Mindset
About this category
Content whose primary subject is how an individual manages their own psychology, focus, habits, or relationship with work. The unit of change is the *person themselves*, not their business or team.
Showing 2363 articles for Mindset.
Deep work & focus
Podcast
Managing tasks, attention residue, and deep work schedules
Deep Questions with Cal Newport
May 13, 2021
Deep work & focus
9
Time management
7
Emotional distractions are the worst possible kind for knowledge work.
A 'waiting-on' list built in real time prevents obligations falling through cracks.
Motivation is too fickle to govern whether you start cognitively demanding work.
Identity & self-belief
YouTube
Three alarms to align daily behaviour with health, work, and relationships
Bill Gallagher
May 12, 2021
Identity & self-belief
10
Productivity & habits
8
Work-life balance
7
Name a best-self identity for each domain; behaviour follows instantly
A near-fatal heart attack exposed the cost of sacrificing health for work
Evening routine — shutdown, digital sunset, 8 hours — drives next-day output
Deep work & focus
Podcast
Maintaining deep work: time blocking, hive mind alternatives, and the deep life
Deep Questions with Cal Newport
May 10, 2021
Deep work & focus
9
Productivity & habits
7
Work-life balance
6
Time blocking forces you to face the true cost of shallow work.
Replace unscheduled messaging with designed processes, not new tools.
Sustained deep work discipline requires committing to a deep life philosophy.
Identity & self-belief
Podcast
Ryan Holiday on writing a children's book about Marcus Aurelius
The Daily Stoic
May 9, 2021
Identity & self-belief
7
Relationships & family
6
Why Marcus Aurelius — chosen, not born — is the stoic exception to absolute power
Stoic aphorisms planted early resurface when life actually demands them
Self-publishing gave Holiday total creative control, and it shows
Productivity & habits
Podcast
Handling difficult bosses, restricted productivity, and digital minimalism
Deep Questions with Cal Newport
May 6, 2021
Productivity & habits
9
Time management
8
Relationships & family
6
You need career capital before demanding fewer meetings from bosses.
Productivity funnel reframes output: navigate constraints, don't fight them.
Digital minimalism: start from what you value, then find the right tool.
Productivity & habits
YouTube
How to make time for marketing by chunking it down
Bill Gallagher
May 5, 2021
Productivity & habits
9
Branding
7
Copywriting
6
Magical thinking about to-do lists is why marketing never gets done.
One hour clarifying your offer can close a $30k client the next day.
Pick two to four tactics that fit you — everything else is drunk marketing.
Overcommitted or bad at time management? How to tell the difference
Deep Questions with Cal Newport
May 3, 2021
Time management
8
Project management
5
Schedule every commitment to see if it fits — then you'll know.
One listener ditched his smartphone for a year; his life improved markedly.
Personal productivity as an industry arose from Drucker's over-emphasis on individual autonomy.
Productivity & habits
Podcast
Cal Newport on time blocking, planning, and digital sociality
Deep Questions with Cal Newport
April 29, 2021
Productivity & habits
10
Time management
9
Deep work & focus
8
Over-specifying time blocks is a discipline problem, not a planning fix.
Schedule your most important work first — everything else gets what remains.
Digital tools can support sociality, but analog connection is non-negotiable.
Deep work & focus
Podcast
Greg McKeown on essentialism, effortless work, and simplifying execution
Deep Questions with Cal Newport
April 26, 2021
Deep work & focus
10
AI tools & automation
10
MVP & prototyping
10
Choosing fewer priorities isn't enough — simplify how you execute them.
Starting from zero beats chiselling complexity: one button, one click.
Rituals make important work enjoyable, not just schedulable.
Deep work & focus
Podcast
Cal Newport's scheduling system for a research fellowship
Deep Questions with Cal Newport
April 22, 2021
Deep work & focus
10
Time management
9
Productivity & habits
6
Mornings are sacred; all meetings batch into three afternoons.
Two runaway block types demand opposite responses — flow vs. perfectionism.
Social media offers cheap attention; tenure reveals how shallow it is.
Productivity & habits
Podcast
The productivity funnel: a structured framework for getting things done
Deep Questions with Cal Newport
April 19, 2021
Productivity & habits
9
Deep work & focus
8
Time management
7
Productivity is three separate problems: selection, organisation, execution.
Critiquing overwork doesn't make time-blocking or organisation less useful.
Deep thinking is a trained lifestyle, not an innate talent — rebuild it deliberately.
Deep work & focus
Podcast
Cal Newport on notebooks, deep work limits, and intentional Instagram use
Deep Questions with Cal Newport
April 15, 2021
Deep work & focus
10
Productivity & habits
8
Six hours of deep work alongside a demanding day job is rarely achievable.
Three distinct tools serve capture, scratch space, and long-term notes differently.
Embedding tech in positive rituals beats willpower-based rules every time.
Physical & cognitive performance
Podcast
Meditation, mindfulness and neuroscience with Ariel Garten
Beyond the To-Do List - Productivity for Work and Life
April 14, 2021
Physical & cognitive performance
9
Deep work & focus
8
Productivity & habits
7
Meditation is attention training, not achieving a blank mind
Every distraction you notice and release is a productivity rep
Allowing intrusive thoughts to exist — not fighting them — makes them disappear
Deep work & focus
Podcast
Career switching, deep work, and building career capital
Deep Questions with Cal Newport
April 12, 2021
Deep work & focus
9
Productivity & habits
8
Long-term planning
7
Skills create passion — not the other way around
Before a PhD, map the exact job and who gets hired for it
Persistent job exhaustion is a career problem, not a scheduling one
Resilience & grit
Podcast
Theodore Roosevelt's near-death Amazon expedition and lessons in resilience
Founders
April 11, 2021
Resilience & grit
9
Management
5
Roosevelt treated extreme physical hardship as his cure for depression
The rainforest mirrors economic competition: specialization, niches, ruthless elimination
Kermit's refusal to abandon his dying father saved both their lives