Useful friction
On the resistance you should keep, not the kind you should remove.
↳ Builds on BJ Fogg — Tiny Habits.
“The river cuts because it does not turn aside.” — After Lao Tzu
The Idea
Modern design treats friction as a defect: every extra tap is a leak, every login screen a sin. But friction is not always waste. It is sometimes the only thing standing between us and a regret we’d rather not have.
The thirty seconds it takes to retrieve your phone from the next room is friction. So is the inconvenience of cooking versus ordering. So is the small awkwardness of saying out loud what you mean. Each of these is useful — they buy you the seconds in which you can choose differently.
The trick is not to live without friction, but to put it where it serves you and remove it where it doesn’t.
One Question
What is one piece of friction in your day that you should be protecting, not optimizing away?
Today’s Action
- Identify one habit you wish were a little less easy.
- Add thirty seconds of friction — phone in a drawer, app deleted from the home screen, kitchen door closed.
- Identify one habit you wish were easier, and remove a similar thirty seconds.
Go Deeper
The same world that makes good things effortful makes bad things effortless. The least visible kind of design is the friction we choose for ourselves.
Sources
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