Habits of Success – Are They Real?

February 16, 2025February 16, 2025Leave a comment

If you scroll long enough on any social media feed eventually a story will show up with a title like “The Top Ten Ways to be Successful” or “Emperor Caesar’s Habits for Success.” The gist of these articles is that copying the things successful people do will inevitably lead you to success too. But is that true?

According to Darious Foroux, copying the actions of seemingly successful people is no guarantee of success for yourself. In his article, Stop Imitating The Habits Of Successful People: It’s Killing You, he points out the main flaw with all these Internet advice pieces.

They always focus on the outcome. Not the process. Studying, learning, and stealing productive habits or tactics are all smart things to do. But that’s not what I’m talking about here. I talk about people who only focus on the outcome. I.e. success.

Also, everyone pretends that the word success has nothing to do with money and status. But that’s simply not true. When we talk about success, we all talk about getting rich. Just be honest.

For Foroux, success is not simply a matter of counting your money to keep score. Success is much more varied than that. He adds:

But let’s keep it real and not pretend that “only you can determine the definition of success,” and then talk about the habits of millionaires.

Foroux then points out the flaw in the logic of copying the actions of notable people. It is simply that mindlessly following habits alone does very little to help us achieve our goals.

For instance, take waking up early. That’s always part of the lists of habits. But waking up is not a skill that does something. When you try to imitate a rich person who wakes up early, will you become rich by waking up early?

That’s why I find it odd that people try to imitate successful people. What’s the point? Even if you know the EXACT ingredients of success, it’s no good to you.

To hear what Foroux suggests instead, please visit his website to read the rest of his article.

Organizing is Not Decluttering

February 2, 2025Leave a comment

What’s the best way to declutter a space?

The first solution most people jump to is organization. They find storage boxes into which to stash their horde of items. The boxes are then placed out of the way in a closet, attic, or basement for months or years to come. Problem solved right?

According to the Minimalists, this approach is the worst way to approach decluttering. Why?

Because all you are doing is moving items from one place to another. The clutter is put out of sight but not removed entirely. In a recent video on their Instagram channel, the Minimalists argue that storage boxes are actually “clutter coffins where all your stuff goes to die.”

Worst still, many people use up valuable space in their homes or even rent space in a storage locker to keep these completely unneeded belongings in their lives.

What is the best way handle clutter?

The Minimalists believe that completely letting go of our unnecessary items is the path to declutter. Reducing our belongings clears up space, both physically and psychologically. That way we can use our physical spaces to store only the things we currently value. As well, we keep our minds clear by removing items that no longer match who we are and what we aspire to do.

Therefore, resist the urge to buy that shiny new container. Instead, as Marie Kondo would tell you, discard anything that doesn’t spark joy. Once done, enjoy the results.

Are You an Overthinker?

December 15, 2024Leave a comment

When encountering a problem, do you spend time thinking about how to solve it?

Usually, it is a good practice to think deeply about how to solve a problem. Understanding the situation and considering ways to solve it can be very helpful. However, is there a limit to how helpful thinking about a problem can be?

According to Darius Foroux, overthinking can be a huge impediment to solving problems. In a recent blog post, he shares how thinking too much can be a trap for the mind.

Despite all this knowledge of philosophy and knowing what I “should” do, I still get caught in bouts of excessive thinking.

During these moments, I no longer observe my thoughts and live in the present moment; my thoughts consume me.

In the past, I was permanently stuck in that state of mind. It’s not uncommon. Most people live their lives as slaves to their thoughts.

When we obsess over our woes, it becomes harder to solve them. So, is there a way to get past repetitive thinking? To resolve the tendency to overthink, Foroux suggests doing a practice that spiritual folk have done for ages.

The key to overcoming overthinking is not only about awareness. Yes, being aware of your thoughts is important. This is the starting point of waking up.

You must become the observer of your thoughts.

But it’s also about understanding your nature.

To understand more about this concept, please read the rest of blog post.

When to Check Your Tech & How to Stop

November 10, 2024Leave a comment

Have you ever checked your phone for a social media update in the middle of a meeting? Or started looking at news headlines in the middle of a group lunch? Or got distracted by unimportant texts while doing deep work on a project?

It is very easy to be drawn into looking at our phones. This can lead to unproductive behavior and sloppy work. A recent article by Liz Fosslien on the Pocket website wonders why we have allowed these habits to become socially accepted.

I used to do nothing in the face of indiscriminate gadget use. Now, I’ve come to believe that doing nothing is no longer O.K. Staying silent about bad technology habits is making things worse for all of us.

How do we as a change these habits to make them less desirable? Perhaps we need to develop what investor Paul Graham calls “social antibodies.”

He uses the example of cigarette smoking: smoking in public became taboo over the span of just one generation after social conventions changed.

Like cigarettes, our personal technology use can become a bad habit. People enter a zone when they use their gadgets. Checking email or scrolling through Facebook can be intoxicating and disorienting. Tech makers design these products using the same psychology that makes slot machines addictive. The variable rewards built into apps make time pass quickly and can make people oblivious to what’s happening around them.

How can we build up social antibodies in the workplace? One way is to set up well articulated standards.

The best way to prevent this waste of time is for someone senior to mandate a “no-screen meeting.” In my experience conducting hundreds of workshops, the discussions declared device-free are by far more productive. Setting expectations up front is equivalent to administering a distraction vaccine.

Learn more about how to build social antibodies by reading the rest of the article.

To Solve a Problem, Take Something Away

November 3, 2024Leave a comment

There’s a funny thing about the human mind when it comes to problem solving. Usually, we look for solutions that add something to the equation, whether it be another resource, person, or strategy. Yet is it easier to solve problems by removing things?

In an article by Diana Kwon for Scientific America, she explores the reason that removing something is a often the more efficient problem-solving strategy. She uses the example of teaching a child to ride a bike.

For generations, the standard way to learn how to ride a bicycle was with training wheels or a tricycle. But in recent years, many parents have opted to train their kids with balance bikes, pedal-less two-wheelers that enable children to develop the coordination needed for bicycling—a skill that is not as easily acquired with an extra set of wheels.

Later in the article she explores research done at the University of Virginia. Observational studies of people solving problems highlighted some interesting patterns.

The researchers first carried out a set of observational studies, assessments without a control group, to see whether this bias existed at all. In one, they asked 91 participants to make a pattern symmetrical by either adding or removing colored boxes. Only 18 people (20 percent) used subtraction. In another, the team scanned through an archive of ideas for improvement submitted to an incoming university president and found that only 11 percent of 651 proposals involved eliminating an existing regulation, practice or program.

Is there a way to guide people to consider removing items rather than adding? Turns out a little nudge in the right direction can do the trick.

The researchers also observed that people were more likely to remove features when they were given more opportunities to consider alternative ways to address a problem: when participants were asked to create a symmetrical pattern by adding or eliminating colored blocks, they opted for removal more often if they were given practice trials than if they had just one chance to tackle the problem. On the other hand, having to simultaneously juggle another task—such as keeping track of numbers on a screen—made individuals less likely to subtract elements to solve the same problem, suggesting that it requires more effort to think up subtractive solutions than additive ones.

Read the full article to learn more about how to consider subtractive solutions.

Don’t Fall into the “McNamara Fallacy”

October 27, 2024Leave a comment

The 21st Century is a time of unlimited data points! Statistics and statical analysis are available for every topic under the sun. Whether it be Sabermetrics in baseball, or detailed demographic political polling of electoral candidates, or the circulation of library books by branch location, numbers are readily available to explore any situation. However, what happens when people rely too much on the data? In that case they may fall into the “McNamara Fallacy.”

In a recent article on the Big Think website, columnist Jonny Thomson explores how we can get so caught up looking at data points that we fail to take into account the bigger picture. He names this the “McNamara Fallacy”.

The fallacy is named after Robert McNamara, the U.S. Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War, where his over-reliance on measurable data led to several misguided strategies where considering certain human and contextual elements would have been successful.

Thomson goes on to explain why numbers are not the be all and end of analysis.

The “McNamara Fallacy” is not saying that using data is bad or that collecting as much information as you can is wasted time. It’s saying that fixating only on numbers blinds us to the rich stories and subtle details that truly shape experiences, resulting in choices that miss the heart and soul of the situation. If we spend too long looking at spreadsheets and data points, we forget to look around.

To avoid getting caught in the fallacy, Thomson offers a few options to expand one’s viewpoint. The first is digging into details.

In many companies, employee performance is measured solely by quantitative metrics like sales numbers or the number of tasks completed. While these figures provide some insight, often the important information is buried in the details. Let’s imagine two people, Jane and Jack, who need to bring in a client. Last year, Jack secured 20 and Jane 15. Good job, team! But, behind the numbers, there’s more to be seen. Jack’s clients really didn’t like him. He had a sleazy, insensitive manner that was off-putting. Within a year, most of his clients had left. Jane, on the other hand, wooed and won her clients by dint of personality. She cared about the person she met. Her clients all stayed around. So, who is the better employee?

To learn about the other strategies to avoid the fallacy, please read the rest of the article.

Tips for Staying Focused While Stressed

October 13, 2024Leave a comment

Are you stressed?

It is common to hear people say that we live in anxious times. Whether this stress comes from politics, relationships, or simply making ends meet, it is easy to lose focus while worrying about life. Yet if we are unable to purposely bring our attention to the important things we need to do the stress will only build. The catch then is to figure out how to focus when stressed.

Scott Young has looked into the problem and recently published an article titled 5 Tips for Staying Focused (When You’re Stressed). If you are looking for ways to help yourself move forward when things seem tough, then you will enjoy his insights. The first one is a bit philosophical. Scott suggested applying Socratic questioning to our reflexive thoughts.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (which I review in-depth here) is the gold standard for psychotherapy for anxiety disorders. A basic tenet of this therapeutic approach is that a combination of situational factors and our background beliefs triggers automatic thoughts. If you’re stressed, those thoughts often fixate on potential dangers that are out of proportion to the actual risks.

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

So how do we change our thought patterns?

One way to break this cycle of anxiety spurred by reflexive thoughts is to question the content of those thoughts. Notice a thought you’re having, and give yourself some reasons it might be true and some reasons it may not be. Ask yourself if you think it’s 100% true, 0% true, or somewhere in-between.

Questioning our reflexive thoughts can help stop irrational behaviors we often fail to interrogate.

Learn the other four ways to stay focused while stressed by reading the rest of Scott’s article.

Overcoming the Forgetting Curve

September 1, 2024Leave a comment

Take a moment to remember the last time you attended a seminar or training class. Whether it was last week or a month ago, I am guessing that unless you took extensive notes most of the information from the class is now forgotten. Does that mean you are a bad student or have a faulty memory? No, it just means you are on the downward slope of the Forgetting Curve.

Lindsey Ellefson, editor for the website Lifehacker, wrote an article that shared ways to overcome the Forgetting Curve. First, she described what is meant by this phenomenon.

It seems like common sense that the longer you go without retrieving a memory, the harder it is to retrieve—but it wasn’t always one of those things we simply knew to be true. In the 1880s, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus studied the phenomenon and published his findings, giving the world the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve. The curve is a simple graphic demonstrating how information is lost over time, but it proved that time-related forgetting is real (and has been reaffirmed by further study since).

Is it inevitable to forget? Not entirely. There are specific practices that can be done to overcome the Forgetting Curve. The first is a simple approach called Spaced Repetition.

Basically, you need to study the material multiple times, giving yourself space between each review. The amount of time you go without studying the material depends largely on how well you’re already remembering it, which means the longer you review, the longer the periods between each review should be. Reviewing your class notes for a difficult class should be done more frequently than reviewing the notes for a class where you really get the concepts, for instance.

To learn more about ways to overcome the Forgetting Curve, please read the rest of the article on the Lifehacker website.

The Creative Power of Procrastination

June 16, 2024Leave a comment

Have you ever put off doing something important?

There is a natural tendency to procrastinate even on things that we ostensively want to do, including creative projects. While most people view procrastination as a vice, what if there is actually benefit to gain from delaying?

In a recent post on his blog, Tiago Forte explores this topic by diving into the creative power of procrastination. To begin his argument, he first explains the origin of delaying work.

Procrastination stems from our urge to flee the discomfort of an unwanted task. In the brain, this plays out as a war between our logical prefrontal cortex — responsible for decision-making — and our hasty, pleasure-seeking limbic system. When the limbic system wins, we rebel against the undesirable task and choose the temporary dopamine hit of procrastination instead.

Tiago believes that our creative endeavors can benefit from a little bit of procrastination. In order to reap this advantage, it is first important to reframe our guilt around it.

Shame is a common emotion when people procrastinate, but self-blame can sap your ability to be creative. Instead, build the habit of being compassionate to yourself when you procrastinate. The process of resetting how you think about procrastination takes time and effort, as you’re attempting to form new neural pathways — but by continually refocusing your thoughts on compassion, blame will cease to be the default emotion.

When you feel the itch to abandon a task, observe the warring forces in your brain. You’re starting to procrastinate, and that’s OK because you’re about to maximize the benefits through active procrastination.

He then proceeds to recommend specific strategies to maximize the benefits of procrastination. One of them is to bring structure to it.

If you have multiple projects, you can delay one by working on the other. Philosopher John Perry calls this structured procrastination, and it allows you to give in to the delicious feeling of avoiding your intended task while you make progress on something else. You might even find unexpected touchpoints: switching between different projects, aka “slow-motion multitasking,” is how some of the world’s greatest innovators sharpened their multidisciplinary ideas.

To learn more about to turn procrastination into a creative advantage, please read the rest of his blog post.

Efficient Librarian

Exploring the Intersection of Efficiency and Librarianship

Category: Cognative Errors