Stop working on open-ended tasks. These waste your time, cause procrastination and accomplish little. Open-ended tasks are any tasks that don’t have a clear end point. They are activities like “studying”, “working” or “putting on finishing touches”. They don’t have a stopping point where you can clearly say, “I’m done.” “I’ve got a big test […]
If You Aren’t Getting Hate Mail, Your Writing Probably Sucks
The most popular articles on this website are also the posts with the most negative comments. It took me awhile to realize this, but hate mail can actually be a sign you’re doing something right. Truly awful stuff gets ignored. It’s only the ideas that are new, involve risks or push boundaries that get hate […]
Stop Checking Your Web Stats Every Day!
How often do you check your e-mail, Facebook or web stats? Whether you’re a blogger or just discovering the internet, the answer is: probably too much. Information addiction is a disease in the blogging community, and unfortunately I know a lot of good people who are users. I can imagine the mental rationale goes a […]
Productivity Tips from High-School Chemistry: Build a Motivation Catalyst
In chemistry, a catalyst is a chemical that speeds up a reaction but isn’t involved in the reaction itself. Iron rusts more quickly with saltwater, even though rusting results from just iron and oxygen. Catalysts lower the energy needed to trigger a reaction. Similarly, a motivation catalyst lowers the amount of energy you need to […]
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.