Tag Archive
Email Snooze and Gmail Zero
Two years ago, when I still had a day job and Beeminder was just a side project, I wrote about my epic struggle with email: My email is dysfunctional. I keep things in my inbox because I can’t afford for them to go out... »
How to Set Deadlines for Your Students
I’m very deadline driven. So much so that I go to truly ridiculous lengths to impose deadlines on myself. The truly ridiculous lengths are needed, of course, because self-imposed deadlines are notoriously prone to getting weaseled out of. There’s another kind of deadline that is also notoriously prone to getting weaseled out of: instructor-imposed deadlines. It’s a sad fact... »
Flexible Self-Control
The problem of self-control may be a ridiculous first world problem but it's the granddaddy of first world problems and I want to solve it. We live amidst a deluge of opportunities for instant gratification, especially in the form of food and entertainment, and most of us don't handle it well. The general problem, known as akrasia, is this: you understand your own best interests when you consider them dispassionately, but in the moment your decision-making is distorted. The best time for, say, a workout is always "tomorrow".... »
Nominology
Nominology is my neologism for the study of naming things. I’m that good at it! Or at least I think I know good names when I see them. To some extent this is obvious. Ideally you want a name that’s unique, evocative, and not unwieldy. But I’d like to break those desiderata down and suggest... »
(More Than) A Penny Saved is a Penny Wasted, In Which I Trivialize the Entire Industry of Financial Planning
Prescript: This article is by popular demand, having won our meta poll at the beginning of the year. I predict three categories of reactions to it: (1) This is obvious. (2) This is obviously wrong. (3) This is just the rationalization I needed to keep doing what I’m doing! If there’s a fourth category... »
