For the last few years, I have been looking for ways to get to know myself better. An unexpected life event in 2019, followed swiftly by trying to maintain my freelance career while solo parenting through a pandemic, left me feeling I had lost my sense of self. Back on my feet, but, like many … Read More
Blank page syndrome, writer’s block—call it whatever you want, most creators have once faced this overwhelming lack of inspiration. If you do experience writer’s block from time to time, the best reaction is to go do something else: going for a walk, journaling, talking it out with a friend. Better yet, though, is to avoid … Read More
Journaling offers many benefits, including improved mood, fewer stress-related visits to the doctor, feeling of greater psychological well-being, reduced depressive symptoms and absenteeism from work, improved working memory, and more. However, many people struggle to build a journaling habit. The blank page of a journal can feel daunting, and many journaling methods assume a well-ingrained … Read More
A few months ago, we hosted a workshop about the Future of Text with publisher, developer, and researcher Frode Hegland. We talked about how the medium shapes the message; how interactive digital text can transform the way we consume information; and how we can break free from the paradigm of the printed page. Frode leads … Read More
This week marked an important milestone: I just sent the 50th edition of Maker Mind, a newsletter about mindful productivity. Countless hours of careful writing, thoughtful conversations with readers, and exploring strange rabbit holes to report back on what I learned. While I believe the best way to learn is to experiment for yourself, I … Read More
Writing an educational article about something you want to learn about may be one of the best ways to study a topic. The Feynman Technique—which I recently discovered may have been coined by Scott Young—helps you understand anything by pretending you are explaining the concept to a child or someone who has no prior knowledge … Read More
While there are hundreds of thousands of books on the generic topic of writing, very few concerns themselves with note-taking—perhaps because it’s not considered an intellectually challenging task by many, or perhaps because many people don’t realise how bad they are at taking notes. Looking at a blank page and struggling to find inspiration? Experts … Read More
Writing has many science-based benefits. It can help you develop your self-authorship, reflect and create metacognitive routines through journaling, and has been shown to make you happier and healthier. For something that’s completely free, it’s a pretty good deal. Beyond these benefits, writing is also a thinking tool. Not only for personal management, but for … Read More
We often see creativity as something that happens to us. There is a thought every knowledge worker or creative has had at some point in their work life: “I don’t feel inspired.” But this idea of creativity as something we either have or we don’t is a myth. In fact, creativity can be programmed. The … Read More
In French, “cultiver son jardin intĂ©rieur” means to tend to your internal garden—to take care of your mind. The garden metaphor is particularly apt: taking care of your mind involves cultivating your curiosity (the seeds), growing your knowledge (the trees), and producing new thoughts (the fruits). On the surface, it’s a repetitive process. You need … Read More