Thinkish
"Change the way you think. Change what you build."
Nine mental models for better decisions, plus interactive wellness tools rooted in psychology — because how you think shapes everything you build.
Clarity begins with the right question.
Not louder thinking — better thinking.
The toolkit
Nine frameworks. One clear mind.
Each framework is a tool — click to read the full deep-dive.
First Principles
Decompose to bedrock truth.
Break problems to their irreducible truths, then reason up. Cuts through assumption and analogy to reveal what is actually true.
Use when
When conventional wisdom feels wrong but you can't articulate why.
Inversion
Think backwards to move forward.
Instead of asking 'how do I succeed?', ask 'what guarantees failure?' Inverting the problem surfaces risks you'd otherwise miss.
Use when
When planning a project, making a hire, or designing a system.
Pre-Mortem
Imagine it already failed.
Project six months forward where the project has failed. Ask: what went wrong? Surface hidden risks before they surface you.
Use when
Before committing to any significant decision or launch.
Second-Order Thinking
Ask: and then what?
Every decision has consequences, and those consequences have consequences. Train yourself to see past the obvious first move.
Use when
Before any policy decision, product change, or team restructure.
Eisenhower Matrix
Urgent vs important.
Four quadrants: do, schedule, delegate, or delete. Forces ruthless honesty about where your time actually goes.
Use when
Weekly planning, sprint prioritisation, or when overwhelmed.
Regret Minimisation
Would 80-year-old you regret this?
Project yourself to age 80. Will you regret NOT doing this? Jeff Bezos used this to leave his job and start Amazon.
Use when
Career pivots, big bets, anything with long-term stakes.
80/20 Principle
20% of effort, 80% of results.
Most outputs come from a minority of inputs. Find the high-leverage 20% and ruthlessly deprioritise the rest.
Use when
Deciding what to build, what to cut, where to focus.
Compound Thinking
Small consistent actions compound.
Knowledge, skills, relationships — small consistent actions build extraordinary outcomes over time. The math is undeniable.
Use when
Building habits, skills, relationships, or long-term investments.
Decision Journal
Track decisions. Learn from them.
Log the reasoning behind significant decisions, then review them. Eliminates hindsight bias and builds genuine calibration.
Use when
Any decision with non-obvious tradeoffs. Review quarterly.
Psychology + Wellness
Tools for the mind, not just the work.
Frameworks improve how you make decisions. These tools improve the mind making them. Rooted in CBT, mindfulness research, and positive psychology.
Mood Check
A 60-second emotional state scan. Understand where you are before you decide where to go.
Box Breathing
Scientifically validated stress reset. 4 counts in, hold, out, hold. Used by Navy SEALs and therapists alike.
Cognitive Distortions
Identify the thinking traps pulling your decisions off course. Based on CBT research.
5-4-3-2-1 Grounding
A sensory reset for anxiety or overwhelm. Brings you back to the present in under 2 minutes.
WOOP Method
Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan. Prof. Gabriele Oettingen's research-backed goal-setting framework.
Values Clarification
What actually matters to you? Rank and reflect on your core values to make better long-term choices.
For engineering leaders
Mental models built for technical leadership
Reversible vs irreversible decisions. Blast radius thinking. Leverage. Eleven models from 15 years of shipping software at Atlassian, Bugcrowd, and Weel.
Explore frameworksPractice
Start a Decision Journal
Log the reasoning behind significant decisions. Review quarterly. The only way to improve judgment is to track it.
Read the frameworkPsychology + Wellness
Tools for the mind
Six interactive tools rooted in CBT, mindfulness, and positive psychology. Breathing, mood tracking, grounding, and more.
Open tools