I have this OXO sink strainer that plays a simple role in the system that is my kitchen sink: drain the water, catch the food. The other day, I let it sit overnight with some bits of food. In the morning it looked bone dry, so I picked it up...
How many times have you been in a meeting where people seem to talk past each other? Everyone is smart and well-intentioned, but you don’t seem to be making any progress. Here’s the likely problem, you don’t have a tangible thing to anchor your discussions around. You need something real...
My understanding of getting into a flow state (or “being in the zone”) was completely wrong. Authors like Steve Kotler and Csíkszentmihályi describe achieving flow as a structural problem. To achieve flow we must match our skills to the challenges in front of us, they write. If the challenges are...
I have this OXO sink strainer that plays a simple role in the system that is my kitchen sink: drain the water, catch the food.
The other day, I let it sit overnight with some bits of food. In the morning it looked bone dry, so I picked it up to empty it into the trash and to my surprise—drip drip drip—water everywhere.
I got annoyed. “You had one job. You’ve been sitting there all night. How is there still water in you?”
My mind quickly jumped to those force diagrams they taught in high school physics. I saw the horizontal forces holding that water in place were stronger than gravity trying to pull it... (read 305 more words →)
How many times have you been in a meeting where people seem to talk past each other? Everyone is smart and well-intentioned, but you don’t seem to be making any progress.
Here’s the likely problem, you don’t have a tangible thing to anchor your discussions around. You need something real (a doc, a sketch, a prototype) to create a focal point for the team’s attention, collaboration, and energy.
This thing doesn’t need to be polished, it just needs to exist. Actually, it’s better if it’s a little rough because humans are natural correction machines. We love smoothing out the wrinkles. A rough whiteboard sketch sparks discussion, a “perfect” blueprint in your head doesn’t.
When you... (read 283 more words →)
Glad it helped!
Agreed. I started with three 25-min sessions with 5-min breaks in-between. My long breaks were 15 min. I slowly built up to only needing the single session.
Found the "Be Focused Pro" app (Mac-only, I believe) helpful for tracking and exporting my Pomodoro data.
Clever! I feel your short-delay trick is similar to switching to grayscale on your phone: both ideas increase friction on "bad" habits. I'll give Crackbook Revival a try 👍
My understanding of getting into a flow state (or “being in the zone”) was completely wrong.
Authors like Steve Kotler and Csíkszentmihályi describe achieving flow as a structural problem. To achieve flow we must match our skills to the challenges in front of us, they write. If the challenges are too easy, we’ll get bored, if too difficult, we’ll quit from frustration.
Start-up founders will speak of passion as the gateway to flow. If you’re passionate, you’ll dance into the office ready to get back to it. If you’re feeling resistance … well, maybe you’re not passionate or earnest enough.
My personal day-to-day experiences are a stark disconnect from the popular descriptions of flow. I... (read 801 more words →)