One of the most frustrating things in life is when you know what you want to do, but the system gets in your way. You want to apply for a benefit, but the forms are incomprehensible. You’re ready to cancel a subscription, but the process is so convoluted that you give up. This is what Cass R. Sunstein calls “sludge” in his book Sludge: What Stops Us from Getting Things Done and What to Do about It. Sludge is the unnecessary friction that makes it harder to achieve what you want to do, and it’s everywhere.
Sludge is the opposite of a nudge. Where a nudge makes it easier for you to do something—like defaulting you into a retirement savings plan unless you opt out—sludge makes it harder. Sunstein, who co-authored the book Nudge, is particularly attuned to how systems can be designed to influence behavior. With sludge, the influence is negative. It’s the bureaucratic red tape, the complex forms, the waiting periods, and the opaque processes that stop you from getting things done.
One of the key insights from Sunstein’s book is that sludge is often invisible until you run into it. It’s not until you’re faced with a maze of paperwork, or a customer service nightmare, that you realize how much sludge is out there. And because sludge is often hidden in plain sight, it’s easy for organizations to ignore or justify it. They might claim that all those forms and procedures are necessary to prevent fraud or ensure accuracy. But often, sludge is simply a byproduct of systems that haven’t been designed with the user in mind.
Sludge isn’t just annoying; it can have serious consequences. Sunstein highlights how sludge can prevent people from accessing essential services, like healthcare or financial aid. It can discourage people from applying for benefits they’re entitled to, simply because the process is too daunting. And it’s not just individuals who suffer—sludge can also harm organizations by creating inefficiencies, lowering customer satisfaction, and ultimately reducing trust.
One of the reasons sludge persists is because it’s usually someone else’s problem. If you’re a bureaucrat designing a form, the complexity of that form might not seem like a big deal to you—after all, you know how it works. But for the person who has to fill it out, it can be a nightmare. This disconnect between the creators of sludge and the people who have to deal with it is one of the reasons it’s so hard to eliminate. The people who design the systems aren’t the ones who have to navigate them.
Sunstein argues that we need to be much more deliberate about identifying and reducing sludge. He suggests that organizations conduct sludge audits—systematically reviewing their processes to identify unnecessary friction and eliminate it. This isn’t just about making things easier for users; it’s also about making systems more efficient and effective. When you remove sludge, you don’t just help people get things done—you also improve the overall functioning of the system.
But getting rid of sludge isn’t always easy. There’s often resistance from within organizations, particularly if the sludge serves some internal purpose, like controlling the flow of applications or managing workload. There’s also the challenge of inertia—systems that have been in place for a long time are hard to change. And in some cases, sludge is a deliberate strategy, used to discourage people from taking certain actions, like canceling a subscription or applying for a benefit.
Despite these challenges, Sunstein is optimistic about the potential for reducing sludge. He points to examples where organizations have successfully streamlined processes, making it easier for people to get what they need. For instance, some governments have simplified tax filing procedures, and some companies have made it easier to cancel subscriptions online. These examples show that it’s possible to fight back against sludge, but it requires awareness, commitment, and a willingness to put the user first.
In the end, Sunstein’s message is clear: sludge is a barrier to getting things done, and we need to take it seriously. It’s not just an inconvenience; it’s a drag on productivity, a source of frustration, and a barrier to access. By identifying and eliminating sludge, we can create systems that are not only more efficient but also more humane. Sludge might seem like a small thing, but when you add it up, it has a huge impact. And the good news is that we can do something about it. We just have to start looking for the sludge in our systems and commit to clearing it away.