2021
09 Jul – Setting Work Boundaries
02 Jul – Experimentalism: An Alternative to Perfectionism
25 Jun – Giving Ourselves Credit
18 Jun – It's Not My Fault
11 Jun – On the Importance of Volunteering
04 Jun – A Conversation With Our Inner Critic
28 May – You Waste Years By Not Being Able to Waste Hours
21 May – On Managing Time Debt
14 May – The Break is Part of the Work
07 May – Get the First Try Out of the Way
30 Apr – Make the Work Easier
23 Apr – How to Reduce Friction on Big Projects
16 Apr – The Great Thing About Decisions
09 Apr – To Work Better, Stop Working
02 Apr – The Urgent Can Wait
26 Mar – The Shakespeare of Board Books
19 Mar – Don't Sweat the Coffee: On Ignoring the Trivial
12 Mar – Signing Up Future You
05 Mar – Don't Waste Meetings
26 Feb – Conditions for Starting Our Work
19 Feb – Choose Your Hobbies Carefully
12 Feb – Is Your Daily Plan Realistic?
05 Feb – Be a Student of Your Own Past Behavior
29 Jan – Feedback: A Simple Tool to Create Change
22 Jan – Can the Important Force Out the Trivial?
15 Jan – Approaching a Crisis Like a Professional
08 Jan – What to Do When You Don’t Feel Like Working
01 Jan – This Year, Make Good Behaviors Easier
2020
25 Dec – What Do We Learn from 2020?
18 Dec – Think Days: Investing in Your Future
11 Dec – Working Like a Freelancer
04 Dec – Emotional Reasoning: Feelings Aren't Facts
27 Nov – Every Night, a Little Thanksgiving
20 Nov – To Create, Start with Low Standards
13 Nov – The Right Way to Say No
06 Nov – What Leadership is Really About
30 Oct – On Self-Compassionate Productivity
23 Oct – During Hard Times, Focus on Others
16 Oct – Separating Productivity from Self-Worth
09 Oct – Don't Try to Get Through the Day
02 Oct – Make It Easy For People to Help You
25 Sep – Turning an Unproductive Day Around
18 Sep – The Benefits of a Professional Reading List
11 Sep – Work With What You’ve Got: Training Yourself to Work Hard
04 Sep – Two Benefits of Living More Intentionally
28 Aug – What Productivity Is Really About
21 Aug – Career Advice: Don’t Cut Your Own Path
14 Aug – For a Good Life, Knowledge Isn't Enough
07 Aug – Busy? Step Into Your Practice Pod
31 Jul – Introducing Crimely: Or, The Downside of Too Much News
24 Jul – What Musicians Know
17 Jul – Do the Next Right Thing
10 Jul – A Different Kind of Perfect
03 Jul – The First Step to Solving Big Problems
26 Jun – Trust Your Systems: How to Not Sleep Through Your Alarm
19 Jun – Taking Failure Seriously (But Not Too Seriously)
12 Jun – On Fixed-Schedule Productivity
05 Jun – Assuming Good Faith
29 May – Always Do More than You Get Paid For
22 May – Documentation: Being Nice to Future You
15 May – Give Yourself a Pep Talk: Andy Grove on Leadership
08 May – An Easy Way to Improve Your Understanding of Human Behavior
01 May – Want to Learn About Yourself? Start a Garden.
24 Apr – What to Do When You Have a Lot to Do
17 Apr – Should You Use Social Media During a Pandemic?
10 Apr – Reclaim Your Free Time with Active Leisure
03 Apr – Your Daily Routine Is Gone. You Need to Replace It.
27 Mar – Everything Counts for More
20 Mar – Change, Crises, and Clarity
13 Mar – Coronavirus: A Clear-Eyed Approach
06 Mar – To Do Your Best Work, Let Things Pile Up
28 Feb – Feelings vs. Information: What People Remember
21 Feb – Being Successful vs. Being Useful
14 Feb – Avoiding Error Chains
07 Feb – Two Simple, Timeless Productivity Tips
31 Jan – Bad Is Stronger Than Good, So Save Your Thank-You Notes
24 Jan – How I Started Drinking Enough Water (With No Effort)
17 Jan – Make It Easy to Say Yes
10 Jan – Is This Good for Me? Cleaning Up Our Mental Diet
03 Jan – 6 Short Questions for a New Decade
2019
27 Dec – Addition By Subtraction: Planning For a Calmer Year
20 Dec – A Brief Argument for Reviving Your Reading Habit
13 Dec – 3 Principles for Writing Better Emails
06 Dec – Taking Better Breaks from Work
29 Nov – Productivity Tip: Getting Up to Speed on Big Projects
22 Nov – Never Miss Twice: A Middle Path to Building Good Habits
15 Nov – The Trap of Endless Optimization
08 Nov – On Intentional Communication: Don’t Pick Up the Rope
01 Nov – On Personal Change without Change
25 Oct – For Better Performance and an Easier Start, Try a Ritual
18 Oct – Daily Planning's Biggest Payoff
11 Oct – The Space Between Stimulus and Response: On Observing Our Emotions
04 Oct – Paying the Price of Success
27 Sep – Lash Yourself to the Mast: On Sidestepping Self-Discipline
20 Sep – On Practicing at Work
13 Sep – On Change
06 Sep – The Discipline to Close the Door
30 Aug – Keeping a "Things to Remember About Myself" List
23 Aug – Project-Centered Journaling: A Tool for Getting Unstuck
16 Aug – To Change Behavior, Get Specific
09 Aug – When You’re Ultra-Busy, Choose What to Neglect
02 Aug – Three Alternatives to Willpower
26 Jul – Why You Need a Game Plan
19 Jul – Choosing How Much We Care
12 Jul – The Story of Disneyland’s Trash Cans
05 Jul – A Bad Plan Beats No Plan
28 Jun – Imperfect Consistency and the Real Test
21 Jun – On Being a Mood-Changer
14 Jun – The Smartest Career Move You Can Make
07 Jun – Using Public Deadlines to Fight Procrastination
31 May – On Resistance to Organizational Change
24 May – When to Abandon Efficiency for Effectiveness
17 May – How to Spot a Bad Self-Help Book
10 May – Don’t Forget to Celebrate
03 May – Why It's Okay Not to Have an Opinion
26 Apr – On the Importance of Think Days
19 Apr – Strengths and Weaknesses: Two Sides of the Same Coin
12 Apr – Put On Your Own Mask First
05 Apr – Busy and Exhausted: No Points for Either One
29 Mar – On Accepting the World As It Is
22 Mar – “Reading the Books” vs. Talent
15 Mar – Leadership Tip: The Golden Rule of Change Management
08 Mar – Processing Email: How to Tame Your Inbox
01 Mar – Lowering the Barrier to Working on Long-Term Projects
22 Feb – Trying to Do More of What Matters? Let Excel Help.
15 Feb – Next-Level Daily Planning: When to Schedule Different Kinds of Work
08 Feb – The Pros and Cons of Quitting Social Media
01 Feb – What to Do When Your Schedule Falls Apart
25 Jan – How to Skim a Book, and Why You Should
18 Jan – Three Reasons to Make More Checklists
11 Jan – The Four Basic Components of a Good Productivity System
04 Jan – Two Tips for Improved New Year's Resolutions
2018
28 Dec – A Tip for Managing New Holiday Gifts
21 Dec – How to Use Counterfactual Thinking to Your Advantage
14 Dec – Productivity Tip: Schedule Your Free Time
07 Dec – What George R.R. Martin Can Teach Us About Tool Selection
30 Nov – Hardship and Perseverance: Lessons from an Astronaut
23 Nov – 3 Ways to Begin a Daily Gratitude Practice
16 Nov – What "Math People" Know
09 Nov – My Niece's TEDx Talk
06 Nov – I Hope You Vote Today
02 Nov – Good Tools are Worth the Money
26 Oct – Improving Our Chances for Personal Change
19 Oct – How to Make Your Goals More Motivating
12 Oct – Here's How to Remember Important Conversations
05 Oct – An Ode to Taking Action
28 Sep – How I Lobotomized My Smartphone (And Why You Should, Too)
21 Sep – Peter Drucker on Time: Our Most Important Resource
14 Sep – What to Read Next? Out with the New, In with the Old.
07 Sep – Time Blocking: A Brilliant Time Management Tool
31 Aug – How to Rescue a Half-Wasted Day
24 Aug – To-Do Lists and Goals
21 Aug – On Avoiding Becoming Jaded
17 Aug – Hacking Your To-Do List: Verbs Only
14 Aug – It Will All Get Done: Two Tips for Surviving a Busy Period
10 Aug – Update Your Headshot
07 Aug – Use It or Lose It
03 Aug – Getting a New Project Organized
31 Jul – On Weird Productivity Tactics
27 Jul – Cheating Others Out of Our Best Work
24 Jul – Respect Creativity
20 Jul – Einstellung and the Internet
17 Jul – Decide When and Where
13 Jul – High-Altitude Productivity
10 Jul – All Twelve Keys
06 Jul – When Is a Jerk a Jerk?
03 Jul – Notice What's Working
29 Jun – Pull the Weeds While They’re Small
26 Jun – How to Plan Your Week
22 Jun – What’s the Best Way? It’s Simple.
19 Jun – Confronting a Good Book That’s Got a Little Crazy In It
15 Jun – A Simple Tip to Improve Your Eating Habits
12 Jun – Changing a Behavior? Start With Your Environment.
08 Jun – Can Self-Compassion Improve Productivity?
05 Jun – We’re Poor Judges of Our Own Behavior
01 Jun – The Time Will Pass Anyway: Evaluating Long-Term Goals
29 May – Tweak Your Work Environment to Increase Productivity
25 May – Astronaut Jim Lovell on Workplace Problems
22 May – Effective Living: Leave It Better Than You Found It
18 May – No Time for a Think Week? Take Think Days Instead.
15 May – Are You Sure It’s Plugged In?
11 May – Upcoming Experiment: The Think Week
08 May – Four Blogs Not to Miss
04 May – Attention Management and Project Planning: Doing the Work Up Front
01 May – We Could All Use a Little Coaching
27 Apr – Getting Good at What You’re Bad At
24 Apr – Life is a Steak: a Metaphor for Understanding Work
20 Apr – Haggling? Ackerman Bargaining Is the Formula You’ve Been Looking For
17 Apr – Costly Signals: How We Prove We Mean Business
13 Apr – How to Read . . . Less? When to Put a Book Down
10 Apr – How to Make Your Life Worse in 5 Steps
06 Apr – The Value of Easy Changes
03 Apr – Yelling At the Mechanic
30 Mar – Case Study: Email Etiquette and Varying Worldviews
27 Mar – Purge Your To-Do List: Letting Go of Old Tasks
23 Mar – On Old-School Information Gathering: Less Googling, More Talking
20 Mar – The Peak–End Rule: Get Down to Business While Remaining Friendly
16 Mar – Pop-Tarts and Restraint Bias: How Much Self-Control Can We Count On?
13 Mar – How to Keep Your Work Email From Eating Your Morning
09 Mar – Need to Get Something Done? Use Your Calendar, Not Your To-Do List
06 Mar – The Stockdale Paradox: Faith and Discipline
02 Mar – Principles of Adult Behavior: 25 Ideas for Living with Dignity
27 Feb – When In Doubt, Cut Something Out
23 Feb – Pain Points: How to Make Yourself More Valuable at Work
20 Feb – What to Do When You’re Not Feeling Up to It
16 Feb – Two Notes on Taking College Classes In Your 30s
13 Feb – To Make Better Decisions, Learn Big Ideas From Other Disciplines
09 Feb – Why I’ve (Mostly) Quit GTD
06 Feb – Minimalism: How Much Stuff Should We Own?
01 Feb – A Way to Make Recurring, Difficult Tasks Easier
30 Jan – Meriwether Lewis and the Value of Clarity
26 Jan – Learning to Embrace Befuddlement
23 Jan – To Argue More Productively, Ask This Question
19 Jan – Why You Should (Usually) Take Notes By Hand
16 Jan – Cognitive Biases: Weeding Our Mental Garden
12 Jan – How Interleaving Improves Learning
09 Jan – Break the Golden Rule: Improving Work Relationships
05 Jan – Time Management and Big Important Projects
02 Jan – Re-reading Is Ineffective. Do This Instead.
2017
12 Dec – The Surprising Usefulness of the Personal Project Post-Mortem
05 Dec – The Case for Simple Digital Tools
31 Oct – How to Read More Books: 8 Tips
20 Oct – What Is Stoicism, and How Can It Make Your Life Better?
10 Oct – The Problem with Minimalism
29 Sep – 3 Tips for Dealing with Vague Long-Term Work Projects
26 Sep – How Habits Work (and How to Change Bad Ones for Good)
22 Sep – An Ancient Technique for Weathering Life’s Storms
19 Sep – Cafes, Notebooks, and Understanding How Creative Work is Done
15 Sep – Rules for Daily Living: Writing Yours Down
12 Sep – How to Keep Email from Running Your Workday
08 Sep – 7 Questions to Ask Before You Give Up
05 Sep – The Common Denominator of Success
01 Sep – The Culture of Your Workplace (and Why It Matters)
29 Aug – How to Make Unpleasant Tasks a Little Easier
25 Aug – An App to Help You Use Your Phone Less
22 Aug – Two Kinds of Criticism, and What to Do With Each
18 Aug – How to Defeat Distraction While In the Zone
15 Aug – A Simple Way to Grab Some Time for Yourself
11 Aug – 3 Books You Should Read Immediately
08 Aug – Crazy Busy? Remember This.
04 Aug – 6 Ways to Become More Resilient
01 Aug – Anticipating Difficulty: What's in Your Emotional Toolbox?
28 Jul – The Daily Post-It Note: A Dead-Easy Way to Get the Right Things Done
25 Jul – Want to Make a Big Change? Think Small.
21 Jul – The Gap: What Stops Most People From Doing Creative Work
18 Jul – How to Manage Multiple Projects Without Going Crazy
14 Jul – 4 Reasons You Should Start Keeping a Journal
11 Jul – How to Schedule Your Entire Day Without Feeling Trapped
07 Jul – My Snickers Problem: When to Compromise With Yourself
04 Jul – Too Busy? Try Letting Small Bad Things Happen.
30 Jun – How to Use a Simple Google Form to Track Your Behavior
27 Jun – You Are the Average of the 5 People You Spend the Most Time With
23 Jun – Static Friction: Why Getting Started Is So Hard
20 Jun – How We Paid Off $48,000 of Student Loan Debt in Two Years
16 Jun – From Subway to MacArthur Genius Grant: A Case Study in Perseverance
13 Jun – Fitness: The Other Four Kinds
09 Jun – All Work Is Group Work
06 Jun – Why Time Management is Like Dental Floss
02 Jun – In Praise of the Humble Thank-You Note
30 May – Rickets of the Mind
26 May – The Productivity Equation
23 May – Setting Some Ground Rules
19 May – A Simple System for Managing Paper
16 May – How to Get Some Good Out of a Bad Day
12 May – Take the Lane: When Safe Feels Dangerous (and Dangerous Feels Safe)
09 May – 3 Unconventional Tips for Becoming More Confident
05 May – 5 Ways to Keep Politics in Perspective
02 May – How to Keep Fear from Making Decisions for You
28 Apr – 7 Time Management Tips You Can Implement Right Now
25 Apr – How to Successfully Juggle a Million Different Interests
21 Apr – Struggling to Achieve Your Goals? Try This.
18 Apr – 6 Tips for Resolving Workplace Conflicts
14 Apr – The Simple Genius of Planning Your Day the Night Before
11 Apr – 2017 Reader Survey: Help Me Be Useful to You!
07 Apr – At Work, Look to Give (Not to Receive)
04 Apr – Let Go of What You Can’t Control (That Includes Your Past Mistakes)
31 Mar – You Already Know What to Do, and That’s Half the Battle
28 Mar – The Chasm Between Planning and Doing
24 Mar – It’s the Set of the Sail, Not the Direction of the Wind
21 Mar – Is Your Life Unbalanced Lately? Don’t Worry About It. Here’s Why.
17 Mar – The Secret to Doing Hard Things Daily
14 Mar – 5 Common Mistakes Highly Productive People Make
10 Mar – Defeat Imposter Syndrome: 4 Tips for Overcoming Self-Doubt
07 Mar – The To-Don’t List: A Tool for Staying Focused
03 Mar – What a Baby Pooping in Your Lap Can Teach You
28 Feb – 6 Ways to Break Out of a Productivity Funk
24 Feb – 24 Hours. No Exceptions.
21 Feb – Pay Attention Carefully
17 Feb – Taking Off from the Infinite Runway
14 Feb – We Are All Hypocrites
10 Feb – The Upgraded Bookmark: 30 Seconds to Easier Reading
07 Feb – 5 Tips for Starting a Creative Habit and Sharing Your Work
03 Feb – All Mistakes Are Not Created Equal
31 Jan – How to Harness the Incredible Benefits of Long-Term Thinking
27 Jan – Three Reasons We Give In to Short-Term Thinking (and Why It’s Bad)
24 Jan – My 2016 Jimmy John’s Bill (or, How Short-Term Thinking Can Ruin Your Life)
20 Jan – Does Failure Encourage Compassion for Others?
17 Jan – Become Happier by Making Room in Your Life
13 Jan – What Do We Really Want at Work?
10 Jan – 6 Easy Wins for Increasing Productivity
06 Jan – The Problem with Lucky Breaks
03 Jan – Our New Baby Girl (and 3 Ways to Avoid Catastrophizing)
2016
30 Dec – You Can’t Rush The Important Stuff
27 Dec – A New Year's Resolution: Doing Less, Better
23 Dec – What a Year of Daily Trumpet Practice Taught Me
20 Dec – Big Projects: Building a House vs. Learning to Drive
16 Dec – Predictions for Fatherhood (Part II)
13 Dec – In 3 Weeks, I’ll Be a Dad. Here’s What I Predict for Fatherhood. (Part I)
09 Dec – Home Improvement vs. Self-Improvement
06 Dec – What to Do When You’re Unmotivated
02 Dec – Do You Need a Plan?
29 Nov – Does Your Job Fit in a Manual?
25 Nov – How to Be Grateful (When You Don't Feel Grateful)
22 Nov – Perfectionist? Here’s the Price You’re Paying (and How to Pay Less)
18 Nov – Useful Things: November 2016
15 Nov – Consider Writing a Failure Résumé
11 Nov – How to Help Others: Share Your Failures
08 Nov – A Five-Minute Exercise to Lower Stress and Clarify Thinking
04 Nov – What Makes a Good Day?
01 Nov – Hanlon’s Razor and Compassion for Others
28 Oct – The Four-Year Plan
25 Oct – Useful Things: October 2016
21 Oct – Life Is Not a Zero-Sum Game, So Give Generously
18 Oct – Availability Heuristics and Dealing with Bad Days
14 Oct – Inspiration Is for Amateurs: How to Do Great Creative Work
11 Oct – 2 Questions to Ask Before You Turn Your Hobby Into Your Career
07 Oct – How to Deal with Uncertainty (When You Hate Uncertainty)
04 Oct – Task Importance and the To-Do List Trap
30 Sep – Anything Worth Doing is Uncomfortable at First
27 Sep – The Philosophy Major and the Business Major
23 Sep – 14 Questions about Leadership
20 Sep – What Does the Audience Want?
16 Sep – How Professionals Think About Equipment
13 Sep – Why You Shouldn’t Avoid Discomfort
09 Sep – Exposure Therapy and Your Work
06 Sep – 11 Ways to Avoid Improvement
02 Sep – Great Leaders Expect Complexity, Not Simplicity
30 Aug – You Don’t Get Credibility First. You Get Credibility Last.
26 Aug – Balancing High Expectations with Reality
23 Aug – Feeling Ready Isn’t a Useful Measurement
19 Aug – Increase Your Creativity With Constraints, Part II
16 Aug – Increase Your Creativity With Constraints, Part I
12 Aug – Don't Look at the Roadkill
09 Aug – Productivity Tip: Use Small Chunks of Time
05 Aug – How to Improve Your Concentration With Zero Effort
02 Aug – Why Increasing Your Productivity Is Often Disappointing
29 Jul – 90 Minutes of Focused Work
26 Jul – Problems with Personal Development, Part II
22 Jul – Problems with Personal Development, Part I
19 Jul – The Hedonic Treadmill and How to Live More Effectively
15 Jul – Corporations Are People. What If They Were Good People?
12 Jul – How to Fix the Problem of Too Many Choices
08 Jul – What is Raising the Stakes, and How Can It Turn You Into a Productivity Monster?
05 Jul – Your Comfort Zone and Safety Zone
01 Jul – How to Focus: 6 Productivity Tips
28 Jun – Learn From the Experts: 2 Big Reasons to Ask For Help
24 Jun – Default Answer: Yes or No?
21 Jun – Make Opportunities Fit You
17 Jun – Ask Boldly
14 Jun – 3 Steps to Living an Intentional Life
10 Jun – Detail-Oriented Is Overrated
07 Jun – Gratitude Check-Up: Four Questions to Ask Yourself
03 Jun – Can You Say Yes When Your Life is Full?
31 May – How to Take a Habit Inventory
27 May – Garrison Keillor's Memorial Day Sonnet
24 May – Where to Find Good Ideas
20 May – What Would This Look Like If It Were Easy?
17 May – In Praise of Structure
13 May – Please Remember Rule Number 6
10 May – How to Read More and Waste Less Time
06 May – Is Self-Improvement Selfish?
03 May – What to Do When It’s Not Ready
29 Apr – Don’t Think. Just Start.
26 Apr – When to Argue With Someone
22 Apr – Writing Your Symphony Tomorrow
19 Apr – How Do You Relax?
15 Apr – How to Become a Happy Taxpayer
12 Apr – Think Like a Freelancer
08 Apr – Be Nice to Future You
05 Apr – Done Is Better Than Perfect
01 Apr – Books That Changed My Life, Part II
29 Mar – Books That Changed My Life, Part I
25 Mar – Expect the Expected
22 Mar – How Hindsight Bias Steals Our Credit
18 Mar – How Your Personal Philosophy Controls Your Life
15 Mar – What’s an Inspiration Portfolio, and Why Do You Need One?
11 Mar – How to Roast Your Own Coffee
08 Mar – 3 Reasons to Roast Your Own Coffee
04 Mar – When the Honeymoon is Over: Keeping It Going
01 Mar – A Simple Formula for Problem-Solving
26 Feb – Do The Most Important Thing First
23 Feb – The Power of Gratitude: Some Things I'm Grateful For
19 Feb – Success Is Boring, and That’s Exciting: Why Habits Are Crucial
16 Feb – You Are Self-Employed
12 Feb – The Magic of a Morning Routine
09 Feb – You Need to Create: Why Making Art Is for Everyone
05 Feb – The Power of On Purpose
02 Feb – The Basics of Getting Things Done, Part III
29 Jan – The Basics of Getting Things Done, Part II
26 Jan – The Basics of Getting Things Done, Part I
23 Jan – What Do We Owe Musicians?
20 Jan – 3 Reasons to Start Reading More
08 Jan – Failure is Good. So Are You Failing Enough?
03 Jan – Three Reasons You Should Try to Improve: An Argument for Personal Development
2015
28 Dec – What is Personal Development, and Why Should You Care?