Archive for January 2015
Productivity tip #13: Own one belt.
A 99 year-old great grandfather offers 25 pieces of advice. My favorite is this one: Everyone has too many clothes. Wear what you have and quit buying more. I know many people who, if given the chance, would spend every weekend buying clothing. Many people. I also know too many people who actually spend every…
Read MoreSomeone at Slate magazine has been reading my blog and stealing my brilliant ideas. Seriously. Sort of.
On October 23, 2012, I came out in favor of skipping after skipping down the deserted streets of Brattleboro, Vermont. “The swinging of the arms, the momentary, almost violent liftoff into the air in the midst of each skip and the inability to do anything but smile throughout the process, make it something we really…
Read MoreMy students chose mustard covered bees.
My students sit in teams. Every month these teams change, and they are given the opportunity to choose new team names. This month one of the teams took the name Mustard Covered Bees. The two things I’m allergic to.
Read MoreVerbal sparring 101: Comparing apples and oranges makes a whole lot of sense. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
The next time someone attempts to counter your argument by claiming that you are making an “apples to oranges” comparison, say this: Really? Apples and oranges are both similarly sized spherical fruits that grow on trees and weigh about the same. They have about the same number of calories per fruit. With the exception of…
Read MoreTaylor Swift teaches a valuable lesson to all content creators.
If you haven’t seen Taylor Swift’s Christmas video, you should. It’s a lovely thing, but it’s also an exceptionally valuable lesson for anyone who creates content. Actors. Writers. Artists. Musicians. Designers. Anyone. Treat the people who make your work possible very, very well. My agent, Taryn, once told me that although she thinks I’m a…
Read MoreThe prize for my latest writing contest is the threat of tears and possible humiliation. No wonder my students are writing up a storm.
It’s that time of year again when I encourage my students to make me cry. Parents and teachers often ask me about how my students so consistently fall in love with writing. The answer to this question could probably fill a book, but here is one tiny example: Each week I sponsor one or more…
Read MoreThe Professional Best Man: A bride’s best friend, too.
Four years ago, I proposed a new job for myself: The professional best man. I was serious about the proposal but less than hopeful about my prospects, but since publishing that post back in 2011, a number of remarkable things have happened: Four grooms have attempted to hire me. Two lived in California. Two lived…
Read MoreStupid people think they’re smart, and smart people think they’re not. Most important: They can’t help it. This explains everything.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias that causes incompetent people to believe they know more than they think they know. Unskilled individuals suffer from a false sense of superiority, mistakenly rating their ability much higher than is accurate. This bias is the result of the inability of the unskilled to recognize their own ineptitude.…
Read MoreProductivity tip #12: Embrace the imperfect.
Start something new. Forget about the perfect launch or the right equipment or the ideal partner. Just start. If you find yourself a slave to perfection, remember these three things: It’s more than likely that your need or perfection is simply a symptom of your fear of failure or your tendency to procrastinate. Almost no…
Read MoreThe Play-Doh sex toy was a mistake, but making a big deal out of it is much worse.
Yes, it’s true. Play-Doh blundered big time with the design of their “extruder.” It’s kind of impossible to understand how this was produced without someone in the company noticing the problem. Regardless, the outrage that parents have expressed is ridiculous. The complaints on Play-Doh’s Facebook page about how this phallic piece of plastic has ruined…
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