This post was inspired by Stephen Wolfram’s 2019 post.

“Productivity is a trap. Becoming more efficient just makes you more rushed, and trying to clear the decks simply makes them fill up again faster. Nobody in the history of humanity has ever achieved “work-life balance,” whatever that might be, and you certainly won’t get there by copying the “six things successful people do before 7:00 a.m.” The day will never arrive when you finally have everything under control—when the flood of emails has been contained; when your to-do lists have stopped getting longer; when you’re meeting all your obligations at work and in your home life; when nobody’s angry with you for missing a deadline or dropping the ball; and when the fully optimized person you’ve become can turn, at long last, to the things life is really supposed to be about. Let’s start by admitting defeat: none of this is ever going to happen. But you know what? That’s excellent news.” —Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

Blogs

General Advice

  • Instead of trying to learn something abstractly, pick a specific project you’d like to work on and learn as you go. This will make it much more clearer how certain information can be applied.

Desk

  • Water
  • Candle
  • Tea
  • Lamp
  • Pencil
  • Notebook
  • Laptop
  • Glasses

Educational resources

  • MIT OpenCourseWare is a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content.
  • Khan Academy provides free, online educational content in a wide range of subjects, including math, science, history, economics, and computer science.
  • Coursera partners with top universities and organizations from around the world to provide high-quality educational content to learners of all backgrounds.
  • Wolfram U offers free open interactive courses, learning events and other educational resources for professional and technical development.

Hacks

  • Place no-snooze alarm clock out of arms reach. (This will push you to get out of bed.)
  • Put away phone while reading; if unfamiliar with certain words, keep on hand a physical dictionary.
  • Use a fan to drown out surrounding noise. Alternatively, play white noise on loop.
  • Don’t use social media (this includes YouTube and Reddit). See The Social Dilemma.

Leisure

Podcasts

Meditation

Nightly Routine

  • Fill out a time-blocking planner. (I use this one.)
  • Prepare tomorrow’s clothes.
  • Wear a sleep mask.

Software

  • Wolfram Alpha is an answer engine developed by Wolfram Research.
  • Mathematica is a computational software program that provides a comprehensive environment for performing mathematical computations, data analysis, and visualizations.