Betterment

How do you stand out at the individual level in a world where everybody is trained to dress the same, get the same qualifications, read the same books,

In the pre-media world, we bumped into fables, or news from across the village, but mostly, our role models and experiences were based on reality. Now, when it’s not unusual to spend eight ho…

We often see problems through the lens that we’re used to using. The banker sees a solution around money, the activist might see an opportunity for social justice. The technologist figures th…

Have you ever had one of those strange dreams, where you're, say, in an airport, trying to catch your plane, but before you can catch your plane, you

Perhaps this is what your team needs from you: Agreeableness is not the same as agreeing. In fact, they have little in common. Finding someone who’s only job is to agree with everything that …

Every driver benefits from good brakes. It makes driving safer. Only a few skilled drivers benefit from better acceleration. Our habit is to compare top speed, horsepower, short-term returns and st…

That’s great news. The thing you need, the road ahead, the element that will transform your project–it appears to be inconvenient. That’s terrific, because it means that most othe…

While it’s likely that you own a bike, you probably don’t have a front-wheel recumbent bicycle in your garage. Even though it’s more efficient, more comfortable and often faster. …

The image above is a redraw of a slide the research psychologist, Gary Klein, once showed to an audience. Basically, a company that wants to get better at

Is patience a vice or a virtue in learning? Some reflections on whether minimal habits are sufficient for mastery.

We can tell from the words. “I’m just doing my job.” “Will this be on the test?” “Don’t blame me.” “It’s what everyone else is wearing.&#…

Note-taking apps have ways they want you to work, a grain you should follow. Except Obsidian. Obsidian’s grain comes from you.

There are two approaches: Broaden your offerings, make them easier, cheaper and more available. Dumb them down and race to the bottom. Or… Focus on the customers who care enough about your id…

As we all know, thanks to technology and the Internet, the cost of doing business in the creative trades (advertising, design, photography, TV, etc) has

What do we say when a customer or colleague says, “thank you”? For a long time, it was “you’re welcome.” This indicates that you put in some effort and you’re wi…

Listen to this episode from Deep Questions with Cal Newport on Spotify. Few professional experiences feel worse than overload. But what really causes this unfortunate state? In this episode, Cal takes a closer look at overload, identifying its main culprits, identifying solutions, and helping listeners with their specific overload-related questions.  Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo  Video from today’s episode:  youtube.com/calnewportmedia  Today’s Deep Question: How does overload actually operate? [3:54]  - Does Cal use an executive assistant? [26:15] - How do I write an effective communication policy for my team? [36:35] - Does overhead compound exponentially? [42:50] - How rare are high expectation/low overhead jobs? [48:05] - My job has few shallow obligations. What should I do with my free time? [51:41]  Something Interesting: The future of social media is less social [59:39]  Links:  wsj.com/articles/workers-say-its-harder-to-get-things-done-now-heres-why-2a5f1389 nytimes.com/2023/04/19/technology/personaltech/tiktok-twitter-facebook-social.html  Thanks to our Sponsors:  huel.com/questions blinkist.com/deep rhone.com/cal zocdoc.com/deep  Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

This is a step by step tutorial on how to easily and professionally use Keynote to present on Zoom or any other sort of virtual platform. The goal is to use the friendly presenter controls of Keyno…

It’s time to get serious about how we show up in remote meetings. For a year, we slogged through it, but it was exhausting. Not only did we feel lousy at the end of the day, but other people …

Octavian Caesar Augustus adopted a simple principle to help him solve problems and reach his goals: Festina lente, or "make haste slowly."

I’ve started keeping notes on papers in Obsidian and I thought I’d share the workflow, which so far is pretty straightforward and easy to set up. This uses the binary file manager plugin and the annotator plugin.

Back in 1971, Ilon Specht, a fun, 23-year-old New York advertising copywriter, sat down at her desk at McCann-Erickson, one of the big Madison Avenue

We’re quick to stop to see the car wreck, the billionaire having a meltdown, or the professional wrestlers pretending to be political leaders. But it often seems more difficult to take a mome…

Most things that consumers acquire are bought, not sold. We decide we’re interested in something and we go shopping to get it. Potato chips, wedding venues and cars are all purchased by peopl…

The race to the bottom has been won. Anything cheaper than what’s on offer is a waste of the customer’s money, because it won’t get the job done. Once we’ve cut every corner…

Flashcards should be the base for learning any memory-intensive subject, mnemonics layered on top (if that).

Introduction: In today's fast-paced world, where productivity and work-life balance often seem like distant goals, finding effective strategies to stay on top of your game has become crucial. One such method that has gained significant attention is Jordan Belfort's "Way of the Wolf: Straight Line Selling." By combining the principles of persuasive selling with practical productivity techniques, this approach offers a comprehensive framework to boost productivity while maintaining a healthy work-

They’re toxic, wasteful and a tempting trap. It’s one of the most important topics in my new book. (And here’s a new podcast on it). We need proxies. You’re not allowed to r…