It was the last Sunday in October, the kitchen dark except for the laptop, and I was counting tabs. Twenty-two.
A novel stuck two chapters from the end. A spreadsheet for a product I’d sketched in August. Half an essay. Something about sourdough I can’t account for.… Read the rest “Clever People Rarely Fail. They Just Stay in the Hallway Too Long (An MIT Game Showed Why)”
Further down: a 30-second test you can run on someone you love, a 1976 experiment with a houseplant, and a concert pianist in his eighties who found a way round the whole problem.
Your mother hands you her car keys in the hospital car park and says you might as well hang on to them.… Read the rest “For Anyone Watching a Parent Grow Old: What 50 Years of Research Says Helps”
This is the long, slightly nerdy version: what forty years in quality assurance taught me about how people lose their independence. If you want the human version first, it’s on Medium: I’ve Watched People Retire for 40 Years. Most of Them Never Really Left. Or watch the nine-minute video below.… Read the rest “The Default Trap: What We Don’t Say About Growing Old”
This is the long, slightly nerdy version: what forty years in quality assurance taught me about how people lose their independence. If you want the human version first, it’s on Medium: I’ve Watched People Retire for 40 Years. Most of Them Never Really Left. Or watch the nine-minute video below.… Read the rest “The Default Trap: What We Don’t Say About Growing Old”
The running shoes are by the door. Then a small voice asks one question, and your shot at consistent habits takes another knock.
The alarm goes at 6:00. Shoes where you left them. Last night, brushing your teeth, the plan felt settled.
Then, feet still under the duvet, the voice pipes up:
Do I really feel like doing this today?… Read the rest “Stop Asking Yourself This Question Every Morning (It’s Why You Keep Quitting)”
Make a fist. Hold it as hard as you can, and don’t let go.
Strong at first. The knuckles go white, the forearm sets, and for a few seconds you’re completely in charge. Then it aches. Then it shakes. Then the fingers start to open on their own, and there’s not much your willpower can do about it.… Read the rest “How to Break a Habit Without Willpower: 4 Simple Moves”
Make a fist. Hold it as hard as you can, and don’t let go.
Strong at first. The knuckles go white, the forearm sets, and for a few seconds you’re completely in charge. Then it aches. Then it shakes. Then the fingers start to open on their own, and there’s not much your willpower can do about it.… Read the rest “How to Break a Habit Without Willpower: 4 Simple Moves”
