productive

“Guests should be selected with as much care as a new Reboux hat, and should be equally becoming, for a hostess should wear her guests at a party as she wears a hat – with an air!”

Public commitment pledges are a surprisingly effective and free way to help you reach your goals. A public commitment pledge is simply writing what you will or won't do, perhaps something you know you find hard, signing it and displaying it publicly. In her excellent book, How to Change, Katy Milkman describes how the simple intervention of a public commitment pledge in doctors' offices significantly reduced prescriptions of unnecessary antibiotics—just through a poster on the wall. Commitment pledges are a form of what Katy calls a soft commitment device (of Odysseus fame). This strategy helps us stick to our commitments even when tempted to go astray. Pledges may work through our desire for consistency and create cognitive dissonance when considering going against the pledge. The benefits of what we desire to do, say "eat cookies," are pitted against the potential guilt or discomfort we'd feel by going against what we said we'd do, not "eat cookies." You don't want to let yourself down. The pledge gives us a greater chance of sticking to our actions and a defence against our present bias. Is there something you wish you'd do more of or less of? A simple public commitment pledge could help you on your way. Other free ways to help you achieve your goals: Temptation bundling, The Fresh Start Effect, commitment device, Nine-enders

I found myself recently, as one does, watching the mini-documentary featurettes included on the DVD for the popular 2014 Keanu Reeves movie, John Wick — ... Read more

Which day have you been the most productive? Is there something you did that made it so productive? And is it something you can do every day?

I wrote the article below about working in a single text file back in July 2006. I stuck with this way of taking notes until the end of my employment with Nortel in 2009. By then, the text file I was...

It's a perfect companion to my discbound paper notebook

Creator Cabins seem to be a growing business – thanks in part to the increase in remote work. Who doesn’t aspire to have a place of their own for uninterrupted creative work? Within that genre resides the more-within-the-grasp-of-an-actual-human cabins for backyards and “gardens.” This seems to be bigger in the

My podcast producer recently turned me onto a show called Acquired, which features its co-hosts, Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, diving deep into the backstories ... Read more

Schedule Shut Down, Complete Here’s what happens, without exception, at the end of my normal work day. First, I make sure my master task lists ... Read more

Why you need a shutdown ritual to maintain work-life balance and maximize productivity

Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals

Here's a simple question to ask yourself - any time you find yourself facing the impulse to give up and distract yourself.

And why I’m rebelling against it anyway

Here are the people who have most greatly influenced my thoughts on learning.

The other day the low tire pressure indicator came on in my car. I didn’t see an obvious flat, so the likely explanation was some ... Read more

Arete—the most powerful word to the Stoics. It means excellence, and it was the ultimate expression of human greatness—moral, physical, spiritual. It’s what the Stoics were chasing. It’s what we’re all chasing.  Reaching it requires a certain philosophical approach. Because brilliance and inspiration and skill are not enough. Summing up Aristotle’s thoughts on excellence, Will […]

“How I fixed my smartphone addiction: I have 2 phones - Cocaine Phone & Kale Phone Here's how it works: 1. The Smartphone Paradox - Your phone is a gateway to the world's best knowledge -- and the world's best distractions. It's like having the best teachers, strip clubs, and…”

If you ever find yourself stressed, overwhelmed, sinking into stasis despite wanting to change, or frustrated when you can’t respond to new opportunities, you need more slack in your life. Here’s how slack works and why you need more of it.

a static site {for, by, about} me

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Earlier today, I posted a Quick Link to the 2nd-generation AirPods Pro on Amazon because they were $50 off, a good deal for an ite

Burnout is the result of chronic stress and, at work, that stress tends accumulate around your experiences of workload, values, reward, control, fairness, and community. If any are lacking or out of sync, you may be headed toward exhaustion, cynicism, and the feeling of being ineffective. When taken regularly, this short assessment can help you gauge whether you’re on the path to burnout, and where you should focus your attention to make beneficial changes.

Find out how long it takes to become proficient in different languages based on the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview Ratings. Learn more!