# Cognitive Hacking: A Failed Experiment in Overcoming Planning Friction

> Coverage of lessw-blog

**Published:** February 13, 2026
**Author:** PSEEDR Editorial
**Category:** risk

**Tags:** Cognitive Science, Productivity, Planning Fallacy, LessWrong, Psychology, Problem Solving

**Canonical URL:** https://pseedr.com/risk/cognitive-hacking-a-failed-experiment-in-overcoming-planning-friction

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In a recent post on LessWrong, a contributor details a personal experiment aimed at bypassing the cognitive hurdles associated with complex planning by juxtaposing real-world goals against absurdly difficult theoretical challenges.

In a recent post, **lessw-blog** discusses the mechanics of executive function and the difficulty of overcoming planning inertia. The article, titled "I Tried to Trick Myself into Being a Better Planner & Problem Solver," documents an attempt to engineer a psychological "hack" to improve task decomposition and problem-solving capabilities.

**The Context**  
Effective planning remains a significant bottleneck for both human productivity and the development of autonomous AI agents. The "planning fallacy"—the tendency to underestimate the time, costs, and risks of future actions—is a persistent cognitive bias. In the pursuit of "rationality" and cognitive enhancement, individuals often experiment with heuristics designed to trick the brain into higher performance modes. Reporting on these experiments, even when they fail, is crucial for understanding the limits of self-regulation and the stubbornness of cognitive friction.

**The Experiment**  
The author’s hypothesis was grounded in contrast. The idea was to engage deeply with an "impossible" arbitrary task to reset the brain's baseline for difficulty. By comparison, a subsequent "real" task should theoretically feel trivial, reducing anxiety and allowing for more detailed, optimistic planning.

The specific "impossible" task selected was conceptualizing a "quantum" satellite communication system using only household products. The author spent 30 minutes seriously attempting to plan this absurdity, engaging with the constraints of physics and available materials. Immediately following this, they pivoted to a real-world objective: planning a video commission.

**The Outcome**  
Ultimately, the experiment yielded a negative result. Despite the mental warm-up on the impossible task, the plan generated for the real video project was only marginally more detailed than a standard five-minute sketch. The author notes that the "hack" failed to sustain the necessary mental energy or provide a significant breakthrough in how the real problem was approached. The post serves as a reminder that cognitive biases are resilient and that "brute forcing" optimism or analytical depth is rarely as effective as consistent, structured practice.

We recommend this read for those interested in the psychology of work, the mechanics of planning, and the honest reporting of negative experimental results.

[Read the full post on LessWrong](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FQESDG7ry2nsh4PFf/i-tried-to-trick-myself-into-being-a-better-planner-and)

### Key Takeaways

*   The author attempted to improve planning skills by contrasting a real goal with an 'impossible' arbitrary task.
*   The 'impossible' task involved designing a quantum satellite system using household items to lower the inhibition for the real task.
*   The experiment failed to produce a significantly better plan than a standard 5-minute brainstorming session.
*   The post highlights the difficulty of bypassing cognitive friction and the resilience of planning fallacies.
*   Negative results in cognitive experimentation provide valuable data points on the limits of mental 'hacks'.

[Read the original post at lessw-blog](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FQESDG7ry2nsh4PFf/i-tried-to-trick-myself-into-being-a-better-planner-and)

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## Sources

- https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FQESDG7ry2nsh4PFf/i-tried-to-trick-myself-into-being-a-better-planner-and