Flashcards, especially in their digital incarnations, are some of the most powerful learning tools. They can also easily be a complete waste of time. Powerful, because retrieval and spacing are key to memory. If you want to learn a topic with a lot of stuff to memorize, flashcards will help you do it better than […]
Some Reflections on Being Off Social Media
My experiences after ditching social media for several months. Here's what I miss and what I really, really don't.
Help Me with My New Project
I’m working on a new writing project, based on some of the ideas I’ve written about in Do the Real Thing, The Hard Way is the Easy Way and the chapter on directness in Ultralearning. The basic idea is that instead of doing the real thing we need to improve, we often get stuck on […]
Book Recommendation: A World Without Email
Review and summary of the key ideas in Cal Newport's latest book, A World Without Email. Recommended reading.
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.