028Principle
Law of Minimal Effort
People subconsciously (think, automatically), will often opt for the path of minimal effort.
Why it matters
Laziness is hard-wired into our system, and people will unknowingly opt for the path of minimal effort.
Importantly, this is without even being aware that they are taking such a shortcut .
It's easier to show you this, rather than explain it.
Look at the puzzle below:
• A bat and ball costs £1.10. • The bat costs 1 pound (£) more than the ball. • How much does the ball cost?
Most people would answer the obvious: the ball costs £0.10. And they'd be wrong.
If the bat costs £1.00 more than the ball, then the ball costs £0.05 (the bat costs £1.05).
This is a puzzle that initially seems easy, and most people who could objectively answer it correctly, wouldn't have, because they unknowingly took the path of least effort .
They settled on the first answer the was feasibly correct, rather than investing the small amount of effort required to check their initial judgement.
This is how people navigate the world, including digital products.
What to inspect
- Check whether the experience reflects this: A bat and ball costs £1.10.
- Check whether the experience reflects this: The bat costs 1 pound (£) more than the ball.
- Check whether the experience reflects this: How much does the ball cost?
Common anti-patterns
- Assuming users consciously notice every place where "People subconsciously (think, automatically), will often opt for the path of minimal effort" could apply.
- Dense copy and parallel actions that increase mental effort unrelated to the user’s goal.
- Ignoring downstream effects on attention & interest when shipping this pattern.
Critique prompts
- A bat and ball costs £1.10.
- The bat costs 1 pound (£) more than the ball.
- How much does the ball cost?
- Where on this screen would "Law of Minimal Effort" show up as friction or misunderstanding?
- What would a first-time user misunderstand here in under five seconds?