Recently, I wrote about my goal of learning everything. This is more than a tad ambitious, and probably impossible. Even learning a small fraction of everything can have huge benefits that ripple outwards towards every other area of life. Unfortunately, most people fall into a group I’ll call “functional” learners, and severely cut off their […]
Living a Completely Digital Life
Recently, I shared my goals for life with the readers of this website. The first on the list was being able to live a completely digital life. Although I’m sure I haven’t invented the term, I don’t see it used too frequently. In fact, aside from a small subculture of blogs and books, the idea […]
How to Keep Productivity from Making You a Robot
Every once in awhile I’ll get an email from someone who feels productivity turns you into a robot. If you spend so much time focusing on productivity, the argument goes, you miss out on having fun, relaxing and doing all the “unproductive” things that make life worth living. I might get more done, they claim, […]
Do You Need More Effort or Better Opportunities?
One way to split up the world is to divide areas of life into those that need opportunities versus those that only need effort. For example, imagine you are writing a book. Writing a book is mostly a matter of effort. Having a stroke of creative genius helps, but ultimately finishing is about putting in […]
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.