Stop Pursuing Greatness & Do This Instead (Change Your Life In 2025) In this episode of IN-DEPTH, Cal welcomes the bestselling author Kendra Adachi to talk about her new book, THE PLAN, which introduces the innovative idea of “compassionate time management.” Kenda and Cal discuss how to move beyond the forever pursuit of “greatness” to instead seek satisfaction in your current life; the ways in which time management and productivity writing ignores the specific concerns of women; and why flexibility and pivoting are more important skills than precise planning. ---- What goes without saying is Muslims already have all these answers embedded in our scholarly and Sufi traditions - it looks like that part of the western world which has not gone completely bonkers on the dunya are rediscovering the basics.
Q. Why does deep work make you a top performer? A. Because it ensures consistent mylenation of those neural-circuits which are needed to get the task at hand done. Mylenation acts like insualtion around those circuits, and it ensures that the next time current flows down them, it flows loss-lessly and across the right nodes. If the network of neurons that are firing represents a "chess move" or a "solving a design problem in a specific domain" - you get that much good at those speciifc things. In this model, the brain is a mega-network of neurons with different levels of mylenation, each sub-net representing an art or skill or memory, and you are accordingly good or poor at those tasks. To be an expert at something, is to be well myelinated. === From MedlinePlus: Myelin is an insulating layer, or sheath that forms around nerves, including those in the brain and spinal cord. It is made up of protein and fatty substances. This myelin sheath allows electrical impulses to transmit quickly and efficiently along the nerve cells. If myelin is damaged, these impulses slow down. This can cause diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Further Reading The Mechanical Basis of Memory - the MeshCODE Theory Rapid conduction and the evolution of giant axons and myelinated fibers Myelin plasticity and behaviour — connecting the dots Myelin Dynamics Throughout Life: An Ever-Changing Landscape?
The Art of Sustainable Performance: The Zeigarnik Effect Abstract Why does one organization remain successful while others are falling apart or just disappear? Why is one person successful over and over again, while no one expected him or her to be? The secret of winning persons and teams seems to lie in performance indicators and personality traits, on which—strangely enough—many organizations just do not select their employees. TL;DR Have a system to first record and then track unfinished goals. If the system is robust and you can "trust it with your life" - you will stop worrying about 'pending commitments', becaue you know that what's in the system will eventually get done, when the time is ripe for it - and so you will live "in the moment" - focus on the task at hand and forget about everything else. You get "in the flow" and deep work ensues.
The Science of Self-Help - Goofy advice, dubious wisdom, and neuro-gurus. Apart from the books he praises (towards the end of the long article) I will suggest "Range" by David Epstein - especially because it is a kind of counter-point to "Outliers" (by Malcolm Gladwell mentioned in that piece) and the 10,000 hour rule. Another recommendation would be "Where Good Ideas Come From" by Steven Johnson. I have also seen, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" on a few reading lists. It's more of a philosophical and meandering kind of writing. Among other oft-recommended authors from the same genre are Daniel Kahneman, Adam Grant, David Allen (GTD) and ofc the famous Edward De-Bono. All these are free from New Age fluff - but I haven't read any of them cover to cover - so you must take this list as provisional only.
One of the best productivity books I've ever read - and it clicks with my own experience. This is an interesting podcast about it. But do read the book as well. If you are not sure, you can explore some of the video summaries and TED talks by the author.
