Nicole Lipkin - The one productivity killer you’re overlooking
“Our intolerance for boredom is one of the primary reasons our productivity suffers. The phone or Facebook are just secondary causes. Before we check Facebook we are bored.” Increasing you “boredom stamina” will allow you not to reach for a quick fix.
Fast Co.Design - Brainstorming is dumb
Yes, we create ideas in interaction with others. But only one person can speak at the same time. Seems inefficient. Luckily there is a better way! More ideas come when you start “brainwriting” instead of brainstorming and alternate group sessions with solo-brainstorming!
Wired - Time might only exist in your head
“A faraway corner of the universe might be moving future to past. But the moment humans point a telescope in that direction, time conforms to the past-future flow.” Weird right? Just dive in (the physics in it is kept simple).
Jason Fried - A mistake is just a moment in time
The Navajo didn’t fix weaving errors in their rugs. They didn’t think it the best thing to do. The mistakes weren’t intentional. What was intentional was the desire not to go back and fix them. Don’t dwell on your mistakes. Learn and go on.
Thiago R. Pinto - Our changing relationship with music and its new practical function
The way we consume music has changed. Sure. But they way our relationship with music has changed is underestimated if you believe the reports by the music industry. Music is no longer a reflection of our identity. It’s a reflection of what we do.
Jordan Harbinger - The 5 Incredible Things To Do To Live A Charmed Life (by James Altucher)
Not the best article, but great lessons for life. “The Doorway Drill”; Try to feel what’s going on with others and what makes them act the way they; “The Benjamin Franklin Effect”; Always be giving and don’t keep score.
Slate Browbeat - The Strange Reason Nearly Every Film Ends by Saying It’s Fiction
It’s quite out there. Rasputin is involved. Funny how sometimes, 1 incident creates such sad fear driven standard/rule. Where else did this happen?
Ryan Holiday - Don’t follow your passion. It’s what’s holding you back
Passion is not the distinguishing factor between success and failure. It needs to be coupled with reason. It can compensate for some weaknesses. But it is not a substitute for mastery and purpose.
Seth Godin - 7 unconventional rules for getting clients
Love these gems from Seth Godin. Fire bad clients! Challenge clients to demand your best work. You have to make the choice. Don’t wait for advise or guidance from the client. Check them out.
Josh Kaufman - The first 20 hours of learning anything
So, after Malcolm Gladwell wrote Outliers, we’ve been stuck in a game of telephone. We’ve slowly come to think that it takes 10,000 hours to learn a skill. Instead of it taking that long to become really good at a skill. What if it only took 20 hours?
Vox - Pokémon Go is everything that is wrong with late capitalism
Ok, this article is little to nothing about the game of Pokémon. But it uses it as an example of the centralisation of economic activity. Like Amazon and Uber, it centralises most of the money that flows through it. they might make things cheaper along the way, but it comes at a price. The article doesn’t really offer solutions, but it got me thinking!
MIT Technology Review - Data Mining Reveals the Six Basic Emotional Arcs of Storytelling
Wait! Wasn’t every story some sort of Hero’s Journey? Turns out, not all are shaped like one. This researchers put 1,700 novels though a sentimental analysis to map the emotional journey of the story. Turns out there are 6. Check the one of your favourite novel here.
Jory MacKay - The psychology of persuasion
Learn the persuasion techniques from the 3 professions that use them best (yet maybe not in the most savoury way): Sales people, con artists and politicians. Now go use these techniques for good!
Sean Blanda - The Other Side is not Dumb
What if we assumed that the other side also has their reasons for acting the way they do. Valid reasons. “We cannot consider ourselves ‘empathetic’ only to turn around and belittle those that don’t agree with us.” Our reactions to the Brexit anyone? If you can’t make their point for them, you don’t truly grasp the issue. (thanks Arnout for the find)
Matthew Stewart - The Management Myth
A rant of a trained philosopher and former consultant on MBA’s and Management ‘Science’. In a somewhat bitter way philosophers can, he lays bare the flaws in the science. I think the lesson is to check what the models or conclusions are based on. And to use it for what it’s worth