New posts #

• Knowledge sharing at work
• Two architecture rules more people should follow
• You Don't Know JS: Scope & Closures (#2) by Kyle Simpson.
• Digital Minimalism

Books I've been reading #

You Don't Know JS: Scope & Closures (#2) by Kyle Simpson. #

Learn what scope and hoisting mean and how variables work.

full review

Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor E. Frankl #

The prevailing culture is obsessed with finding your passion and how can you be happier. Frankl asks an entirely different question. It is similar to the philosophy of stoicism. You are asking what am I supposed to do instead of making demands from the world.

"Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how.’"
— Friedrich Nietzsche

“Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.”
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

“Don't aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself (...)"
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

Happiness and Success share this counterintuitive characteristic. If you want to have them - then you better forget about them and focus on your work and obligations.

"Why don't you kill yourself?"
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

Asking depressed patients for the reason they live can help them focus on the good parts of their lives. But, I'm not sure if I can recommend logotherapy and you will be better off with CBT.

Mindshift #

When you prioritize what skills to learn, it's good to start with the idea of T-shaped person. Unfortunately, your expertise can get obsolete. Depending on only one skill will make you fragile. It's a good idea to add a second skill at some point to make yourself a 𝜋-shaped person. Having two skills can even make you better at your primary craft.

If you work with Pomodoro, then it's crucial to take a break when the Pomodoro ends. It's time for the brain to build connections and rest.

Getting new skills when you get older might be harder, but it's not impossible. Participating in a Massive open online course will be much easier to fit in your existing work and family schedule than a traditional university degree.

Digital Minimalism #

Digital tools are designed to cling and get as much of our attention as possible. The more of them fight for your attention, the less energy, time, and focus you have for everything else. How do you reclaim your attention, time, and energy from them?

Read my full review of Digital Minimalism

Pomodoro Technique #

What was unexpected for me was how organized the Pomodoro practice can be. Just focusing for 25 minutes and taking 5 minutes brakes seems trivial and easy to understand, but there is more to it. What I've missed before reading it:

• always take a break when Pomodoro ends!
• one Pomodoro is not that important. You should think in a set of 4 pomodoros at a time.
• If you think the task will take more than five pomodoros then it's too big. Split it into smaller tasks.

Extreme Leadership #

I can recommend it to all kinds of leaders because of the two ideas:

• Your people have to know why they are doing things. If they don't, then it's your fault as a leader.
• Orders and policies should be simple. If workers have a hard time understanding them, then they are too complicated.

Elsewhere on the Web #

New Insights into Self-Insight: More May Not Be Better

What's interesting in the study mentioned in the article is that it got accepted for publication before the results were known.

Beyond its unanticipated findings, the new study is notable for how it was conducted. It was a registered report, a new and still relatively rare process that fundamentally shifts the way scientific research is published by front-loading peer review into the planning stages of a study and accepting that study, in principle, for publication before any data have been collected, regardless of the result. Such an approach is expressly intended for confirmatory research comparing competing hypotheses.

It's still too early to make big claims about the results, but the results are fascinating.

“People who report being more adjusted are those who have a combination of relatively lower true abilities and actual higher views of themselves,”
— Stéphane Côté

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