Alex Foster

Founder of TraitTune. Not another personality test - a result that talks back, for real decisions and real relationships. The answers are all inside you ↓

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

i keep noticing how much harder a work decision feels after a long day. nothing about the options changed, but every downside suddenly sounds louder

now i write down what i was leaning toward before i got tired. comparing the two is surprisingly useful

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

@paulg the jump from a cup of tea to "what did i forget?" is so quick. the task list doesn't seem to care that nothing's actually happening

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

@dhh hard to predict your own reaction when the thing itself changes this much. a few weeks of daily use can move an opinion faster than any argument

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

imagine your partner asking ChatGPT for relationship advice…

now imagine the version of you they described

would you recognize yourself?

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

@GergelyOrosz when the pr queue keeps multiplying, deciding what deserves a human look becomes another job. are teams mostly prioritizing by risk?

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

@ramit that bracket trick is good. it keeps one stubborn sentence from turning into a full stop

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

@Adam_Karpiak that one missing line gets way too loud in your head. plenty of good candidates probably close the tab before a hiring manager even sees them

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

@DanielPink one lucky result can make a shaky process feel proven. then you carry it into the next decision without noticing

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

@HarvardBiz urgent work is louder, so it keeps winning the calendar. strategy gets whatever time is left, and that's usually none

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

@dhh changing your mind in public adds a weird extra cost. people can stay attached to your old position long after you've left it

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

@warikoo the family plans part hits. at 19, one result can feel like you've disappointed everyone and closed every door at once

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

@HarvardBiz this gets tricky when being responsive is how you've learned to look reliable. even a low-priority request can feel risky to refuse

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

leaving a stable job can feel like becoming irresponsible
staying can feel like admitting you were never serious about changing

you can know what the sensible choice is and still keep delaying it

sometimes the facts are settled. what isn't settled is what the decision says about you

that conflict won't show up in a pros and cons list

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

@AdamMGrant i like the smaller ask here. questioning one hesitation feels much more usable than trying to manufacture confidence out of nowhere

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

@GergelyOrosz @paulg yeah, that setup sounds exhausting. you’re accountable for the org, but key decisions keep getting pulled back into the founder’s orbit

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

A goal you track only in your head is easy to rewrite.

Across 138 randomized studies, monitoring progress improved goal achievement. Recording or sharing it worked better.

Choose one number. Write it down. Review it weekly.

Source: Harkin et al. (2016).

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

In one small experiment, people who decided exactly when and where to act were more likely to finish a task on time. 71% vs 32%.

The sample was only 36 usable responses, so this is evidence, not a universal promise.

Source: Gollwitzer & Brandstätter, JPSP (1997).

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

@Markmanson First just need to understand for yourself who you really are…

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

You can close the laptop and still be working in your head.

Across 30 studies, interventions helped people mentally disconnect from work.

Try a clear shutdown: decide what happens tomorrow, close work apps, then change activity.

Source: Karabinski et al. (2021).

[Alex Foster @AlexFosterTT]

@KesariDhwaj hearing “you can still achieve all this now” from your father must've reset the whole conversation! all that lost momentum probably looked different after that