“How are things?” asked a friend. “It’s busy, but I’ll take some time to relax when things ease up,” I replied. I recently caught myself giving a variation of this answer every time I was asked how I was doing. “So much work, but hopefully it will be better next … | Continue reading
Worry is traditionally seen as a negative emotion. But is it possible worry has a positive function, and that we just don’t tend to use it well? Physician and researcher Martin L. Rossman argues that worry is actually an adaptive function to better solve problems and imagine crea … | Continue reading
In French, “cultiver son jardin intérieur” means to tend to your internal garden—to take care of your mind. The garden metaphor is particularly apt: taking care of your mind involves cultivating your curiosity (the seeds), growing your knowledge (the trees), and producing new tho … | Continue reading
We are obsessed with optionality. Not sure what to do with your life? Most people will tell you to get a degree. Not quite sure what to do with this degree? Go to grad school. Still not quite sure? Get a consulting role at a big firm so you can … | Continue reading
The average lifespan of a technical skill is roughly 18 months. The world is moving fast. Anything you learn today may become obsolete tomorrow. It may feel discouraging—why bother acquiring a new skill if it will soon be useless?—but it shouldn’t be. The fact is it has never bee … | Continue reading
Taking smart notes is one of the most efficient ways to increase your productivity and your creativity. But what kind of notes? Once you start considering all the mediums, techniques, strategies, and formats available to you when taking notes, the combinations are almost infinite … | Continue reading
“Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!” claims the fifteen-year old Nintendo brain-training app, also known as Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training. The app consists of mini-games supposedly designed to stimulate various parts of the brain and help combat normal aging effects o … | Continue reading
“Life's beauty is inseparable from its fragility.” This quote by Dr Susan David perfectly encapsulates the importance of emotional agility. | Continue reading
Want to write an original article but still at the idea stage? One of the best ways to learn is through the generation effect. Creating your own material based on what you want to learn activates your semantic memory, and actively manipulating new information creates relationship … | Continue reading
While it’s important to stay informed, too much information can become confusing, anxiety-inducing, and plain counter-productive. The same way you try to eat healthy to improve your physical health, going on an information diet is a way to control what you consume to take care of … | Continue reading
The Stanford marshmallow experiment is probably the most famous study in delayed gratification. In 1972, a group of kids was asked to make a simple choice: you can eat this marshmallow now, or wait 15 minutes and receive a second treat. In the paper, the researchers highlighted t … | Continue reading
With the advent of remote work, asynchronous communication is the key to mindful productivity. What are its benefits? How to implement it? | Continue reading
“What is it like to be a bat?” famously asked Thomas Nagel in 1974 in The Philosophical Review. It may sound like a silly question, but it has profound implications. We quite literally make sense of the world through our touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Our sense of space … | Continue reading
Welcome to the first edition of Mindful Makers, an interview series where we ask highly creative people how they manage to do great things while taking care of their mental health. The first guest is Buster Benson, writer, entrepreneur, thinker, and overall wonderful human being. … | Continue reading
These are raw notes from a lecture Dr Derek Tracy gave at UCL on March 2nd 2020. Dr Derek Tracy is a psychiatrist and clinical director at Oxleas NHS and Bexley Care, as well as a senior lecturer in the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London, … | Continue reading
In Western culture, death is scary. Death is sad. Death is an uncontrollable event which puts an end to all events. This is why we mostly avoid thinking about it. And this is why many cultures and religions have the concept of an afterlife. But thinking about death can be empower … | Continue reading
In the late 1800s, researchers discovered a technique to stain neurons black. Called the Golgi’s method after its inventor Camillo Golgi, an Italian physician and scientist, it allowed us to a number of new facts about the organisation of the nervous system, and gave rise to the … | Continue reading
“Happiness depends upon ourselves” is a quote often attributed to Aristotle. It is supposedly up to the individual to create their own happiness. Throughout the centuries, people have spent lots of time, energy, and money in the quest for happiness. Today, billions are being spen … | Continue reading
At work, money is often used as a productivity driver. But author Daniel Pink suggests a new model of motivation beyond money. | Continue reading
Research suggests we may only have 4 hours of creative work in us each day. Many innovators have short work schedules to recharge their creative batteries. | Continue reading
Want to have it all? Well, the Ambition Trilemma states that it's exceedingly difficult to achieve stability, freedom, and wealth at the same time. | Continue reading
When trying to solve a problem, we often tend to look for useful facts that may guide us to the “correct” answer. This type of thinking—called convergent thinking—works great when the problem we want to solve is clear and requires a reasonable solution. But for bigger, more compl … | Continue reading
A couple of years ago, I got really interested in pu’er tea—a kind of fermented tea produced in China—which can sell for thousands of dollars. I tried some, liked it, read about its history, and then… My mind started racing: why is it so hard to buy pu’er tea in Europe? Maybe I c … | Continue reading
By this point, most of my readers know how much I enjoy using Roam for research. But most of the messages I get are about how to get started. People are convinced this is an amazing tool for note-taking, thinking, and metacognition, but the interface can be a bit confusing at fir … | Continue reading
Most strategies fail because they’re not actually strategies—they are tactics. The terms strategy and tactic are so intertwined they often get confused. | Continue reading
Whether you have a job and a few side projects or you are a full-time entrepreneur, chances are you consider your work a part of your identity. “What do you do?” is one of the most common icebreakers when we meet new people. Certain jobs are thought to breed certain mindsets. Som … | Continue reading
The human brain is a fascinating machine. The complex interactions in our mind shape our thoughts, memories, feelings and dreams, and ultimately make us who we are. Is there a limit to what this wonderful machine can accomplish? Is the human intellect capped to a certain level? I … | Continue reading
Noterday is the ability to say no to yesterday—to let go of the past, to stop holding onto grudges, and to focus on today and tomorrow instead. | Continue reading
The holiday season is around the corner. For most of us, it means we need to get gifts for our loved ones—our family, our friends, maybe even for people we don’t know all that well, such as clients and coworkers. The holiday season is notoriously stressful. Surveys show that near … | Continue reading
How to read a book is an age old question. How can you gain a deep understanding of a book? How can you form your own informed opinion when reading? | Continue reading
While conflict can destroy relationships when managed poorly, learning how to manage it in a healthy manner can actually lead to stronger relationships. | Continue reading
Even unintentionally, you’ve probably seen one of these infomercials on TV. The presenter goes through all the supposedly amazing features of an obscure product with an excited voice, an urgent tone, as if he or she was sharing an important secret few will be lucky enough to know … | Continue reading
Occam's razor is dangerous. Both our minds and the world are complex machines which cannot be grasped by applying a simplistic approach to decision making. | Continue reading
The three modes of persuasion — ethos, pathos, logos — are useful skills to master to persuade people and to understand how you’re being persuaded yourself. | Continue reading
Many think that it’s impossible to improve your memory. But scientific research shows that many techniques do have an impact on our memory. | Continue reading
A personal user manual is a short document outlining how you like to work, collaborate, and communicate. It's a great way to build psychological safety. | Continue reading
Want to become a better writer? Practice makes perfect. Here is how you can write 100 articles in 100 days, without sacrificing your mental health. | Continue reading
You may be afraid someone will steal your idea. But sharing your work in public is a way to reflect, get feedback, and increase your creativity. | Continue reading
The PARI system is a practical approach to mindframing. It's not only about productivity, it's about mindful productivity. | Continue reading
Plus Minus Next is a simple journaling method. At the top of each column, write + for what worked, – for what didn’t, and → for what you plan to do next. | Continue reading
The Eisenhower matrix is a simple but smart productivity system—it’s a decision-making tool based on the importance and urgency of items on your to-do list. | Continue reading
You should start before you feel ready. Getting prepared feels good, but it’s a way to trick your brain into thinking you’re being productive. | Continue reading
When you want to learn or build something new, it’s tempting to just get going. Read as much as you can, do some tutorials, work on some related projects. Short-term, this gives you a motivation boost. You feel like you’re making progress. But, after a while, you notice that you’ … | Continue reading
Neuroproductivity is the neuroscience of productivity. Understanding the activity inside your brain is half the battle to improve your productivity. | Continue reading
Push vs pull goals: push goals are when you push yourself to complete a task. Pull goals are when you feel naturally drawn towards a task. | Continue reading
The shiny toy syndrome is characterised by wanting to own the latest toy and getting a temporary sensation of happiness before moving onto something else. | Continue reading
Joy triggers are simple ways to feel instantly happier, such as drinking a cup of your favourite tea, listening to a specific song, or petting your dog. | Continue reading
Whether struggling to meet a tight deadline or dealing with difficult colleagues, there are many reasons why you may feel anxious at work. Considering that most of us spend the majority of our days working—whether remotely or in an office—being able to deal with anxiety at work i … | Continue reading