Each Trial is a strategy a real species uses, turned into something you can run yourself in about ten minutes. Each card says what to do and why it helps.
What each Trial asks you to do, and what it does for you. Reading a Trial needs no account. 3,017 Trials across 2,325 species. Showing 1,921–1,980.
The Trial
Pick one thing you were going to relocate yourself for. Extend your reach into it today instead, through one message, one request or one tool, and keep your own position exactly where it is.
Why it helps
Relocating yourself to get at something costs you everything you had set up where you were. Extending your reach gets you the same thing and leaves your position intact.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Get three separate things done today without leaving your position: reach, ask, request, delegate. Set a mark and do not move from it for the whole attempt.
Why it helps
Getting up to deal with each thing separately costs you the thread every time. Three things handled from one position takes less time than the first one would have on its own.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Reach one thing today by extending from where you are anchored, keeping your weight where it was rather than relocating to get it.
Why it helps
Moving your whole position to get at something means you cannot get back if it was wrong. Reaching from an anchor gets you the same thing with the retreat intact.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Have a partner or self-timer release a soft object unexpectedly within a safe zone and move clear before it lands twice.
Why it helps
Trains rapid response to an approaching disturbance while keeping the drill harmless and measurable.
5 minDifficulty 4
The Trial
Sit still facing a consenting helper about three metres away, with your eyelids lowered until your eyes look closed. Five times, the helper silently rolls a die out of your view and holds up that many fingers, staying silent and expressionless, and you call the number while the hand is still raised; only then does the helper show the count to the camera.
Why it helps
A strange little party trick, and a real sense of how much you can see through almost-shut eyes.
10 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Arrange today to meet one basic need without moving from your position, so you can hold it for an extended period.
Why it helps
Holding a position means leaving it for every basic need and giving yourself away each time. Meeting one without moving lets you stay indefinitely.
1 minDifficulty 3
The Trial
Have someone hide something under a cloth or sheet of paper. Sweep your flat palm over the top, never lifting it, describing out loud the shape, the size, the guess. Commit to one answer, then whip the cloth off.
Why it helps
Waiting for certainty you are never going to get is what stalls the decision. Committing on the shape you can already feel is usually accurate, and it is always faster.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Pick one thing you have been assessing from a distance. Get into direct contact with it today, handle it or do it yourself for a stretch, and report what the contact told you that looking did not.
Why it helps
Assessing something from a distance gives you the version that is visible, which is the version already cleaned up. Half an hour of direct contact tells you more than weeks of looking at it.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Choose one judgement you normally make by looking - whether the room is tense, whether the food is done, which of two routes is quicker. Close that channel off. Make the same judgement three times today using only another sense or another source, and write down each answer before you check it.
Why it helps
When your usual way of reading a situation is unavailable or wrong, you freeze. Practising a second channel while nothing is at stake means you still have a working judgement when the first one fails.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Sit outside for fifteen minutes today and work out where the wind is coming from and where it goes around the buildings, then use that knowledge for one real decision: where to stand, wait or walk.
Why it helps
Choosing where to stand without knowing which way the air moves means you are cold or soaked for no reason. Fifteen minutes of reading it makes every later choice obvious.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Take a figure you have been looking at in isolation and compare it to the adjacent one today, last week, the other team, the previous version, and say what the difference shows.
Why it helps
A number on its own tells you nothing and you can argue either way about it. One adjacent comparison usually makes the answer obvious in seconds.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Take data you have that tells you nothing and add one structure that makes direction visible: sort it, chart it, line it up, split by date. Impose the structure today and say what it now shows.
Why it helps
A pile of data you already have tells you nothing until something casts a shadow across it. One sort or chart costs minutes and usually makes the direction obvious.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Build the feedback into one mechanism today so you can read its effect without releasing or interrupting it.
Why it helps
Letting go to check whether something worked means losing the ground you had. Feedback through the mechanism tells you without any of that.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Name the early signal that reliably precedes a hard stretch for you, the calendar filling, the sleep slipping, the inbox lengthening. Check it now, and if it is showing, start one of your winter measures today while things are still fine.
Why it helps
You start coping once things are already hard, which is the most expensive moment to start. Acting on the early signal costs almost nothing and the hard stretch arrives with the work already done.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Find one hidden thing today by the disturbance it causes around it, the gap in the numbers, the changed behaviour, rather than by looking for the thing.
Why it helps
Looking directly for something buried means you dig everywhere. The disturbance it makes around it is visible from the surface and points you straight at it.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Position yourself at one boundary today and read what disturbs it rather than actively searching, acting only on a disturbance you detect.
Why it helps
Actively searching costs you the whole day and you still miss things. Sitting at the boundary means what you want announces itself to you.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Take something hidden you need to locate and find the unavoidable trace it leaves instead of looking for it directly: the log, the cost, the timestamp, the side effect.
Why it helps
Looking directly for something hidden is how you spend days and find nothing. The trace it cannot help leaving is usually sitting there already.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Watch the sky, or any stream of traffic, for ten unbroken minutes from one fixed spot, tracking movements and predicting where each will go before it gets there. Act on nothing.
Why it helps
Launching at the first thing that moves means you spend the day on attempts that were never catchable. Ten minutes of reading the traffic first tells you which one is.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Set up one cheap continuous check on something you currently only look at when it breaks: the glance at the number, the standing question, the five-second scan. Run it once today and make it recurring.
Why it helps
Only looking when something breaks means you find out at the worst possible moment. A cheap repeated check costs seconds and turns most emergencies into minor adjustments.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Take the waste from something you did recently, the rejected drafts, the offcuts, the failed attempts, and build the next thing entirely from it without adding anything new.
Why it helps
Starting the next thing by acquiring more is what delays it indefinitely. Building from what your last attempt threw off means you can start immediately and nothing you already paid for is wasted.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Find one thing in your home that is broken or incomplete and that you have been meaning to replace. Today, rebuild it from only what you already have in the house - no buying, no borrowing. Use the mismatched parts, the wrong colour, the shorter piece. Make it work again before the day ends.
Why it helps
Waiting to replace something properly is why broken things sit around for months making every day slightly worse. Rebuilding it badly from what you have gets you a working version today.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Change your own equipment today rather than your situation: switch the tool, the input or the routine you use for one recurring task, and keep the task and the place exactly as they were.
Why it helps
Changing where you are every time the conditions turn means you lose everything you built in the old place. Rebuilding your own method keeps the ground and fixes the problem.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Reposition yourself at least three times today as the useful edge moves, rather than holding the spot that was best when you started.
Why it helps
Holding the spot that was best when you started means the activity moves on and you are filtering empty water. Three small repositions keep you where it is still happening.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Take the by-product of something you did recently, notes, offcuts, a rejected version, a wasted trip, and put it to a real second use today.
Why it helps
Everything you make throws off by-products you discard without noticing. One real second use is free output you have already paid for.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Set one thing up today so it can be reconfigured for both extremes rather than optimised for the one you usually face.
Why it helps
Optimising for the extreme you usually face means failing at the other one when it arrives. Something reconfigurable handles both without you rebuilding it.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Find one thing that leaves your process unrecovered, time, offcuts, information or attention. Put one capture in place today so it is caught on the way out, and use what you captured once.
Why it helps
Things that leave your process unrecovered leave invisibly, so you never account for them and keep acquiring more input. One capture at the point of loss often covers the shortfall entirely.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Drop a lightweight object beside a chair, then retrieve it using a controlled reach without stepping into the marked 'water' area around it.
Why it helps
Turns an awkward environment into a solvable retrieval problem by adapting movement instead of abandoning the target.
6 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
When activated, arrange with a consenting person in another room that exactly three loud claps mean come join you, then use the signal once.
Why it helps
You turn acrobatic joy into one concrete experience with a visible finish.
5 minDifficulty 3
The Trial
Recycle one waste stream of your own back into use today rather than discarding it, during a period when nothing new is coming in.
Why it helps
Discarding your own waste stream during a lean period means losing material you cannot replace. Recycling it is how you come out of the months intact.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Build or use sustained output today rather than attempting any burst, and hold a steady pace for the whole period.
Why it helps
Expecting a burst from tissue built for endurance means failing at both. A steady pace held all the way gets you further than any sprint would.
1 minDifficulty 4
The Trial
On one sheet of paper, draw an object in quick, busy detail, such as a fence, a ladder or a garden path, with all the small cross-lines. On a second sheet, draw the same object using only two thick marker lines. Hold both sheets up from about three metres away and check which one still reads as the object.
Why it helps
Most slides, signs and notes you make carry more detail than anyone can read from a distance. Learning to cut a thing down to two clear lines gets your work understood at a glance.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Replace one thing you keep customising per situation with a single adaptable version today: the flexible template, the neutral format, the thing that reads correctly anywhere.
Why it helps
Customising per situation means you maintain several versions and keep none of them current. One adaptable version is less work for you and is always the right one.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Decline one easy low-value thing today that you would normally take because it is available, and spend that time pursuing something harder and better instead.
Why it helps
Taking the easy available thing fills your day and leaves you competing with everyone else for scraps. Declining one and spending the time on something harder is how the work changes.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Find one pre-symptomatic signal today that tells you something is going wrong, and act on it before any visible symptoms appear.
Why it helps
Waiting for visible symptoms means you are already sharing the shelter when they appear. A pre-symptomatic signal lets you step away in time.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Find one thing in your life you patched over rather than repaired. Rebuild the part that actually did the work today, and remove the patch that was standing in for it.
Why it helps
A patch holds and quietly removes the function you actually wanted, so things keep working while getting worse. Rebuilding the working part costs more now and stops you paying for the patch forever.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Rehearse one coordinated thing with another person today with nothing at stake, repeating it until the timing is shared rather than discussing it.
Why it helps
Trying to coordinate with someone for the first time when it matters means neither of you knows the other's timing. Practising when nothing is at stake is the only time you can.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Choose one overfull container, such as a pencil pot, a make-up bag or a cable box. Find three empty containers already in your home, test each for opening size, depth and whether the lid closes, then move everything into the best one.
Why it helps
A tidier corner and a container that actually fits its job.
15 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Restart one thing today within minutes of its condition returning rather than easing back into it, and do the first real piece of work straight away.
Why it helps
Easing back in after a pause means the window has closed by the time you are warmed up. Going straight to real work is what makes the pause worth having taken.
1 minDifficulty 3
The Trial
Build the structural support for one output today and then stay put producing it, rather than moving around to be heard.
Why it helps
Moving around to be heard spreads you thin and still does not carry. Building the support once lets you stay in one place and reach everyone.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Test each item before storing it today and reject the empty ones, keeping only what passed and recording how many you turned away.
Why it helps
Storing things without checking them means your store is half empty shells and you find out when you need it. One test each costs seconds and keeps it real.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
With at least four people, the first writes a five-beat clap rhythm on a card, seals it in an envelope and hands it to the last person, then everyone spreads out through rooms, a hallway or a garden so nobody can see anyone else. The first person claps the rhythm, each person claps what they hear on to the next, and the last person claps it back before opening the envelope.
Why it helps
A quick group game that sharpens listening.
10 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Gather five light harmless objects in one container and release them together onto a clear surface, then sort them immediately by one visible property.
Why it helps
You turn a hidden reserve into a short coordinated burst of activity.
5 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Look at today's list of commitments and choose the one that matters least and could be picked up again another day. Within ten minutes, send the message that cancels, postpones or hands it on, in one or two plain sentences with no long apology.
Why it helps
Holding on to every promise on a bad day means all of them slip. Letting one recoverable thing go quickly protects the commitments that matter and leaves you calmer for the rest of the day.
1 minDifficulty 3
The Trial
Bend a plastic ruler gently against a table edge, hold it loaded, and have a partner tap a marked trigger point so it releases into a soft target.
Why it helps
You turn explosive release into one concrete, visible experience instead of an abstract idea.
5 minDifficulty 3
The Trial
Choose one public post, format, prompt, or technique you admire. Identify what makes it work, create your own version with at least two deliberate changes, and credit or name the inspiration when you share it.
Why it helps
Lets you learn socially from successful technique without passing someone else's work off as your own.
15 minDifficulty 3
The Trial
Remove the stopping step from one routine operation today, doing it in passing rather than settling to do it.
Why it helps
Stopping to do each small thing properly means the stops cost you more than the tasks. Doing them in passing gets the same result for nothing.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Find one small feature that repeatedly catches, snags or scratches something and cover or reposition it. Do not alter anything dangerous or structural.
Why it helps
You prevent repeat damage by neutralising the part that makes withdrawal worse.
8 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Make a small cup of overly salty water, then use dilution to bring the taste down while discarding as little liquid as possible. Do not drink more than a tiny taste.
Why it helps
You see the trade-off between removing excess and conserving the resource carrying it.
8 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Soften the boundary of one thing today rather than matching it to its surroundings: blur the start and end, overlap the edges, remove the hard line.
Why it helps
Matching your surroundings still leaves an edge where you end, and edges are what people notice. Softening it means there is nothing to see.
1 minDifficulty 3
The Trial
Reduce the cost of looking at options today until it is almost free, then deliberately consider things you previously could not justify assessing.
Why it helps
Expensive looking forces you to only consider big options, and the small reliable ones pass you by. Making it free widens what you can take.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Remove the hard edge between one thing of yours and its surroundings today, rather than improving how well it matches them.
Why it helps
Improving how well something matches still leaves the edge where it meets everything else, and that is what gets you noticed. Removing the edge is the fix.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Remove one fixed ongoing cost today and check whether a supply you had judged insufficient now covers what you need.
Why it helps
Judging a supply insufficient while you carry an unnecessary fixed cost means abandoning something that would work. Removing the cost often settles it.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Find a way today to remove the vulnerable stage of something entirely rather than protecting it better, even if the method is strange.
Why it helps
Protecting a vulnerable stage better still leaves you with one, and sometimes it fails. Removing it means there is nothing left to protect.
2 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Take a torn or incomplete paper shape, rebuild the missing section from adjacent material, and photograph before and after.
Why it helps
Makes regeneration tangible by asking surviving structure to become the basis for rebuilding what was lost rather than discarding the damaged whole.
8 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Take something you keep rebuilding from scratch and today repair only the failed section, leaving the rest of the structure in place.
Why it helps
Rebuilding from scratch each time means you pay the whole cost for one failed part. Repairing just that section takes a fraction of the time.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Invent a short push-up pattern of your own, for example two quick push-ups, a pause, then one slow one. Do the pattern three times in a row exactly the same way, with a short rest between rounds. Knee push-ups are fine.
Why it helps
A routine that is clearly yours, done the same way every time, is easier to keep and easier for others to recognise. You get a small habit that marks your day without needing anything grand.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Replace one part of something today while it is still working, on a rolling schedule you write down, rather than waiting for it to fail.
Why it helps
Waiting for parts to fail means they fail at the worst time and take other things with them. Replacing one while it still works costs you almost nothing and removes the surprise.
2 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Find one all-purpose alert you or your household uses — a shout, a generic ping — and agree three specific replacements that each name a different situation, then test all three.
Why it helps
People start doing the right thing immediately instead of coming to find out what the noise was.
10 minDifficulty 2
The Trial
Choose one travel or everyday-carry item with a replaceable worn layer, such as a bag insert, phone screen protector, notebook cover or shoe insole, and refresh or clean that layer before the next use. Do not replace the whole item.
Why it helps
You extend an item's useful journey by replacing wear before it compounds.
10 minDifficulty 1
The Trial
Identify one thing you are going to lose and replace it today with something stable before it goes, rather than trying to hold on to it.
Why it helps
Spending your effort holding on to something that is leaving anyway means you lose it and the effort. Putting the stable replacement in first means the loss barely touches you.
2 minDifficulty 1
