Why resilience matters more than perfection
Jerry Seinfeld once shared a simple piece of advice for building momentum: mark an X on your calendar every day you write. The idea is to “not break the chain.” But what happens when the chain does break? Not if. When. It happens. We miss days. We get sick. We lose motivation. Life doesn’t ask […]
Not all habits are intentional. Some sneak in and settle down
For years, I never wrote anything on the first line of my daily planner. Not once.And for years, I never asked why. (After all, it’s hard to introspect a habit you’re not aware of.) I’d flip to a new page each morning, jot down my tasks for the day, and skip right over that first […]
To change a behavior… change the behavior
Our brains excel at coming up with shortcuts. They have to. We’re exposed to too much information and too many choices to process everything. Habits are one shortcut we take. We train—intentionally or not—our basal ganglia that when a certain condition is met, we take a specific action. Our phone dings, we check our phone […]
Traction, not friction, on your biggest wins
The bottle on the left is mouthwash. So is the bottle on the right. The difference is that the bottle on the left tastes like it’s trying to kill me. I’m trying to use mouthwash more consistently. Whenever it’s time to rinse, all I can think of is the impending flavor of doom and sadness. […]
Our beliefs shape everything we do
Our behavior is shaped by our beliefs about how the world works. The Reality Model helps us see the connection.
What we do depends on how we feel about what we know
What we do depends on how we feel about what we know. We cannot learn something or change how we feel about something without changing our behavior.
Notifications are a two-edged sword. Here’s how to configure notifications to stay connected without completely destroying your focus.
Sometimes You Want a Task to Jump Off the Page
Setting a reminder lets a task jump off the page at the right time. This lets you focus on what you’re doing without forgetting about what’s coming.
Inertia holds you back until you build momentum
If you’re having trouble getting started on a task, look for the smallest action you can take to break the ice. Working on a project gets easier once it’s been started.
Margin doesn’t suddenly appear
Nature abhors a vacuum. If you take something away, something else has to move in to take its place. Nature also doesn’t like two things occupying the same place at the same time. It’s the same principle behind every waiting list, every swap, every upgrade. Something has to leave before something else can arrive. It’s […]
