Productivity — Writing Things

Is it time to revisit your New Year's Resolution?

We’ve just about come to that point in January where, for many of us, the gust of novelty and promise of a new year is beginning to wear thin. We’re no longer writing and then having to scribble out ‘2023’ when marking down a date. 2024 is starting to settle in. All those ‘I’ll deal with it in the new year’ tasks are also coming back to roost. And, according to Norcross and Vangarello's findings, at the time of writing, between 34 and 40 percent of people reading this will have abandoned their resolution from the New Year.

Suffice it all to say: If you’ve found yourself at this point in January and your resolve is starting to shake, you are far from alone. If our goals for the year are starting to head south, how might we rejuvenate the motivation and energy to bring a resolution back to life?

Productivity, Self, Human BehaviourSonia DiabJanuary 18, 2024self, resolutions, goals, goal setting, self development, change, persistence

I'm staring up your nostrils in 4K but here's a smiley emoji

Zoom fatigue and similar constructs generally describe the experience of exhaustion caused by sitting in many virtual meetings for long stretches of time; a process that seems disproportionately more draining than in-person work.

Research shows that this phenomenon tends to increase alongside app usage frequency, though notably, the quality of your internet connection also plays a role. And, as we might expect, ongoing exhaustion from poorly managed video calls could be a cause for concern. For example, some research has found a positive correlation between videoconferencing fatigue and burnout and depression.

Given the ubiquity of Zoom fatigue, researchers have been hard at work exploring this process in more depth. In a fantastic 2021 article, four theoretical arguments are presented by media psychologist Bailenson, all centring on the idea of Zoom causing ‘non-verbal overload’…

How to keep the momentum going in the final months of 2022

I am at a stage where I’m looking forward to a little break over Christmas, but there is a lot of great stuff that I’m keen to make progress on in the interim. If you’re in a similar position, check out a few tips to help keep the momentum going for these final weeks of the year. None of these is particularly novel: Actually, they are mostly basic. And obvious. But when there’s a lot going on, it’s easy to lose sight of the basics, even though those usually serve us the most. Here’s what I’m focusing on at the moment:

Human Behaviour, ProductivitySonia DiabOctober 18, 2022

Why Humans Struggle To Meet Deadlines

The planning fallacy is the reason one of my best friends, who is renovating the house she bought with her partner, hasn’t moved in yet. It’s the reason launch dates are hard to stick to, and why deadlines seem reasonable when you’re setting them but absurd as the date creeps closer.

Put simply, the planning fallacy is the tendency to underestimate how long and/or challenging a project will be, and overestimate our ability to execute it; resulting in unachievable plans and deadlines that don’t reflect reality.

Human Behaviour, ProductivitySonia DiabDecember 4, 2020planning fallacy, optimism, inside view, anchoring

It Does Not Take 21 Days to Form a Habit

I remember the question being asked in a professional development seminar I was attending once: How many days does it take to build a habit?

My hand shot up and I answered with confidence, “21 days!”

If you enjoy the self-development space, you’ve undoubtedly heard the same.

But the sneaky facilitator looked at me with a cheeky grin. “Actually, that’s not right…”

Human Behaviour, ProductivitySonia DiabNovember 16, 2020habit

Why People Are So Self-Conscious

If you’ve ever accidentally worn mismatching socks, or woken up with a pimple you can’t hide, or worn an outfit that defies your usual wardrobe style, you have probably felt it. That sense that everyone is looking at you; judging your appearance or noticing that flaw.

By the time you get home, you may have convinced yourself that your socks or pimple or slight alteration of appearance is the talk of the town.

Surely everyone in the office noticed as soon as you got to work in the morning.

The thing is... they probably didn’t.

How to Get a Better Night's Sleep

Sleep is the opportunity for our brains and bodies to recharge. It helps our waking concentration, planning, memory, and weight-regulation. Sleep deprivation has been linked to irritability, increased anxiety, poor memory, reduced reasoning and verbal skills, and physical dysfunction on almost every conceivable level from obesity to the risk of motor vehicle accidents to cardiovascular problems. There are also estimates that about 90% of clinically depressed patients note issues with sleep quality, including insomnia.

Productivity, Human BehaviourSonia DiabSeptember 22, 2020sleep

What Your Smartphone Habits Reveal About Your Personality, According to Science

Our phones have become intrinsically connected to our identities. According to an analysis by dscout, the average person touches their phone 2,617 times every single day. For most people, it’s never more than a few feet away. It’s part of who we are now.

Although an analysis of someone’s smartphone provides insight into their personal story, it turns out there are elements we can use to predict personality, too…

Productivity, Human BehaviourSonia DiabSeptember 9, 2020phone, PersonalityComment

The Power of Silence

Silence is golden

“Be silent, or say something better than silence.” -Pythagoras

We hear many stories of philosophers, writers, inventors and thinkers embracing silence. How they would go for long walks with nothing but the sound of nature to accompany them, or sit and think, alone, in their studies.

Human Behaviour, Productivity, Leadership and Influence, PhilosophySonia DiabSeptember 4, 2020silence

On Productivity: Decision Fatigue and Crappy Afternoons

We have a limited amount of energy for decision-making, so minimising the peripheral choices we would otherwise add to the mix can help us focus on more important things. Otherwise, by the time evening rolls around, we end up irritable and exhausted. You could find yourself at the tail end of the workday, making dumb concessions in a negotiation. Or, you could be so mentally drained that you give in to your impulse to order too much junk food from UberEats. Lowered inhibitions and stupid choices because our brain is done and over it.

Creativity: 6 Surprising Ways to Enhance Your Creative Flow

Although there are probably genetic components to creativity, as there is with most things connected to our individual personalities, there is a lot of evidence that we can develop our creativity, too.

Here are 6 ways we can nurture and enhance our creative flow:

Human Behaviour, ProductivitySonia DiabAugust 11, 2020Creativity, productivity