
Our brains are wired to notice threats and stress first. Wins? Not so much. But focusing on positive moments trains your mind to recognize progress rather than pressure. Research shows that acknowledging small accomplishments improves motivation and reduces stress by activating the brain’s reward pathways [1]. Even remembering simple moments — a good conversation, a project you wrapped, the day you chose rest — helps shift your emotional baseline toward optimism.

The five-minute formula
The trick is keeping it simple:

  1. Write down five good things from this year — anything that lifted you, moved you, or gave you a moment of relief.
  2. Next to each one, jot one sentence about why it mattered.
  3. Circle one you want more of next year. That’s it — no goals, no timelines, no pressure.

This works because it connects what actually energized you (not what you think should have) with the direction you naturally want to grow. Future-you feels closer, more doable.

Why this matters in winter
Shorter days and long to-do lists can make it easy to overlook progress. But simple reflection can help stabilize your mood and increase motivation heading into the new year. Studies suggest that even brief gratitude-style reflection lowers stress and helps people feel more grounded when routines get disrupted [2].

And if the year felt heavy…
Sometimes reflection brings up things you still feel tired from — which is normal. ALLtech medical plans include 24/7 virtual care through Doctor On Demand at low or no cost, making it easy to talk with a provider from home if you’re carrying more than a few small wins into the new year. A five-minute reflection helps, but support is there when you need a little more.

Sources:

[1] Medium, The Power of Small Wins, https://medium.com/@allwynboscorko/the-power-of-small-wins-b65caaa0021a
[2] VeryWellMind, How Self-Reflection Benefits Your Mental Health, https://www.verywellmind.com/self-reflection-importance-benefits-and-strategies-7500858

Cozy Without the Crash: Winter Food That Actually Helps You Through the Day

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December is peak comfort-food season — the time of year when a bowl of something warm feels less like a meal and more like a life choice. But cozy doesn’t have to mean sluggish. Small shifts in what you reach for can help you get the warmth you want and the steady energy your day needs.

 

Why winter cravings hit harder
When daylight drops, your body responds. Lower light can influence sleep, mood, and even appetite. Some research suggests that shorter days may trigger cravings for starchier, calorie-dense foods as your body looks for quick energy and emotional comfort [1]. Totally normal — but not always helpful at 2 p.m. when your to-do list is still staring at you.

 

Build a better warm bowl
You don’t have to give up the meals you love; just adjust the ratios. A hearty soup feels just as satisfying when it leans on blended veggies for creaminess instead of heavy cream. Think butternut squash, cauliflower, or carrots. Pair that with proteins like lentils, chicken, or beans, and you’ve got comfort that won’t leave you ready for a nap. Bonus: fiber-rich foods help keep blood sugar steadier, which keeps your energy from tanking [2].

 

Keep the comfort, skip the crash
Craving something sweet? Try warming fruit instead — baked apples, pears with cinnamon, or berries simmered for a few minutes. You get the “warm dessert” feeling with more fiber and less of the spike-and-drop cycle that leads to brain fog [3].

 

A small ALLtech tip for winter sluggishness
On the days when low energy or holiday-season eating leaves you feeling off, ALLtech medical plans include 24/7 virtual care through Doctor On Demand at low or no cost. Sometimes it’s helpful to talk things through with a provider — especially when winter routines start feeling heavier than usual. And you can do it from home, in your warmest blanket, with zero waiting rooms involved.

 

Sources
[1] Seattle Times, Your craving for carbs might just be weather-related

https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/your-craving-for-carbs-might-just-be-weather-related/
[2] EatingWell, Why Fiber Is the Secret Weapon for Balanced Blood Sugar

https://www.eatingwell.com/why-fiber-helps-balance-blood-sugar-11838662
[3] Stanford Health, Sugar crash effects and how to fix them, https://news.sanfordhealth.org/healthy-living/sugar-crash-effects/

 

The One-Minute Winter Mood Boosters

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Winter doesn’t ease in slowly — it just arrives. One week you’re waking up to sunshine, and the next you’re negotiating with your alarm clock like it personally wronged you. Colder mornings, darker afternoons, and the general “heaviness” of December can make even small tasks feel bigger. The good news? Your day doesn’t need a complete overhaul to feel lighter. Sometimes one minute really can shift the whole tone.

Start with your light
The fastest mood-shift in winter is light exposure. Opening blinds first thing or stepping outside for 60 seconds helps reset your internal clock and tells your brain it’s time to wake up. The Sleep Foundation notes that even brief morning light can stabilize your circadian rhythm and improve your energy levels throughout the day [1].

Warm your hands, warm your mood
There’s a reason warm drinks feel grounding. Studies show that holding something warm can increase feelings of comfort and ease, while also helping your body regulate temperature on cold days. Verywell Mind points out that warmth signals safety to the nervous system, which may be why a cup of tea feels more like a hug than a beverage [2].

Do a one-minute tidy
This one surprises people, but it works: spend 60 seconds clearing one tiny space — your desk, your bag, the corner of your kitchen counter. According to Psychology Today, small bursts of organizing reduce cognitive load and help your brain focus more easily on whatever comes next [3]. Less visual clutter = less mental clutter.

Try a micro-pause
Close your eyes, take five slow breaths, or stretch your shoulders. These small resets activate your parasympathetic nervous system, pulling you out of “push mode” and into a calmer state. Micro-pauses don’t change your to-do list, but they change how you move through it.

If winter has you feeling mentally overloaded, ALLtech includes 24/7 virtual care options that make it easy to check in with a provider from home — no waiting rooms, no commute. It’s a simple way to get support on the days when you need more than a one-minute boost.

Sources:

[1] WebMD, Get Morning Light, Sleep Better at Night, https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/morning-light-better-sleep

[2] MUD/WTR. “Why Warm Drinks Feel Comforting.” https://mudwtr.com/blogs/trends-with-benefits/why-warm-beverages-are-comforting-according-to-science

[3] Psychology Today. “Why Decluttering Helps You Focus.” https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-resilient-brain/202302/the-many-mental-benefits-of-decluttering

 

 

Your Brain on Airplane Mode

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Constant connection looks productive, but your brain reads it as constant context-switching. Every ping forces a mini reboot of attention systems; over time, that adds up to fatigue, worse recall, and fuzzier decision-making. The antidote isn’t a dramatic digital detox — it’s short, deliberate pockets of quiet that let your nervous system downshift and your memory systems do their job.

Why brief quiet works
When stimulation pauses, the brain can consolidate new information. A review from Northwestern/Wamsley’s group shows that wakeful rest after learning reliably strengthens memory traces, improving later recall compared to continuous input [1]. In animal models, even periods of silence promote growth in the hippocampus — a region central to learning and memory — suggesting that calm isn’t empty; it’s maintenance [2].

Interruptions drain focus
Gloria Mark’s classic interruption study found that after a digital interruption, workers needed ~23 minutes to fully resume focus — and they compensated with more speed and stress, not better outcomes [3]. Multiply that by a day of alerts, and you’re burning cognitive energy on recovery rather than progress. Meta-analyses on micro-breaks show the flip side: short breaks (from a few seconds to 10 minutes) reduce fatigue and can boost performance, especially on attention-heavy tasks [4].

Mind wandering helps creativity
Deliberate “airplane mode” creates room for the brain’s default-mode network — the circuitry linked with idea linking and problem incubation. Controlled studies show that engaging in a simple, non-demanding activity (i.e., allowing mind wandering) after a hard problem leads to better creative solutions than powering straight through [5].

Make it practical
Try one airplane-mode hour this week: silence notifications, close nonessential tabs, and let work come in single threads. End with two minutes of wakeful rest — no apps, no music — before you re-engage. It’s a low-effort way to protect attention and improve recall.

Built-in support for the reset
With ALLtech through Regence, you can handle care without adding noise: $0 telehealth via Doctor On Demand for routine needs, preventive care at 100%, and behavioral-health access through SupportLinc for stress and focus support. Less logistics, more recovery — exactly what your brain needs before the year-end sprint.

Sources:
[1] Wamsley, E.J. (2019). “Memory Consolidation during Waking Rest.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7024394/
[2] Kirste, I., Nicola, Z., Kronenberg, G., et al. (2013). “Is silence golden? Effects of auditory stimuli and their absence on adult hippocampal neurogenesis.” Brain Structure and Function. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4087081/
[3] Mark, G., Gudith, D., & Klocke, U. (2008). “The Cost of Interrupted Work: More Speed and Stress.” CHI ’08 Proceedings. https://www.ics.uci.edu/~gmark/chi08-mark.pdf
[4] Wendsche, J., & Lohmann-Haislah, A. (2022). “Give me a break! A systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of micro-breaks.” PLOS ONE. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9432722/
[5] Baird, B., Smallwood, J., Mrazek, M.D., et al. (2012). “Inspired by distraction: Mind wandering facilitates creative incubation.” Psychological Science. (UCSB PDF) https://www.cmhp.ucsb.edu/sites/default/files/2018-12/Baird%20et%20al.%20%282012%29%20Inspired%20by%20distraction.pdf

The Chaos Cleanse

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There’s a reason clutter feels heavy. Whether it’s the 3,000 unread emails in your inbox or the tabs multiplying across your browser, mental bandwidth is a finite resource — and we’re burning through it fast.

The Science of Too Much
Researchers at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute found that visual clutter competes for attention in the same region of the brain responsible for focus and self-control. The result? Lower productivity, higher stress, and slower recovery from mental fatigue [1]. A separate study from the University of California, Irvine revealed that employees interrupted by digital notifications took an average of 23 minutes to regain full focus — even after the alert was dismissed [2]. Over time, those tiny disruptions compound into what psychologists now call attention residue: the lingering cognitive fog that follows task-switching.

The 15-Minute Reset
A quick “chaos cleanse” doesn’t require perfection — just a pause. Neuroscientists at the University of Toronto found that even brief acts of organization (like cleaning a desk or clearing files) lowered cortisol levels and increased perceived control [3]. The key is to reduce the number of decisions your brain makes in a day. Delete five emails. Close three tabs. Say no to one unnecessary commitment. Each act frees a small piece of attention — and those pieces add up.

Simplifying Health, Too
That same logic applies to how we manage our wellbeing. ALLtech plans through Regence were built to cut the clutter from health care, with one member login that connects medical, dental, vision, and behavioral benefits under a single umbrella. Members can use the Regence app or Regence.com to find doctors, compare costs, and access $0 telehealth visits — no extra logins, no time lost hunting for answers.

And for mental clarity, SupportLinc’s all-in-one portal and app streamline access to counselors, guided mindfulness, and work-life tools — a direct route to less chaos and more calm.

The truth is, simplifying isn’t about what you give up — it’s about what you get back. One clean tab, one quiet moment, one deep breath. That’s the real reset.

 

Sources:

[1] McMains, S., & Kastner, S. (2011). “Interactions of top-down and bottom-up mechanisms in human visual cortex.” Journal of Neuroscience, 31(2), 587–597.
https://www.jneurosci.org/content/31/2/587
[2] Mark, G., Gudith, D., & Klocke, U. (2008). “The cost of interrupted work: More speed and stress.” Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.
https://www.ics.uci.edu/~gmark/chi08-mark.pdf

[3] Vohs, K. D., Redden, J. P., & Rahinel, R. (2013). “Physical order produces healthy choices, generosity, and conventionality, whereas disorder produces creativity.” Psychological Science, 24(9), 1860–1867.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797613480186

AI or Human? The Halloween Turing Test

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Halloween is about masks, illusions, and surprises — which makes it the perfect time to ask one of today’s most intriguing tech questions: can you tell if a piece of writing was created by a human or by artificial intelligence?

It’s a modern twist on the Turing Test, first proposed in 1950 by Alan Turing as a way to measure whether a machine can exhibit human-like intelligence. Back then, it was a thought experiment. Today, with advanced AI tools writing everything from emails to poetry, it feels less like science fiction and more like a daily reality.

And the truth is, spotting the difference isn’t always easy. In a 2023 study from Stanford and UC Berkeley, participants were asked to distinguish between AI-generated and human-written text. They only guessed correctly about half the time — essentially no better than chance [1 Stanford – www.cs.stanford.edu/aistudy]. Another report from NewsGuard found that AI models could produce convincing misinformation on sensitive topics within minutes, showing just how blurred the line has become [2 NewsGuard – www.newsguardtech.com/aifakestudy].

That doesn’t mean humans are out of the loop. A study in Nature Machine Intelligence found that when people collaborated with AI — rather than competing against it — the results were stronger and more creative than either side working alone [3 Nature – www.nature.com/articles/aimachinecreativity]. Which makes your Halloween challenge less about catching AI in the act, and more about learning how to spot its patterns while appreciating its potential.

So here’s the game: grab a short scary story (a paragraph or two). Write one yourself or ask an AI to generate one. Share both versions in Slack, email, or your team chat, then have people guess which is which. Keep score, hand out candy, and see if your group can beat the odds.

It’s a lighthearted way to play with one of the biggest questions in tech right now. AI might be powerful, but humans still have something it can’t fake: the joy of laughing together over a good Halloween trick.

 

Step Into the Shadows: A Wearable Challenge

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October may be known for pumpkins and haunted houses, but it’s also the perfect time to let your tech nudge you toward healthier habits. Shorter days and cooler weather make it tempting to slow down, yet your wearable devices are built to keep you moving — and sometimes all you need is the right challenge to stay on track.

Start with something simple: 31,000 steps by Halloween. That’s just 1,000 steps per day — the kind of goal that feels achievable even in the busiest stretch of Q4. The beauty of wearables is how they turn that number into a story. Your smartwatch or phone doesn’t just log steps, it translates them into streaks, charts, badges, and even little celebrations that make progress visible.

And the data backs up the power of these tiny nudges. Research published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that participants using wearable fitness trackers increased their physical activity by an average of 1,850 steps per day compared to those without them [1 JAMA – www.jamanetwork.com/wearableactivitystudy]. Another meta-analysis of 121 trials showed wearables not only improved step counts but also supported modest weight loss and healthier outcomes overall [2 The Lancet – www.thelancet.com/wearablereview].

Gamifying your movement can also make the effort stick. A study from the University of Pennsylvania showed that social competition — like comparing step counts with colleagues or friends — was the strongest driver of increased activity, more effective than financial incentives or personal goals alone [3 Penn Medicine – www.pennmedicine.org/fitnessgamification]. That’s why a “haunted leaderboard” with friends can actually work: it taps into natural motivation and a little bit of friendly rivalry.

So this October, let your tech do the chasing. Whether it’s your watch buzzing you to move, your phone reminding you to stand, or your fitness app celebrating your streak, every step adds up. Hit your 31,000 by Halloween, share your progress, and maybe even claim a fun prize with your group. The days may be darker, but your data will keep you moving forward.