Category Archives: Productivity

How To Break A Habit

Posted on April 1, 2012 by AJ Kessler

We’ve talked before about building habits.  That’s important.  But so is breaking habits.  Luckily, unlike forcing yourself to repeatedly do something new and scary, breaking existing habits isn’t nearly as hard.  One of the easiest ways is simply to substitute … Continue reading →

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How Photographers Actually Spend Their Time

Posted on March 27, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Note that this is true for literally every profession, especially the “glamorous” ones (click to enlarge): HT: Chase Jarvis

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Screen Real Estate, Productivity, and Idiots

Posted on March 23, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Ran across these thoughts on how minimizing your screen real estate might actually boost your productivity: Having a big screen is a good excuse to stick a Twitter client here, mail client there, have list of files pane constantly open, … Continue reading →

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Solve The Right Problem

Posted on March 17, 2012 by AJ Kessler

In 1959, long before the X-prize, Henry Kremer offered 50,000 pounds to anyone who could finally build a flying machine powered only by the pilot’s body power.  All an entrant had to do was fly in a figure eight around … Continue reading →

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One Easy Step To Flatter People, Show You Care, and Demonstrate Your Dedication

Posted on March 14, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Don’t be ashamed to need help.  Like a soldier storming a wall, you have a mission to accomplish.  And if you’ve been wounded and you need a comrade to pull you up?  So what? – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations Book 7 … Continue reading →

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Busyness

Posted on March 13, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Cal Newport over at Study Hacks makes an interesting observation about which MIT professors are more likely to disappear from campus during breaks: Interestingly, the biggest predictor of a professor leaving was status: the more important a person’s work, the … Continue reading →

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Why Your To-Do List is Hurting You

Posted on March 9, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Interesting thoughts from the Harvard Business Review: Stop making to-do lists. They’re simply setting you up for failure and frustration. Consider the to-do lists you’re currently managing: how many items have been languishing since Michelle Bachman was leading the field … Continue reading →

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The Only Motivation Tip You’ll Ever Need

Posted on March 5, 2012 by AJ Kessler

San Franciscans and New Yorkers spent years fighting to get nutrition information like calorie counts listed on menus.  After all, if people only knew what kind of crap they were shoveling into their maws they’d surely change their behavior, right? … Continue reading →

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Why Sharing Your Goals Dooms You To Failure

Posted on March 3, 2012 by AJ Kessler

If you want to accomplish something, it makes sense to tell people about it.  After all, you might be able to collaborate with someone already working on something similar, or gain some ideas and insights from someone who has done … Continue reading →

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The Passion Myth

Posted on February 20, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Find something you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life. Right? Bullshit. Nobody on Earth wakes up every single day restlessly waiting to take on the world.  Such passion doesn’t exist.  If you’re really, really lucky, and … Continue reading →

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Selfish Expression

Posted on February 12, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Certain words or phrases, or demeanors, or attitudes convey certain things.  Your every action makes an expression, either bolstering or betraying you.  Stand up straight, look people in the eye, speak clearly and without hesitation, and people are inclined to … Continue reading →

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Fear and Fire

Posted on February 11, 2012 by AJ Kessler

“Fear is your best friend or your worst enemy. It’s like fire. If you can control it, it can cook for you; it can heat your house. If you can’t control it, it will burn everything around you and destroy … Continue reading →

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It Will Be There Later

Posted on February 9, 2012 by AJ Kessler

A quick tip on preventing procrastination: Whatever it is you want to do, whether it’s check email or facebook, or read the news, or play a game, or whatever, recognize that it will be there later.  The news will always … Continue reading →

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The Tim Ferriss Falacy

Posted on February 5, 2012 by AJ Kessler

We’re now deep into the fourth generation of the self-help guru.  This generation shares much with its predecessors, including fondness for the shortcut.  People like Tim Ferriss have  made their name on finding and exploiting these shortcuts, or “hacks” as … Continue reading →

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The Hacker Way

Posted on February 1, 2012 by AJ Kessler

As part of Facebook’s S-1 filing today, Mark Zuckerberg wrote a letter to shareholders.  In it, he outlines the culture and process that helped make Facebook’s phenomenal success possible.  If you notice your way of doing business, or creating art, … Continue reading →

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