Autopilot Thinking (opens in new tab)

TL;DR: Generating thoughts can be done on autopilot even while cognitively impaired (say, tired or drunk), as long as the serial mental depth is low. I speculate that this is basically because . You may find it useful to try tasks on autopilot instead of assuming you cannot.You may want to skip directly to the "In Practice" section. In short, tell yourself this: "you can do a lot more on autopilot than you think, even if it feels like you couldn't possibly get anywhere right now". Next, try t...