“Keep showing up!” they said: the risks of presenteeism

Everyone has heard about absenteeism, a pattern of absence from an obligation, usually at work, which is often a sign of low morale. Much has been written about the cost of absenteeism, with some journalists calling it The Bottom-Line Killer. For entrepreneurs who don’t have a boss tracking their work hours, absenteeism may simply mean … Read More

The illusion of productivity

Ever since we learned to write, we have documented how special we are and how we differ from animals. Imagination, morality, and culture are traits thought to only be found in humans—or at least only found in humans at a higher level of development. Another aspect that seems to be uniquely human is the need … Read More

How to get in the flow

Have you ever felt like you were in a zen-like meditative state while working, mentally free to execute and apply your skills with no distracting thought whatsoever inside your mind? Feeling entirely absorbed in an activity? This is called being in the zone or getting in the flow. Those expressions are often used about athletes … Read More

Building intrinsic motivation

Earlier today, I received a very touching message from a dad. “Thank you for everything you do. You’re an inspiration and I’ve started to introduce my daughter to your work. I want her to grow up knowing strong women are doing amazing things.” An awesome dad on the Internet. Reading this made me feel incredibly … Read More

The science of note-taking

While note-taking feels natural to students, this is something many people stop doing once they start working, either as an employee or for themselves. We may bookmark something to read it later, but the active process of taking notes when consuming content is not a common habit. “It doesn’t matter how you record your notes, … Read More

The neuroscience of procrastination: A short primer

Procrastination makes it difficult and stressful to finish certain tasks or to meet deadlines, so why do we do this to ourselves? When we get stuck into an akratic loop, we know we “should” do something, but we resist doing it. The sister word “procrastination” itself comes from the latin “pro”, which means “forward”, and “crastinatus”, which means “till next day.”