Jeroen Sangers logo Jeroen Sangers

Posts in "Digital garden"

Recognising information feels like knowing it, but it is a different cognitive operation from retrieving it

When you see a text a second or third time you recognise it, and that feeling of recognition is easily mistaken for actual understanding. This is the fluency illusion: the ease of processing something gets read as a measure of how well you know it. Rereading and highlighting raise how easy something feels right now (retrieval strength), but they barely build the deeper storage that remains once the text is no longer in front of you (storage strength). Take the source away, and the illusion of mastery collapses.

Passive techniques like highlighting and rereading feel productive precisely because they ask for almost no cognitive effort. You register that something matters, but that is not the same as integrating it into what you already know: explaining why it matters, saying it again in your own words, or finding it later without the text. Without that step you stay at the level of collecting information instead of building knowledge you can apply yourself.

The fix is not a better way of highlighting, but building in friction: forcing yourself to retrieve, explain or generate something without the source at hand. That feels harder and less successful in the moment, precisely because you can fail at it, and that friction is what leaves a lasting trace. The same illusion is not limited to studying: nodding along through a text or a codebase because everything feels familiar does not give you the ability to solve the problem yourself either.

Praise for rescuing keeps the dependency alive

You’re on holiday and something breaks at work. You drive back, you fix it, everyone applauds. And you feel it too: you were needed, and it worked.

That applause is where it goes wrong. Praise is a signal: it tells the whole organisation what actually gets rewarded. You learn that you’re the one who always shows up. Your team learns that the call is yours, not theirs. Your own boss learns that you’ll handle it.

This isn’t ego, or hardly ever. It’s identity. If you’ve been the reliable one for years, stepping back doesn’t feel modest. It feels irresponsible. Which is why deciding to delegate more isn’t enough on its own: you can tell your team to take more ownership and still sit on the context they’d need to act on it.

So prove your commitment some other way. Share context before there’s a crisis. Say out loud who gets to decide what. And next time, before you get in the car, ask your colleagues one question: what do you need to handle this without me?

Train when your chronotype peaks, but never let the perfect hour stop you from training

Your body has a natural chronotype: a morning type, an evening type, or something in between, driven by the circadian rhythms of cortisol and testosterone. It determines when in the day you perform best, physically and mentally, and the gap between a clear morning type and a clear evening type runs up to eight hours. Evening types reach their aerobic peak around 20:00, roughly eleven hours after waking up, while morning types get there around noon.

Training at the wrong moment costs measurable performance. A morning type who trains in the afternoon can perform 5 to 6 percent below their natural peak. For an evening type forced to train very early, the risk is a different one: the body has not yet reached its optimal temperature and neuromuscular activation, which raises both the injury risk and the perceived effort, especially on too little sleep.

Even so, consistency outweighs timing. Pushing a clear evening type into early morning workouts can backfire, but training at a non ideal hour still beats not moving at all. Your chronotype is largely genetic and does not shift radically. An owl does not turn into a lark by getting up early for a few weeks. Light exposure and a consistent daily rhythm can nudge it, but only gently.

Multitasking leads to an overestimation of your own ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously

Multitasking is a common phenomenon in our modern society, but research shows that we are much worse at it than we think. The problem lies not only in the fact that we struggle to perform multiple tasks simultaneously, but especially in our inaccurate assessment of our own capabilities. Studies show that people who frequently multitask wrongly believe they are doing so effectively. They significantly overestimate their abilities, while the reality is different. This lack of self-awareness is worrying: we are not only bad at multitasking, but we also seem unable to see or acknowledge it.

The consequences of frequent multitasking go beyond just a distorted self-perception. Research on chronic media multitaskers, people who regularly process multiple media streams simultaneously, shows striking results. These heavy multitaskers are actually more sensitive to environmental distractions and irrelevant information in their memory. Paradoxically, they even perform worse on tests measuring the ability to switch between tasks, likely because they are less capable of filtering out distracting information. This suggests that frequent multitasking is associated with a fundamentally different way of processing information.

The comparison to a drunk person who thinks they are walking in a straight line captures the problem well: we think we are better than we actually are. Thus, multitasking creates a dangerous combination of reduced performance and inflated self-confidence. As multitasking plays an increasingly larger role in our daily lives, it becomes all the more important to be aware of these limitations and the gap between our perception and reality.

Audio conversations promote a more equal distribution of speaking time and alignment of speaking patterns, which leads to better group performance than video meetings, despite the absence of visual cues

When we are physically in the same space, we use various subtle signals to manage speaking turns: eye contact, facial expressions, and body language. This leads to a more even distribution of turns among everyone. In audio conversations, these visual cues are absent, so you focus entirely on auditory signals such as pitch, speaking speed, pauses, and small sounds indicating someone wants to respond. In video meetings, which theoretically offer more data than audio conversations, we pay less attention to audio cues, while visual signals are less perceivable on a screen. Interestingly, the limitation of audio conversations actually ensures you listen better to auditory signals and respond more effectively than in video conversations. This results in everyone having more equal speaking time, preventing anyone from easily dominating the conversation.

This more equal distribution of turns positively affects what researchers call ‘prosodic synchrony’: you better align your rhythm, intonation, and speech patterns. When you have more equal turns in an audio conversation, you naturally become more attuned in how you speak. You unconsciously mimic each other in tempo and pitch, resulting in a smoother conversation. This alignment contributes to what is called ‘collective intelligence’: the ability of a group to solve problems together. Teams using only audio are more successful in synchronizing their voice usage and turns, and when they achieve this, they perform better as a group.

Although video theoretically offers more information, in practice, visual signals are less perceivable than in in-person meetings. This raises questions about the assumption that richer media are always better for remote collaboration. For certain forms of teamwork, audio meetings can be more effective than video conferencing.

Mobile notifications cause significant distraction and performance reduction due to prolonged mind-wandering

Mobile phones are a major source of distraction in our daily lives, even when we are not actively using them. Research shows that just a notification, a beep, or a vibration significantly disrupts our performance on tasks that require concentration. Remarkably, this disruption is as great as when someone is actually on a call or texting. You don’t even need to look at your phone to get distracted; that little sound or vibration is enough to lose your focus.

The reason these short notifications have such a big impact lies in what happens in our minds afterward. A notification triggers a series of thoughts unrelated to what you are doing. You start to wonder who sent a message, what’s in it, if it’s important… in short, your thoughts wander. This phenomenon, also known as ‘mind wandering’, lasts much longer than the notification itself. Even after the sound is gone, those thoughts linger in your head, and your performance continues to decline.

This explains why distraction by your phone is so persistent: it’s not just about the time spent checking your phone, but mainly about the mental interruption that lasts much longer. Our limited attention capacity must be divided over multiple things simultaneously, and when a part of it is consumed by thoughts about that notification, less is left for the task that requires our full attention.

A Inipi ritual is a spiritual cleansing ceremony focused on connection and healing

An Inipi ritual is a traditional cleansing ceremony originally from the Lakota Indians of North America. The name “Inipi” means “to receive life again” and refers to the main goal of this ceremony: cleansing the body, mind, and soul. In the Netherlands, this ritual is also known as the sweat lodge ceremony. Although this specific form comes from the Lakota, similar rituals with hot stones have existed for thousands of years worldwide— from the Finnish sauna to ancient Irish sweat lodges, remains of which have been found by archaeologists dating back more than 10,000 years.

The ceremony takes place in a low, dome-shaped hut built of willow branches and covered with blankets. In the center of the hut, a pit is dug where glowing hot stones are placed, brought in from a ceremonial fire outside. When participants sit in the dark hut, water is poured over the hot stones, creating intense steam and heat. The ritual usually consists of four rounds, each with its own theme, such as welcome, connection, prayer, or thanksgiving. During these rounds, people sing, pray, or sit in silence.

The Inipi ritual goes far beyond mere physical cleansing, as in a regular sauna. It is intended as a spiritual experience where people connect with ‘All That Is’ and can experience the power of gratitude. The hut symbolizes the womb of Mother Earth, and the entire process represents rebirth and healing. Participants use this time to let go of their daily worries, give attention to those in need, and achieve personal growth and insight. The ceremony concludes with the expression “Mitakuye Oyasin,” meaning “we are all related,” emphasizing the interconnectedness of all life.

Work-related interruptions help you stay more engaged during your workday

Research shows that not all interruptions during your work have the same effect. There is an important difference between work-related and non-work-related interruptions.

Work-related interruptions (such as your manager stopping by to ask about a task, or a colleague messaging you about a project you’re working on together) actually have a positive effect on how engaged you feel during your workday. This goes against the common belief that all interruptions are bad for your productivity. Work-related interruptions don’t break your concentration; instead, they help you stay more connected to your work and colleagues.

Non-work-related interruptions (just chatting about the weather, sports, or what you’re going to eat tonight) do have the negative effect you might expect: they make you less engaged and disrupt your work rhythm so much that it really gets in the way of your work.

Bonus podcast episodes use the number of the main episode

When you create a podcast and want to publish extra content related to a specific episode, this bonus content receives the same episode number as the original episode. This means that both episodes, the main episode and the bonus episode, are published under the same number in your podcast feed.

"Revenge bedtime procrastination" is the deliberate delay of bedtime to regain control

“Revenge bedtime procrastination” is a phenomenon where you deliberately delay your bedtime to regain a sense of control over your life. This often occurs in people who have little personal time during the day due to busy schedules or demanding jobs. By staying up later at night, you try to reclaim some personal time, even if it comes at the expense of your sleep.

Although the term is relatively new, the behavior it describes has been known for a longer time. After a long day, you want to relax, for example by watching TV or scrolling on your phone, even though you know you have to get up early the next day.

While it’s understandable that you want this time for yourself, delaying your bedtime can have negative consequences for your health. Lack of sleep can lead to fatigue, reduced concentration, and even long-term health issues. Therefore, it’s important to find a balance between your personal time and getting enough sleep.