Would you rather serve soup at a homeless shelter for free, or for $2 per hour? If you’re in a country with a high minimum wage like Canada, you would probably rather volunteer. For the same reasons, your mother-in-law would be offended if you offered to pay her $20 for making a family dinner. I […]
Don’t Forget Sunk Costs, Stupid!
People are normally fairly intelligent. Although there are many exceptions, people tend to make rational decisions. However, there are some decisions that most people get wrong (including me). There is a whole field of psychology devoted to these non-random acts of stupidity, known as cognitive biases. I’ve always found cognitive biases interesting, since understanding them […]
The 10 Best Productivity Articles
According to WordPress, this is the 608th post to be added to ScottHYoung.com. This website has a large archive, so I’m not surprised when many readers tell me they enjoy the site, but haven’t been able to read all the articles. I’d like to save you some time by picking, in my opinion, the ten […]
Energy Management Is More Important for Creative Work
There are two basic veins of thought when it comes to getting the most accomplished. The classic view is time management: keep lists, stay focused and organize your time effectively to get everything done. As a whole, time management works fairly well. However, it misses a couple key problems, such as:    Why do you […]
I'm a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, podcast host, computer programmer and an avid reader. Since 2006, I've published weekly essays on this website to help people like you learn and think better. My work has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, TEDx, Pocket, Business Insider and more. I don't promise I have all the answers, just a place to start.