Sophrosyne: the art of mindful moderation

From the doctrines of Confucianism to the cardinal virtues of Christianism, modern humanity has always sought to define the most desirable traits of mind and character. For the ancient Greeks, sophrosyne was an important concept describing a sound mind and an excellent character—a combination of moderation, self-control, and temperance. In today’s chaotic world, this ancient … Read More

The psychology of mindful productivity

Mindful productivity is a sustainable way to work and think. It’s not a product, it’s not an app, it’s not a system—it’s a flexible roadmap. While mindful productivity is first and foremost a set of principles anyone can apply to work better and think better, many of the habits and routines it prescribes are rooted … Read More

Mindful productivity: a sustainable way to work and think

As someone who suffers from time anxiety—the constant fear that it’s too late to learn something new, to start a new project, to change direction—I often push myself to be as productive as humanly possible. Our society has been built on productivity principles. However, since the turn of the century, many entrepreneurs, researchers, and managers … Read More

The science-based benefits of gratitude

When going through tough times, our automatic reaction is to complain and dwell on negative events, which can result in even more anxiety and unhappiness. The word gratitude comes from Latin gratus, which means ”pleasing” or “thankful” depending on the context. Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for the people, experiences, and things we have. While … Read More

The Mind, Explained: a Netflix documentary

The news and opinion website Vox just released a new mini-series on Netflix. It’s five 20-minute episodes, all about how the mind works. In typical Vox style, The Mind, Explained mixes cultural narratives, philosophy, and light science to ask interesting questions. I spent the evening watching these and wanted to share my notes. Overall, this … Read More