The most common failure mode is failing to show up
ryanwaggoner.com
ryanwaggoner.com
For example, I write or edit 500 words a day. That's enough to output more than 3.65 the size of a 50K words novel every year if one only write new words. However, with editing, it's more like a well crafted 50K words novel. (I don't write novels, just non-fiction essays, on a variety of subjects)
Another habit I built is to self quantify myself in various dimension such as sleep/awake time, weight, steps, blood pressure, pulse rate, and blood sugar everyday. The result is almost 70 days worth of data. Every 21 days, I add new data points to measure. Next will probably involves sleep quality rating. I used the self quantification habit to keep tab on my health and conduct scientific experiment.
I also learn using anki, a spaced repetition software, helping me remembering anything from programming facts to the multiplication table to spelling errors I made. I used khanacademy to review my mathematical knowledge, because it have a spaced repetition system built into it.
I also used khanacademy to learn math(73% complete already!), but that's a medium-long term project that will get finished eventually. Reviewing math, on the other hand, is what you do for life, at least until the math becomes so deeply ingrained into your mind that you don't need to study them anymore.
My rule for adding habits is to wait every 21 days before adding new ones. It's also important to make sure you don't have too many habits to maintain, as they impose a cognitive burden. If you can reduce them to code or programs, do it.
Another thing to remember is that habit formation really depend on the habits and the person. Some people forms habits better than others, while some habits are easier to do. The rule of thumb is that the easier the task, the easier to form habit. For example, doing situps doing commercial breaks on television is much harder than drinking a glass of milk everyday. So, 21 days isn't a magical day when your effort to do something everyday becomes a habit. It's just a nice round number to use so that you won't be overwhelmed trying to add several new habits in a really short period of time.
Cultivating that habit of 2,000 words a day in my first year of NaNoWriMo made all the difference in my victory. The almost half a million words of fiction written since then (2008) only came about through such day- and hour-sized persistence over a long period of time.
I'll check it out again, though, as I want to get back into exercising this month. Thanks for the reminder!
My rule for adding habits is to wait every 21 days before adding new ones. It's also important to make sure you don't have too many habits to maintain, as they impose a cognitive burden. If you can reduce them to code or programs, do it.
Couldn't agree more. I have a very hard time maintaining more than 10 total daily habits or about 90-120 mins of daily habits.
What do you use for your quantified self measurements, in terms of devices, apps, etc?
I am thinking of moving all the data collection to my personal site, as libreoffice clerical mistakes cost me a day of nap data(then I got a double whammy from not being able to find my blood pressure cuff the other day).
Very interesting. Can you please elaborate on what you use it for and how it really helps?
In short, it basically exploits human cognitive architecture to provide an extremely efficient means of learning information. Two principles in operation are spaced repetition and the forgetting curve. Our knowledge tend to decay at an exponential rate. The trick is to study them right before you forget them. Thus, it free you from the drudgery of studying what you already know. It could be done by a human as a habit, but that isn't practical. That's why computers does it for us.
That's how Khan Academy works too, in regard to reviewing problems, or so I am told.
The best treatment I've found when realizing that I'm stuck is to identify the smallest viable action I can take to move the project forward. Often tackling this task is enough to overcome the static friction and get the project moving again. At which point I'm fully immersed in the project context and the larger issues somehow seem less formidable.
My long streaks of working out almost always start with a couple days at the gym basically screwing around. I know it's not optimal, but it's something, and I gradually get more intentional and serious as I keep going.
Shameless plug: i wrote an online pomodoro timer http://yay.im/pomodoro
As for my personal life, fuck it. Not important.
Actual competence may weaken self-confidence, as competent individuals may falsely assume that others have an equivalent understanding.
This is exacerbated by the fact that you're constantly confronted with stories about other people / teams / companies that are "crushing it."
The good news is that it really does get easier with practice and repetition. Kind of like jumping into a freezing cold pool for swim practice. After the first couple of times you realize, "hey, I didn't drown," which makes the next few times easier. It never gets easy, just easier than when you started.
Hiring workers first as paid interns, with an option to convert to FTE later, allows the worker and the people in the organization to feel each other out and ensure a good fit of both personality and skillsets. If the worker doesn't fit in, then it saves both the group and the individual from a stressful work environment, and you can keep trying until you find the right person.
Even doing the wrong thing works out, and sometimes better than doing the right thing. More importantly, you're making space in your life, schedule, and mind, for what it is you want to do. This allows people to try something out, play with the ideas, and understand the important factors in making the decision later.
Many people share a similar philosophy when buying durable goods[1] - buy a cheaper/low-end model, and when it breaks you buy a higher-quality model. Or, if the higher-quality model isn't actually higher quality, but is simply more expensive, you know to buy the cheap one.
Anyway, what's the point? You can just fire them if it's not working out.
from http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2012/10/the_story_of_narcissu... and the whole thing is just great.