“Be careful” is another good example of an instruction that doesn’t really help. The default interpretation seems to be “move slowly and with intense concentration,” which can lead to tunnel vision or a failure to act decisively. How to better cash it out depends on the task, but it’s often an improvement to promote situational awareness by frequently asking what you expect to happen next and how it will go wrong. For example, “drive defensively” rather than “drive carefully.”
“Be careful” is another good example of an instruction that doesn’t really help. The default interpretation seems to be “move slowly and with intense concentration,” which can lead to tunnel vision or a failure to act decisively. How to better cash it out depends on the task, but it’s often an improvement to promote situational awareness by frequently asking what you expect to happen next and how it will go wrong. For example, “drive defensively” rather than “drive carefully.”