Different types of work demand different sorts of fuel. You might be primed and ready to write an essay, but completely incapable of cleaning your bedroom. You may be all set to orchestrate a complex social event, but slog through…
I’ve got hair on my head, but hair isn’t guaranteed for anyone at any age. At some point, maybe tomorrow, maybe in a few years, it could all fall out. Or enough of it could fall out that it may…
I’m curious about pretty much everything, and I’m prone to falling into rabbit holes and picking up previously unfamiliar hobbies on a whim. I try to be more intentional with the work and responsibilities I bring into my life, though,…
I write every single day. I often write for pleasure and exercise, but I also write essays and books, podcast scripts and speaking notes. And that’s alongside the countless emails and texts and other sorts of text-based communication most of…
I like to have multiple projects going at a time, but they’re not all the same type of project, and they all require different sorts of investment and serve different functions. Routine projects are those that I’m already comfortable with,…
Something that helps me cope with periods of malaise, pain, or discomfort is reminding myself that the me I am today is not the final me. This is just a version of myself, iterated from previous versions of myself, and…
Most growth happens beyond our current capacity. Maintenance is good and healthful, and at times (and in some aspects of our lives) that’s exactly what we should be doing. But if we want to develop—in terms of skill, in terms…
It feels good to have written a book. It’s similar, I suspect, to the feeling of running a marathon or hosting a successful dinner party: it’s an achievement, and it’s satisfying to know you’ve done something difficult and aspirational (even…
The price of a medication goes up, your rent or property taxes increase, maybe you suffer an injury or develop some kind of chronic condition. New burdens are not fun, and they’re even worse when they’re all downside: new costs…
While we all have at least a few things we’re just latently good at, most of what we’re able to do (for fun or for money) is the result of dogged persistence. Just showing up, over and over, is a…