Red flag tags: revenge, FOMO, boredom, news-chase
Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2026 12:00 pm
Red-flag tags in the journal did more for my news discipline than another indicator.
I tag revenge, FOMO, boredom, and news-chase when I notice them — ideally within the hour, not on Sunday when memory has rewritten the story. The tag is not therapy. It is a sortable column that shows which emotional shortcut actually costs money.
How I use the tags
1. After three of the same flag in a week, size steps down automatically next session.
2. News-chase tags inside blackout windows are treated as process breaks, not "bad luck."
3. I review flags before I review P&L so the green days cannot hide the behaviour.
If a tag never appears, I do not trust the journal yet.
Which red-flag label shows up most in your book, and did naming it change the click rate?
I keep the tag vocabulary small on purpose. Too many labels and Sunday review becomes taxonomy theatre. Four honest flags beat twenty shades of mood that I will never sort.
I tag revenge, FOMO, boredom, and news-chase when I notice them — ideally within the hour, not on Sunday when memory has rewritten the story. The tag is not therapy. It is a sortable column that shows which emotional shortcut actually costs money.
How I use the tags
1. After three of the same flag in a week, size steps down automatically next session.
2. News-chase tags inside blackout windows are treated as process breaks, not "bad luck."
3. I review flags before I review P&L so the green days cannot hide the behaviour.
If a tag never appears, I do not trust the journal yet.
Which red-flag label shows up most in your book, and did naming it change the click rate?
I keep the tag vocabulary small on purpose. Too many labels and Sunday review becomes taxonomy theatre. Four honest flags beat twenty shades of mood that I will never sort.