7 Solutions for Common Cognitive Headwinds
The psychology behind why we overlook obvious opportunities.
We tend to think of good consumer decisions as a matter of knowledge. However, even if you have plenty of knowledge, there are cognitive headwinds that can prevent you from taking full advantage of it.
Read on for quirky examples of practical strategies for overcoming headwinds we all experience, and the psychology behind why we need them.
1. Check What You Already Have Access to Before Buying
My spouse once paid for a learning app subscription we could have gotten free through our library.
Since that mistake, we've discovered three more learning app subscriptions our library offers, two of which my nine-year-old uses daily (one for school and one for art classes), and one I use occasionally.
The resources were always there. We just weren't looking.
The headwind: Ownership blindness, or in this case, access blindness. Benefits we have access to through memberships and institutions often become psychologically invisible. They're part of the background.
2. Map What You Already Have Access to—Before You Need It
Some of the benefits and services we have access to come in handy when we're in a pinch, but that's exactly the wrong time to be figuring them out.
For example, if your flight is delayed for many hours, causing you to miss a connection, or your bag is lost, you might vaguely know you have benefits from your credit card provider for these circumstances. However, this type of stressful scenario isn't when you're in a state to read the fine print. Familiarize yourself before you're tired, your phone is dying, and you just want to get home or to your destination.
Other examples include roadside assistance or towing through your insurance, or paying for two individual cloud storage subscriptions when a family plan would cover both.
The next time you embark on a task or journey, mentally rehearse scenarios you're likely to encounter at some point. Run through all the steps you'd take. Save the numbers you need, plus any notes, in your phone contacts.
The headwind: Attentional competition. It's hard to keep track of benefits you rarely use, especially when they're spread across different providers. Benefits you use infrequently are easy to forget you have.
3. Complete a Process Once to Familiarize Yourself and Reality-Test Your Expectations
My child's laptop stopped working a few months past the span of the manufacturer's warranty. I expected filing an extended warranty claim to be a hassle, but it was anything but.
The whole process was done online in under 10 minutes, and the purchase price of the laptop was refunded to my account the next business day. Having gone through this process once, I'm much more likely to use it again. It's reassuring to know I won't need to pay for a replacement on short notice in a similar circumstance.
The headwind: Affective forecasting errors. If we imagine a process will be frustrating, we might avoid it, but going through a process once often enables us to reality test our expectations and create a workflow.
4. Create a Standardized Process to Avoid Relying on Remembering in the Moment
I renew several internet domains once a year, and there's a 20 percent off coupon that's been available for years. But I have to remember to use it.
I've created a standardized process for doing these renewals, so I don't forget to use the coupon.
The headwind: Prospective memory failure. For recurring tasks, a standardized process removes the memory burden.
5. Piggyback on Something You Already Do
An expensive brand of chips I like goes on BOGO sale every few months. But it's at a grocery store I rarely shop at. Checking their app is a point of friction since I'm not in the habit of that.
A delivery app I use weekly for restaurant pickup also lists that grocery store. While I'm already in the app, I check if the chips are on sale.
The headwind: Friction sensitivity. We're disproportionately sensitive to small barriers. Two good strategies: piggyback off an existing routine, and/or find a creative way to eliminate the friction.
6. Use Temporal Landmarks as Purchasing Triggers
I buy air conditioner filters during predictable annual sales. Not because I need them right then, but because the sale acts as my buy trigger.
This regular purchasing pattern has a spillover benefit: I'm more likely to change the filters on time if I have them on hand. This strategy suits health behaviors well. Changing my filters regularly has benefited my allergies, and the sale price of the highest quality filters is comparable to the normal price of the worse ones.
The headwind: Fuzzy planning. Without external scaffolding, our intentions stay vague. A predictable external event like an annual sale or a renewal date can provide a concrete trigger.
7. Build Routines Around Patterns You've Observed
You've probably noticed patterns like this: You leave vitamins in an online shopping cart without buying, and the company emails you a coupon a few days later. If you click around a website with a shopping portal extension installed, but don't purchase, a bonus "cashback" offer for that retailer often arrives in your inbox a few days later.
I have friends who do this deliberately before they plan to buy concert or sports tickets. The offers can be significant for these splurge purchases.
The headwind: Passive awareness (the observation-action gap). We notice patterns but don't translate them into routines that capture the benefit. Consider how you could design around this headwind? Example: What system would remind you to browse for concert tickets a few days before you want to buy?
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A smart solution to cognitive headwinds isn't to ignore them; it's to assume they're there and plan accordingly.
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