Ness Labs Best Books of July 2023
This is your July 2023 guide to discovering the most insightful, inspiring, and transformative books on mindful productivity, creative growth, holistic ambition, and developing a healthier relationship with work.
Discover an immersive new approach to productivity with Nick Daniels, Founder of Portal
Welcome to this edition of our Tools for Thought series, where we interview founders on a mission to help us make the most of our mind. Nick Daniels is the founder of Portal, an immersive productivity app designed to help you stay in the flow. Portal uses the latest technology to deliver the most natural … Read More
The false promise of the 10,000 hour rule
Our culture loves experts. Whether it’s athletes, chefs, or musicians, some of the biggest celebrities are considered masters of their craft, and we admire the long hours they put into practicing over and over again the same skills so they could become second nature. In 2008, Malcolm Gladwell published his popular book Outliers, exploring why … Read More
Creative burnout: when the creativity tap runs dry
You are probably all too familiar with the dreaded creative block: sitting in front of your computer, your mind as blank as the page you are staring at, hoping that some miraculous burst of inspiration will suddenly rush through your fingers so you can finally get back into the flow. You also know of the … Read More
Discover the productivity wearable with Ben Wisbey, Co-Founder of Pylot
FEATURED TOOL Welcome to this edition of our Tools for Thought series, where we interview founders on a mission to help us think better and work smarter. Ben Wisbey is the co-founder of Pylot, the very first wearable to track your productivity, so you can know when you’re ready for deep work, shallow tasks, or … Read More
The self-consistency fallacy
Would you want to watch the same play with the same actors repeating the same lines over and over again, with just some small variations in their tone each time? You’d probably get bored pretty quickly. And yet, that’s what we often unconsciously do when making career and life decisions. If you ever applied for … Read More
The two sides of stress: distress and eustress
Picture this: You’re at work with a big deadline coming up. Unfortunately, someone made a mistake, and part of the project needs to be completely redone in a rush. As the pressure mounts, you can feel the tension gripping your mind and body, causing your patience to wear thin. In those stressful situations, it’s not … Read More
Unlock your best work with Jim Kleban, Head of AI at Supernormal
Jim Kleban is the Head of AI at Supernormal, an AI-powered app that helps you create amazing meeting notes without lifting a finger, saving ten minutes every meeting. In this interview, we discussed the underpowered value of taking notes, the importance of building memory over the knowledge contained in meeting discussions, the critical relationship between note-taking and decision-making, how AI will shape the future of work, and much more.
Time is not a measure of productivity
It seems obvious that the amount of time you spend on a task is a terrible indicator of how productive you are. And yet, a lot of our work culture is fixated on time. We often feel pressure to prove our productivity by working long hours or responding to emails outside of regular work hours.
The neurochemicals of productivity and procrastination
We all have goals. They can be big or small; professional or personal. But obstacles get in the way. External obligations such as social events, unforeseen additional work, and demanding customers can drain our energy, so there’s little left to focus on what really matters to us. If only that was the only issue. To … Read More