Ignorance is Bliss
Having an "external brain" in the form of a smartphone appears to be making us stupider: > "Scientists have begun exploring that question — and what they’re discovering is both fascinating and troubling. Not only do our phones shape our thoughts in deep and complicated ways, but
How to Balance Creativity and Productivity
A post over at Kottke.org [https://kottke.org/17/11/the-tension-between-creativity-and-productivity] about the struggle between creativity and productivity is getting a lot of attention today. I don't usually link to trendy articles, but this is right up my alley: > "I get more done in less
An Inbox for Your Time
This week's dive into using scheduling instead of task management (see previous [https://www.cjchilvers.com/kill-your-to-do-list/] articles [https://www.cjchilvers.com/inspiration-is-scheduled/] here [https://www.cjchilvers.com/chris-ducker-on-time-management/]), involves the step I get the most questions about: how do you track all the actionable stuff in your
The Value of Attention
I see it all the time. A big-name author or rock star enjoys the adulation of millions of fans, but takes home a fraction of the income of a C-level executive or investor. Both envy each other, but I don't know anyone who would honestly take fame over
The Message vs. the Book
Being published by a big time publisher does not mean you’ll be read by a lot of people. You could probably reach more people with your message through a blog or podcast. Actually, you could probably reach even more people through someone else’s blog or podcast, or even
Behavioral Economics and Creativity
I believe most the readers of the A Lesser Photographer book [https://www.cjchilvers.com/books] understood and agreed with the basic message of the book: constraints foster creativity. Yet, some of the book’s biggest fans don’t follow that message. They know what they should be doing to
Why You Should Work in Silence
I read this a while ago in The Atlantic [https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/12/the-best-music-for-productivity-silence/509948/] and didn't want to believe it: > "Studies show that for most types of cognitively demanding tasks, anything but quiet hurts performance.” The whole article is good, but
Chris Ducker on Time Management
Chris Ducker has spent years studying and implementing time management techniques, and writing about what he's learned. He agrees with a growing number of my peers that schedules beat to do lists. In fact, in a recent episode [http://www.chrisducker.com/podcast/5-simple-steps-to-instantly-become-more-productive/] of his podcast, he