Recently, I finally realized that piling on new features day after day is not the most effective way to improve software. As a programmer, it’s tempting to just keep building… but this approach does not leave room for data-based improvement.   “Growth Hacking” is a (relatively) new term in startupland....

A number of weeks ago, I wrote the first post on hacking my own happiness. I participated in a study conducted at Harvard, and the result was a bunch of data collected from real-life about what made me happy. In the last article, I took a super-high-level look at the...

This is part one of my series of experiments on happiness using Track your Happiness, a “scientific research project that aims to use modern technology” to help you understand what makes you happy. It is the project of doctoral candidate Matt Killingsworth at Harvard University. During the course of many...

I’ve received a few requests for this post, so here it is: my approach to focus. It is not an end-all be-all solution for everybody, but rather a look at the key underlying ways you can keep yourself moving towards a task. The tricks here should work well for anybody,...

Regardless of if you’re hanging out with friends or running a business, you will need to make a request of your peers sooner or later. On one hand, you need to get something out of the request. On the other hand, you don’t want to be that guy.   This...

I like beef jerky a lot – especially as a travel food. It lasts a long time, does not take up much space and it is extremely rich in lean protein (so it keeps you satiated).   There are problems, though. A standard bag of beef jerky is about 3.25...

I have said that it is a boon to productivity to be too busy but did not address one key aspect: why?   One of the biggest reasons is also the most simple: if you produce too much, you can cherry-pick the quality items. In photography, for example, you have...

Maintaining productivity seems like it would be difficult from the road. There are endless distractions composed of all nouns (people, places and things) worth seeing/meeting/doing. Everywhere you turn there is something new, each with the potential to distract from what needs to be done.   In fact, maintaining work levels...

In Ireland there is a saying “what’s the crack?” to mean, “what is happening?”  Here, though, I am referring to your drug of choice to motivate yourself.  I have a number of things that I fall back on when I need an extra bump in productivity (not just coffee).  ...

If you read self-help books, you will find plenty of advice telling you how to become less busy or cut down on your responsibilities.  I am all for minimalism, and I certainly do not want to encourage multitasking so that you hurt your performance – and we definitely do not...