Tag Archives: "work"

For the weekly videos, I now tell a story. I’ve realized that for me, and I think for many people, a story is what holds my attention and makes a point most powerfully. This week’s story:   This reminds me of something Virginia Woolf wrote in her Diary: “My mind works in idleness. To do nothing is often my most … →

Every Wednesday is Tip Day. This Wednesday: 7 tips for making other people feel smart and insightful. We all want to get along well with other people, and one way to do this is to help people feel good about themselves. If you make a person feel smart and insightful, that person will enjoy your company. The point is not … →

Further Secrets of Adulthood:   We tend to over-estimate what we can do in a short time (say, an afternoon), and under-estimate what we can do over a longer time (a month) a little bit at a time. This realization led me to my very helpful resolution to Suffer for fifteen minutes. (I write about it a lot in Happier … →

Further Secrets of Adulthood:   The fact is, if you want more or less of something in your life, it’s very helpful to measure it, because you manage what you measure. I’m now calling this the “Strategy of Monitoring.” Maybe there’s something you’d like to change in your life — to get more of something good or less of something … →

You need not see what someone is doing to know if it is his vocation, you have only to watch his eyes: a cook mixing a sauce, a surgeon making a primary incision, a clerk completing a bill of lading, wear the same rapt expression, forgetting themselves in a function. How beautiful it is, that eye-on-the-object look. –W.  H. Auden, … →