Published in Psychology of Stuff·Jan 17Member-onlyPeople Make Time for What They Want — Rightfully SoPeople make time for what they want, and we should aspire to that. “People make time for what they want to make time for.” Though the author is unknown, this saying has become an axiom to soothe distraught thoughts. Some use it as reasoning to understand why another person isn’t…Life4 min readLife4 min read
Published in Psychology of Stuff·Jan 4Member-onlyKickstart the New Year with a Self-AuditPracticing introspection using these methods will improve your self-awareness, confidence, and motivation in the new year. As New Year’s Eve approaches, so does the customary exercise of introspection and self-reflection. The practice of examining ourselves can be a powerfully healthy one. Done correctly, it leads to self-awareness, which increases our…Life4 min readLife4 min read
Published in Psychology of Stuff·Dec 20, 2022Member-only’Tis the Season for Reexamining Your ValuesHow will you spend your precious time in the coming year? As one year ends and another begins, many of us won’t help but reflect on who we are and who we’d like to become. Most people aiming to emulate their ideal selves will resort to New Year’s resolutions —…Life4 min readLife4 min read
Published in Psychology of Stuff·Dec 9, 2022Member-onlyLabeling Yourself is Keeping You Down, Do This InsteadLabeling yourself has risks. Give yourself space to change and grow. Recently, after I gave a virtual presentation on my book Indistractable, a listener wrote something in the Zoom chat that drove me bonkers: “This is great but wouldn’t work for me. I’m a Gemini.” Insert face plant. You’d be…Life4 min readLife4 min read
Published in Psychology of Stuff·Dec 8, 2022Member-only4 Mental Traps That Kill Productivity(…and how to avoid them to keep a “productivity mindset”) Productivity has many enemies: too many meetings, external triggers like interruptions from coworkers, and multitasking the wrong way, to name a few. But more often than not, it’s mental traps that trip us up. “Mental traps are habitual modes of…Productivity6 min readProductivity6 min read
Published in Psychology of Stuff·Nov 9, 2022Member-onlyNot Enough Hours in the Day To Slay Your To-Do ListEven the most productive person can’t have it all. At least, not all at once. You can search for the best productivity apps to make you more efficient and focused. You can implement productivity hacks and cut distractions. But you still might feel like there simply are not enough hours…Productivity5 min readProductivity5 min read
Published in Psychology of Stuff·Nov 8, 2022Member-only3 Reasons Why Subscription Businesses FailSubscriptions are hot (and not). Companies and investors love subscription business models since they generate recurring revenue that translates to predictable cash flow. The more money a company is likely to make in perpetuity, the higher its share price. From 2012 to 2019, the subscription economy grew more than 300%…Business8 min readBusiness8 min read
Published in Psychology of Stuff·Oct 11, 2022Member-onlySkip the Digital Detox — Abstinence Won’t Work (But This Does)I once tried a digital detox. It failed miserably. When I realized I was distracted during quality time with my daughter, I blamed my smartphone and made some extreme changes. I replaced my smartphone with an old-school flip phone so I couldn’t be tempted to use email, Instagram, and Twitter…Psychology5 min readPsychology5 min read
Published in Psychology of Stuff·Oct 1, 2022Member-onlyThe Surprising Science of “Manifestation”Manifesting is bull. There, I said it. According to Oprah, manifesting is bringing something tangible into your life through attraction and belief — i.e. if you think it, it will come. It encourages people to bring a goal to life by making vision boards, writing in manifestation journals, chanting positive…Psychology5 min readPsychology5 min read
Published in Psychology of Stuff·Sep 15, 2022Member-onlyBest Productivity Tools: 6 That Stuck With MeSince writing Indistractable, I’m often asked what tools and apps I personally use to get the most out of my day. But after years of research into the psychology of productivity, focus, and the causes of distraction, I’ve learned that there is no one magic, best productivity tool. Rather, the…Self Improvement5 min readSelf Improvement5 min read