In the early 20th century, some businesses started adopting the practice of using small text, also known as fine print, to concealing important terms of agreement with the understanding that very few are inclined to read tiny text. 

In 2010, London-based UX designer Harry Brignull coined the term dark patterns...

Training in the gym 15 minutes every day is more beneficial for your health across a wide range of measures than doing an intense workout one day out of the year. 

Learning how to code over a period of 6 months will result in more information retention than if you’d...

There are things we feel like we have to do. 

And then there are things we feel like we get to do. 

Things we have to do — kind of dreadful. 

Things we get to do — exciting!

Here’s the good news: have and get are interchangeable in...

A distinct possibility that is seldom considered: perhaps the lack of progress isn’t a sign of insufficient effort or poor coordination, but a sign that you’re focusing on the wrong problem or set of problems. 

The failure of Sony’s e-reader wasn’t for a lack of good hardware be design, but rather...

Last week I wrote about my team engaging in a 36-hour surge effort to complete 1 mission-critical deliverable.

One of the things I learned from that experience is that the idea of focus having two important dimensions. 

In one sense, focus has to do with your ability to pay attention...

The feeling of not being heard is a non-starter in any context: work, friends, relationships, etc. 

It’s important to listen first. 

When people feel heard, they feel better. 

When people feel heard, you get better adoption for the plans being proposed. 

When people feel heard, you enable...

Trying to be something you are not is exhausting. 

If you don’t feel like you have enough information to develop an opinion about a problem, it’s okay to say “I don’t know” while you gather the information you need. 

Your professional stature doesn’t depend on you having all the...

Caring requires a lot of mental energy and resources. 

Caring is a choice. 

Ask yourself: what things are are worth choosing to care about? What things are worthy of your finite mental and emotional energy to? 

Family? Well worth it. 

Friendships? Well worth it.

Important problems? Well...

Imagine you’re at what feels like an important stage in a project and you’re feeling borderline burnt out. What do you do? Do you take time off or do keep getting after the work? 

If your gut is telling you to take time off, congratulations — you get it....

It feels good to get things done quickly. 

But it doesn’t mean we should try to do everything quickly. 

When you finish a deliverable on Friday, that’s one less thing to worry about the following week. 

When you get an answer to your boss today instead of...