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
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 intérieur” 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
Welcome to the third instalment of Mindful Makers, where we interview highly creative people and ask them what they think about creativity, productivity, and building products that matter in today’s connected world. In the previous editions, we chatted with Buster Benson and Khe Hy. Today, we are pleased to take a deep dive into the … Read More
The full, unedited transcript of our interview with Conor is only available for Ness Labs members. Members get access to exclusive content, an intimate thinking community, and deals on apps and courses to improve their productivity and creativity. Learn more about the membership or join now.
Want to write an original article but still at the idea stage? This step-by-step tutorial will teach you a simple method to go from research idea to original article. One of the best ways to learn is through the generation effect. Creating your own material based on what you want to learn activates your semantic … Read More
Welcome to the first edition of Mindful Makers, an interview series where we ask highly creative people how they manage to do great things while taking care of their mental health. The first guest is Buster Benson, writer, entrepreneur, thinker, and overall wonderful human being. It’s a bit of a special interview, because I’ve known … Read More
Many of Ness Labs’ readers want to write more. Oftentimes, people write back saying they would love to build a writing habit, but they don’t know what to write about. Writing prompts may sound cheesy but they’re actually a great way to get started. Here is a living repository of writing prompts you can use … Read More
We spend a lot of our time writing. Answering emails, filling forms, messaging with friends. Despite the advent of video and audio forms of content, writing is still a staple of communication on the Internet, with many magazines, blogs, and newsletters attracting millions of readers. But comparatively few of us write for personal purposes such … Read More
So many aspirations, so little time. I initially designed the mindframing method to achieve specific goals, such as learning how to code or running a marathon. Mindframing consists in breaking down long-term projects into four different phases: pact, act, react, impact. And I think it’s perfect for exploring and expanding on new topics—basically curating the … Read More