Dr Zoe

04/03/2026

If you’re getting everything right, you’re probably not learning. 😅

There’s a cool finding often called the 85% rule: for many learning tasks, progress is fastest when you’re accurate about 85% of the time, and you miss about 15%. That small, regular dose of “oops” is where your brain updates its predictions and gets sharper.

That 15% isn’t failure, it’s friction.

It’s the moment your brain goes:
“Huh. That didn’t go so well.”
…and then quietly rewires a little bit so next time it’s closer.

No friction = no signal.
No signal = no change.

So if you’re learning something new and it feels slightly clunky, congrats, you’re in the zone.

(Nature, 2019)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12552-4

28/02/2026

My new article is out: AI is becoming the “first draft” for distress.

People are using chat tools to untangle feelings, rehearse hard conversations, and work out what to do next. That can be genuinely helpful, but it can also mislead or delay real support if the guidance is off. I reviewed what the research says so far, and what safer care pathways could look like.

How are you using AI day to day?

Image note: AI-generated image. Human-made opinions (mine).

Article:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/401334681_Drafting_Distress_in_a_Chat_Window_A_Review_of_AI-Mediated_Help-Seeking_And_Care_Pathways

24/02/2026

Kind words are small, but they can change someone’s day.

When you give kind feedback, the brain feels safer.
When we feel safe, we think better.
We communicate better.
We cope better.

Try this today:
Send one short message of appreciation to someone you know.

19/02/2026

My brain will do anything today except the one task that matters. 😆

Brian Tracy’s Eat That Frog! idea is simple: spot the task you keep dodging (the “frog”) and do it first, before your day gets crowded.

Why it actually helps:
• Avoidance keeps your brain on low-key alert in the background
• Once the hardest task is done, everything else feels lighter
• You stop leaking attention all day thinking about it

So… what’s your frog today? 🐸

16/02/2026

I’ve just published a piece with e27 on why speed without slack can backfire at work – more switching, more cognitive load, more rework.

If you work in a fast-paced team, this one’s for you:

https://e27.co/singapores-ai-edge-depends-on-slack-20260214/

DrZoe Wyatt-Potage: Workplace Psychological Wellbeing Expertise

13/02/2026

Valentine’s Day is a full dopamine carnival: ads, bookings, social posts, and the subtle suggestion that one dinner should prove your entire relationship status. 😅

Quick brain note: dopamine is more “wanting/anticipation” than “instant happiness”. So if the build-up is huge, the after can feel a bit flat… even when the night is actually lovely.

I wrote a short, practical guide to keeping expectations realistic and the night genuinely enjoyable:
https://www.drzoewyatt.com/post/the-dopamine-trap-of-valentine-s-day-and-how-to-avoid-the-crash

Tell me your plan: romantic dinner, friend date, self-date, or strategic avoidance?

10/02/2026

We treat sleep, exercise, and nutrition like the big three health habits.

But your brain has a fourth favourite: connection.

The World Health Organisation put loneliness on the global health agenda in 2025, not as a “feels” topic, but as a real risk factor.

And workplace data keeps showing that many people are more disconnected than they appear on the outside.

The good news: you don’t need a brand-new social life.
You need small, repeatable moments of contact that your nervous system can learn to expect.

Try one tiny “connection rep” this week:
🧠 Send one no-agenda message to someone you actually like
🧠 Take one catch-up as a walk (movement plus chat = bonus points)
🧠 Do a 10-minute micro-connection at work: coffee, a quick voice note, or a proper chat that isn’t task-based

Your turn: what’s your easiest form of connection right now - text, voice note, quick coffee, walk, something else?

Photo credit: Elisabeth Jurenka

08/02/2026

Life lessons from a therapy cat (feat. Jaeger) 🐈‍⬛🧠

Cats are basically tiny boundary consultants with excellent nervous systems.

Hard boundaries

He decides when the pats happen. Consent is not a vibe, it’s a rule.

Clear communication

Breakfast at the same time every day. No mixed messages. No subtle hints. Just needs, clearly stated.

Negotiation without drama

He opens the snack drawer, makes eye contact, submits the proposal.

Sometimes it’s approved. Sometimes it’s declined.
Either way, he stays calm, wanders off, and tries again later.

Honestly, iconic behaviour.

What’s your cat’s best life lesson?

06/02/2026

If you keep replaying worst-case scenarios, let’s upgrade the script.

Your brain is basically a prediction machine. When you mentally rehearse something with detail, you’re giving your attention system a “preview” of what matters, and your nervous system a chance to practise the moment before the moment.

Try this:

🧠 Pick one specific scenario (a hard conversation, a presentation, walking into the gym).

🧠 Run the movie in first-person, not like you’re watching yourself.

🧠 Add sensory detail: what you see, hear, and feel in your body.

🧠 Keep it short: 30 to 60 seconds.

Now rehearse the response you want: your tone, pace, one key sentence, and how you return to your breath if you feel activated.

Pro tip: include one small wobble in the scene (a question you didn’t expect, a distraction) and practise recovering. That’s the skill.

Your brain learns fast when you pair clarity with repetition.

What are you visualising this week?

03/02/2026

Do you know your character strengths?

Not your job skills. Not your coping skills. Your character strengths are the traits you tend to draw on when you are at your best. Things like curiosity, kindness, bravery, perspective, humour, perseverance.

One of my favourite free tools for this is the VIA Character Strengths survey. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes and you get a personalised strengths profile at the end.

Link: https://www.viacharacter.org/

Why it is worth doing:

It gives you language for what is already working in you, which can be surprisingly grounding

It can help with decision making and goal setting, so you can lean into strengths instead of forcing a strategy that does not fit

It is a useful reset if you have been stuck in problem-fixing mode and forgot you are a whole person, not a project

If you do it, tell me what came up in your top five. Any surprises?

Image credit: Cosmin Ursea

31/01/2026

If your feed feels cheap, repetitive, and mildly haunted, that’s not you being dramatic. That’s your attention system doing unpaid overtime.

High-quality content gives your brain nutrients: story, meaning, actual thought. AI slop is like eating a family-size bag of chips for dinner. Loud. Crunchy. Zero protein.

So if you feel scattered, overstimulated, and weirdly flat after a scroll… congrats, you’ve been marinating in low-signal nonsense.

Do a 10-minute content detox:
• Mute 3 accounts that leave you feeling confused, numb, or annoyed
• Follow 3 that teach you something or genuinely make you laugh

You can’t control the algorithm, but you can stop letting it serve your brain microwave sadness.