50+ Personal Productivity Blogs You've Never Heard of Before (and about a dozen you probably have) The personal productivity niche on the Web has grown by leaps and bounds since Lifehack launched only a few years ago. While a few sites dominate the rankings, there are lots and lots of lesser-known sites that are as good or even better than the “A-list” productivity blogs. Most of them are solo operations — the GTD newbie documenting his or her quest for greater control over their life, the coach or consultant sharing his or her knowledge with the world, the writer adding to his or her published work with notes, errata, and new findings. Their voice is personal, intimate even — and deserves to be heard. Of course, the big names are here too — after all, I owe some of them a tremendous debt for helping me get a grip on my own life. Enjoy! 43 Folders: Merlin Mann started a lot of us on this journey, so now he has to pay. Do you know any productivity blogs that the world should know about? Read full content
Abstraction Abstraction is a process by which concepts are derived from the usage and classification of literal ("real" or "concrete") concepts, first principles, or other methods. "An abstraction" is the product of this process—a concept that acts as a super-categorical noun for all subordinate concepts, and connects any related concepts as a group, field, or category.[1] Abstractions may be formed by reducing the information content of a concept or an observable phenomenon, typically to retain only information which is relevant for a particular purpose. For example, abstracting a leather soccer ball to the more general idea of a ball retains only the information on general ball attributes and behavior, eliminating the other characteristics of that particular ball.[1] Origins[edit] Thinking in abstractions is considered[by whom?] Abstraction involves induction of ideas or the synthesis of particular facts into one general theory about something. Thought process[edit] Cat on Mat (picture 1)
The 26 Best Self-Improvement Posts Ever Need a place to find the best self-improvement blog posts ever? One big list of inspiring geniuses? Well, here it is… my list of the best self-improvement posts ever: 1. – How to be Creative – Originally published in 2004 by Hugh Macleod at the Gaping Void. 2. – How to Make Money From Your Blog – If I had a dollar for every person who started blogging after reading this post… well… I could quit my job. 3. – Zen To Done (ZTD): The Ultimate Simple Productivity System – This is a post you can put to use to improve you life immediately. 4. – How to Learn (But Not Master) Any Language in 1 Hour (Plus: A Favor) – Tim Ferris describes in detail how you can learn the basics of new language quickly through a method he calls deconstruction. 5. – The Art of the Finish: How to Go From Busy to Accomplished – This post was written about three years ago on Scott H Young’s blog. 7. – Do You Have Weirdo Syndrome? 9. – 279 Days to Overnight Success – This isn’t a blog post.
Creativity Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed, such as an idea, a scientific theory, an invention, a literary work, a painting, a musical composition, a joke, etc. Scholarly interest in creativity involves many definitions and concepts pertaining to a number of disciplines: psychology, cognitive science, education, philosophy (particularly philosophy of science), technology, theology, sociology, linguistics, business studies, songwriting, and economics, covering the relations between creativity and general intelligence, mental and neurological processes, personality type and creative ability, creativity and mental health; the potential for fostering creativity through education and training, especially as augmented by technology; and the application of creative resources to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning. Definition[edit] Aspects[edit] Etymology[edit] History of the concept[edit] Ancient views[edit] The Enlightenment and after[edit] J. J.
My Super-Charged Life | Good Habits for a Great Life! Convergent and divergent production Convergent and divergent production are the two types of human response to a set problem that were identified by J.P. Guilford (1967). Guilford observed that most individuals display a preference for either convergent or divergent thinking. Others observe that most people prefer a convergent closure.[citation needed] As opposed to TRIZ or lateral thinking divergent thinking is not about tools for creativity or thinking, but a way of categorizing what can be observed. Divergent thinking[edit] According to J.P. There is a movement in education that maintains divergent thinking might create more resourceful students. Divergent production is the creative generation of multiple answers to a set problem. Critic of the analytic/dialectic approach[edit] While the observations made in psychology can be used to analyze the thinking of humans, such categories may also lead to oversimplifications and dialectic thinking. References[edit] Guilford, J. (1967). See also[edit]
The What-The-Hell Effect What pizza and cookies can teach us about goal-setting. Goal-setting can be a handy way of improving performance, except when we fall foul of a nasty little side-effect. Take dieting as an example. Let’s say you’ve set yourself a daily calorie limit. Instead of your healthy meal at home you’re faced with a restaurant menu. Then in the restaurant you eat some bread and have a drink while everyone chooses from the menu. So, just as we’re getting somewhere with reaching our goal, the whole thing goes out the window in a moment of madness. The what-the-hell effect isn’t just a lack of self-control or momentary lapse; it is directly related to missing a goal. The pizza and cookies experiment Recent research by Janet Polivy and colleagues at the University of Toronto is a good example (Polivy et al., 2010). Except the experimenters didn’t much care how the cookies were rated, just how many they ate. Avoid the what-the-hell effect So, is there any way around this? Image credit: Howard Walfish
Divergent thinking Divergent thinking is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. It is often used in conjunction with its cognitive opposite, convergent thinking, which follows a particular set of logical steps to arrive at one solution, which in some cases is a ‘correct’ solution. By contrast, divergent thinking typically occurs in a spontaneous, free-flowing manner, such that many ideas are generated in an emergent cognitive fashion. Traits associated with divergent thinking[edit] Psychologists have found that a high IQ (like Albert Einstein) alone does not guarantee creativity. Promoting divergent thinking[edit] Activities which promote divergent thinking include creating lists of questions, setting aside time for thinking and meditation, brainstorming, subject mapping, bubble mapping, keeping a journal, creating artwork, and free writing. Playfulness and divergent thinking[edit] Effects of positive and negative mood on divergent thinking[edit] 1.