With work, we seek shortcuts. With art, we go deeper.
With work, we seek shortcuts.
With art, we go deeper.
When I was about fourteen years of age, I made gaming videos for Youtube.
I had to buy a cube-shaped device that recorded my TV screen so that I could record my gameplay. It wasn’t cheap, believe me.
Over time, I learnt how to edit the videos, too. Everything I needed, I found on Youtube and within myself — free education and a desire to learn.
As I watched tutorials, practised the craft and repeated the cycle, I became aware of something.
I was getting lost in my time; hours…
Don’t hide behind habits and routine.
I’ve always believed that daily routines were for boring people.
To be honest, part of me still believes it.
At university, I had no routine, yet despite the lack of structure in my days, I got things done.
As a highly motivated lazy person, the old adage ‘work hard, play hard’ stuck with me. In fact, I made it my very own: ‘play hard, then squeeze in hard work’.
The result was that I’d almost always give preference to a fun ‘motive’ with friends.
You can find a hundred ways to criticise that and so could I, but something about…
Here’s why…
On February 4th 2020, I published my first article online.
I didn’t know if people would read it, nor did I think they’d particularly like it. But I knew one thing for sure: from that point onwards, I would write an original article every single week.
The biggest secret for behaviour change.
If you think motivation is enough to help you get you to your destination, I have news for you.
Motivation will only get you so far in life. It’s a temporary state with an ebb and flow.
Some of us may feel a heightened state of motivation; we train ourselves to find it, use it and keep hold of it, but it comes with its own cost.
Just like a drug, motivation gives you a high. But it can’t be a high without a low.
When motivation fades, we’re left to our original state. For many of us, that means…
Your best wins are waiting on the other side.
I was embarrassed about some of my biggest ideas. But those were usually my best ones.
I was embarrassed because I often felt like an imposter in trying to achieve them.
When you think you’re an imposter and feel like everyone else knows it too, it becomes embarrassing to show up.
Imagine turning up at a pro football game and having to join in. The players don’t think you belong there. The crowd don’t think you belong there. Even the commentators are making jokes about you.
Maybe that’s not what really happens, but it’s the reality in your head, and…
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
Did you set a goal this year? It’s great if you did, but how do you intend to achieve it?
A goal is great for setting a direction, but systems and processes help you get there.
Inspired by the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, here’s why I think we should spend more time thinking about systemisation rather than goals.
Happiness Starts and Ends at the Goal.
Arguments on why we should.
On Wednesday evening, I deleted my social media accounts.
In an attempt to better understand how I can use social media in a healthier, more sustainable way, I’m currently undergoing a 7-day‘ detox’ from social media
My thoughts were that it would help me gain some perspective on what my addiction really looked like.
A quick look at my daily screentime informed me that I had spent an average of 5 hours a day on my days off — most of which came from social media.
How long had this been going on for?
What was I possibly doing on…
Using a stack of productivity hacks
This week, I had an essay deadline to meet.
I had given a teaching session a while back as part of my PGCert in Medical Education, and now I had to cough up a 2.5k word essay, critically reflecting on my lesson using principles of education theory.
I had originally left myself adequate room to get it done, but after several 12-hour on-call shifts at the hospital, I was left in a predicament.
It was Wednesday night, I had another on-call shift on Thursday, and my essay was due on Friday midday.
I had 2 options: Get it done OR…
Why you need to act on your ideas.
Everybody has ideas. Very few act on them.
When was the last time you had a great idea for a business? A side hustle? A new hobby?
Did you act on it or did you let it pass?
“It’s not the right time,” we tell ourselves.
But what if it WAS the right time? What if we decided to take a small step towards that goal?
What could happen?
There’s a metaphor that’s been stuck in my head for a while which I’ve wanted to share with you:
Every Idea is a Firefly
The secret to purposeful, systematic improvement.
We’re only ever as good as the point at which we give up on deliberate practice.
Deliberate practice means purposeful practice.
It’s a type of practice that has systematic change on its roadmap. As opposed to ‘mindless’ or ‘aimless’ practice, intentional improvement is its unique identifier.
For example, if you’re playing tennis with your friend, are you simply playing? Or, are you dedicating some of your attention to how you can improve your stance, your agility or the power in your backhand?
If you don’t decide to intentionally improve during that game, it would be considered mindless practice (some will…
