The Now Habit In this post, I present a mind map with the full summary of the book The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play. Despite a cover that reminds me of the “remarkable” Windows 3.1 ‘Hot Dog Stand’ color scheme, I don’t have much to say about The Now Habit other than it’s one of the most useful books I’ve ever read. Since its publication back in 1988, it has become well-known among chronic procrastinators looking for ways to overcome this crippling condition, and for very good reasons. The Procrastination Habit As the title of the book suggests, procrastination is a habit — it’s not caused by lack of organization or lack of time management skills. Back in 2004, when implementing the David Allen’s Getting Things Done method, I fell exactly in that trap: tweaking my to-do lists, installing the latest software on my PDA and clearing my inboxes all worked as perfect excuses to avoid doing what I knew I was supposed to be doing instead!
I<3ME: 10 Ways to Love Yourself You’re running late to class. On top of that, you can’t remember the last time you shaved your legs, you’re sleep-deprived, and the guy you like was just tagged in Facebook pics with another girl. You finally get to class – only to realize you forgot that a huge paper is due. This is definitely not a moment you’ll include in your college scrapbook. We all have moments in life when we’re not exactly our #1 fans. 10. How To Stop Procrastinating | RECOVER... As I mentioned in my last post, stress eating is a result of one of two things. 1.) You have no control over the outcome of something, such as getting laid off or dealing with someone else’s reaction to something you said or did. 2.)You do have control over something, such as paying your bills or cleaning your house, but you can’t seem to get yourself to do it. In the last post, I discussed ways to soothe yourself as you accept the things you cannot change. To procrastinate is to delay important tasks to an unspecified future time. Procrastination usually results in guilt, stress and in some extreme cases, the behavior that replaces the task at hand (the procrastination behavior- what you do instead of studying/paying bills/cleaning/exercising etc.) can cause a crisis or an addiction. If you are already prone to binge eating, procrastination can be catnip for your behavior. How to Stop Procrastinating and Beat Stress Eating 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.) 9.) 10.) ShareThis
How to Meditate - Guided Meditation Techniques - Buddhist Meditations Why You’re Not Happy: Tips for Overcoming 6 Common Barriers to Happiness Six common barriers to personal happiness and fulfillment and how to overcome them. Why do I need to register or sign in for WebMD to save? We will provide you with a dropdown of all your saved articles when you are registered and signed in. Happiness can be a paradox: The more you reach for it, the more it seems to slip through your fingers. “Ask yourself if you’re happy, and you cease to be so,” says Darrin McMahon, PhD, author of Happiness: A History. How could this be true? WebMD's Health Tools and Slideshows © 2008 WebMD, LLC. At the 2008 Happiness & Its Causes Conference in San Francisco, a wide range of people -- from scientists, doctors, and psychologists to artists, philosophers, and Tibetan Buddhists -- offered their thoughts on the topic. Happiness Barrier No. 1: Complexity Solution: Simplify Continue reading below... Schooled in Buddhist monasteries since childhood, Thupten Jinpa, PhD, knows a thing or two about the benefits of simplicity. Happiness Barrier No. 2: A Breakneck Pace
Exercise and Depression part the second: a critique of a critique | The Scicurious Brain Yesterday Hilda Bastian (of the Statistically funny blog which I only just discovered!) posted to the SciAm Guest Blog, with a thoughtful and useful critique of my critique (I know, so meta!) of the recent exercise and depression study. And she’s got some great points. But you know what? I’ve got great points, too. This sort of back and forth is what makes science really fun and interesting and…science! (Source) I will tell you…no wait there is too much. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. So I’m going to start with the excellent points Hilda has made. Secondly, she is right that this is a well-constructed clinical trial. Finally, she’s right that the humans data for exercise and depression is weaker than many people believe it to be. So these are all excellent points. First, the press release and paper. “Numerous studies have reported the positive effects of physical activity for people suffering with depression but our intervention was not an effective strategy for reducing symptoms.” and
The Upside of Anger: 6 Psychological Benefits of Getting Mad We tend to think of anger as a wild, negative emotion, but research finds that anger also has its positive side. There are all sorts of good sensible, civilised reasons to avoid getting angry. Not only does it make you feel bad, it makes you do stupid things without noticing the risks and it can be self-destructive. As a result civilised people do their best to suppress, redirect and mask their anger. But like all emotions anger has its purposes, which can be used to good effect. 1. You sometimes hear people talking about using anger as a motivating force by ‘turning anger into positive energy’. In one study participants were shown objects they associated with a reward. When we see something as beneficial, we want it more when we’re angry. 2. It may sound like an odd thing to say, but angry people have something in common with happy people. Take one study of fear of terrorism carried out in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. 3. 4. 5. 6. Deadly sin or constructive emotion?