Why we procrastinate on the tiniest of tasks
When we put off small jobs, they balloon from tiny checklist items into major irritants. Why do we keep doing this?
Mark Rothko on How to Be an Artist
Seven years ago I saw the play Red at the Dallas Theater Center. It was a fantastic play about the artist Mark Rothko as he painted the famous group of large murals for the Four Seasons restaurant in New York. Really good – one highlight is that during the play the actor playing Rothko and the one playing his assistant actually paint a giant canvas right there, in front of you. You could smell the linseed oil.
How to Quiet Your Mind Chatter
To break the tape loop in your head, talk to yourself as another person.
Tips from neuroscience to keep you focused on hard tasks
Understanding cognitive control can help your working life.
The Vampire Problem: A Brilliant Thought Experiment Illustrating the Paradox of Transformative Experience
“Many of [life’s] big decisions involve choices to have experiences that teach us things we cannot know about from any other source but the experience itself.”
What a brief jog can do for your brain
If you have 15 minutes to spare, do not sit and chill. Instead, a new study says, you should go out for a quick, light jog. It will leave you feeling more energetic than resting, which will lift your spirits and in turn make your thinking more effective.
I Tried 5 Methods to Make Italian-Style Coffee at Home. The Winner Was Clear (and Surprising!)
It’s not surprising to me. After a lifetime of trying different ways of making coffee – the Aeropress is the best. I miss going to coffee shops – but I can’t imagine getting a better cup than what I can make with fresh-ground beans and my ‘press.
The Smell That Separates Night From Day
Coffee in the… Well, Sorta Wilderness
I can’t believe that this is a half-century old. I mean, it does have the 1960’s esthetic, but it is still really, really cool. The movie was a disappointment at the time (I looked it up) but this Bob Fosse dance number is fascinating. I’m a little obsessed.