productivity
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Too many interests, more than one skill
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2 min read
We need doctors who specialize in heart surgery and spend 100% of their time helping other people. But we also need polymaths (Newton, Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci, etc.) to combine ideas to push society forward. As Dilbert’s creator Scott Adam points out, achieving excellence is rare. If you want something extraordinary [in life], you have…
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The rules of spacing have been wildly inconsistent going back to the invention of the printing press. The original printing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence used extra long spaces between sentences. John Baskerville’s 1763 Bible used a single space. WhoevenknowswhateffectPietroBembowasgoingforhere.Single spaces. Double spaces. Em spaces. Trends went back and forth between continents and eras…
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Slow and simple notebooks with BIG TYPEFACES
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1 min read
I saw this in my Pinterest feed (yeah, I’m on Pinterest) and immediately snatched one up. In our ever-increasingly fast-paced world, it’s nice to slow down every once in a while and plan something out. And these pages look huge! I also just dig the simplicity of the notebook names and huge typefaces: LARGE, MEDIUM,…
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‘The greatest secret of a powerful memory is to bring information to life with your endless imagination’
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1 min read
“The greatest secret of a powerful memory is to bring information to life with your endless imagination.” Kevin Horsley
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A recent study done by researchers at Tel Aviv University validates standing desks. Not only is standing better for your health, it also strengthens your focus. This is because the stress of holding your posture improves selective attention. The Stroop effect The researchers had university students alternate between standing and sitting while testing their reaction time to…
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Paper just works
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2 min read
Touching is believing. That’s why bullet journals are all the rage. People want to slow down and get everything from their worries, random thoughts, weekend plans, shopping lists, gift ideas, blog topics, exercise schedules, etc., all down and out on paper. Writes Mike Vardy in his piece Why Paper Works: Paper works because it is…
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How to sustain momentum when we’re already on a roll
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1 min read
We all know what it feels like to be on a roll. The enthusiasm synchs up with the effort to produce a feeling of flow. The vibe is right. But what goes up must come down Inspiration ebbs. Motivation falters. Humans are inconsistent. Advises record producer and co-founder of Def Jam Records Rick Rubin:…
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Toward perennial
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1 min read
All we are trying to do is get people to slow down in this fast-paced, dizzying world, and consider our work. First, we have to earn attention. Then, we have to win trust. Then, we have to convince people to come back without a carrot, flash, or a prompt. Standing out in a world of…
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‘The right to disconnect’ 📱
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1 min read
Stop working from home and get some rest. Even better, plan some unscheduled time. Sincerely, France Wait, what? On January 1st of this year, France passed the ‘right to disconnect‘ law which enforces a digital diet outside working hours. The rule prohibits employers from calling or emailing employees during personal time. France already imposes 35-hour works…
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We are ‘brilliant only in tiny bursts’
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1 min read
“The law of linchpin leverage: The more value you create in your job, the fewer clock minutes of labor you actually spend creating that value. In other words, most of the time, you’re not being brilliant. Most of the time, you do stuff that ordinary people could do. A brilliant author or businesswoman or senator…
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The tools of our tools
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2 min read
Technology is not neutral. FANG (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google) wants to make all decisions for us and dissolve us into all-consuming bots while the machines do all the thinking and making. Humans are workers, not to be hedonistic jobless throwaways. We seek meaning and identify ourselves through our labor. But our biggest misconception is presuming…