Human beings are naturally creative. But sometimes we struggle with getting started. Whether you are going to write a novel or starting to learn a musical instrument, here are five methods to be more creative: 1. Output comes from input. If you want to have a lot of good ideas, you need to expose yourself […]
Are You Trying to Be Too Original? What I Learned About the Value of Imitation from China
One of the things that fascinates me about China is the culture of copying. When my book, Learn More, Study Less, was published in China, they wanted to use the illustrations in the book. But these were just hand-drawn by me to go in an ebook I made while in university. I’m not a professional […]
Improve Creative Skills by Reducing Degrees of Freedom
In the original research on deliberate practice, an important distinction is made between work and practice. The goal of work is to accomplish something. The goal of practice is to learn. Work is a basketball game or recital. Practice is layup drills or training your fingers to master a tricky combination of notes. Unfortunately creating […]
Easily Distracted? Use Orienting Tasks While Learning.
I like the polar bear game. The game is simple: don’t think about polar bears. First person to do so loses. It’s mostly a gag because it’s impossible to play. Trying not to think about polar bears causes you to think about polar bears and you lose. The lesson of the polar bear game is […]
I'm a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, podcast host, computer programmer and an avid reader. Since 2006, I've published weekly essays on this website to help people like you learn and think better. My work has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, TEDx, Pocket, Business Insider and more. I don't promise I have all the answers, just a place to start.