We’re Optimizing Ourselves Into Oblivion The personal productivity space has become a bloated monster feeding on our collective anxiety about doing enough, being enough, achieving enough. We’ve created an entire industry around the promise that the right app, the right system, or the right morning routine will finally unlock our potential. Meanwhile, millions of people …
The happiness audit I was waiting for the L train when a woman in a bright yellow coat turned to me and asked, “Are you happy?” Not small talk about the weather or train delays. Just that. Her accent suggested she wasn’t from around here, and something about the way she asked made me pause …
Here is the thing I keep coming back to on this. The topic of personal productivity and the anti-hustle backlash rewards more careful attention than the typical coverage provides, and the reason is not complicated once you know where to look. What I find most interesting, and I think you will too, is four-day work …
The Tuesday Morning Discovery I used to think rituals were for people who needed more structure than I did. Then I noticed something odd about my Tuesday mornings. Every Tuesday, without fail, I’d wake up feeling slightly untethered, like I’d forgotten something important but couldn’t name what. It took me three months to connect this …
The Philosophy Professor Who Ruined Small Talk I used to think deep conversations happened naturally, like some people were just born knowing how to skip past weather commentary and dive into the meaning of existence. Then I read “The Art of Living” by Epictetus in a cramped campus bookstore, mostly because the cover looked serious …