How to Apply It: If you work with others, create an environment where everyone feels heard.Ask for feedback, share your ideas openly, and encourage others to do the same.This can be as simple as being open to suggestions in meetings or praising someone’s input, making the team more innovative and productive.

Team Psychological Safety

"Without data, you're just another person with an opinion."

How to Apply It: When making decisions, think about all possible outcomes and how likely they are.For instance, if you’re deciding between two job offers, consider not just the obvious pros and cons but also how likely you are to enjoy each role.This helps you make smarter, more informed decisions.

Probabilistic Thinking

How to Apply It: Focus on what matters most in your day. Use techniques like setting specific times for different tasks (like deep work for 90 minutes), or use a to-do list to manage distractions.This ensures your attention stays on high-priority tasks instead of getting sidetracked by small, less important things.

Attention Management

How to Apply It: If you manage a team or work in a group, give people more freedom to make decisions.Encourage experimentation by testing small changes before making bigger decisions.This creates a more flexible environment and speeds up problem-solving, helping you reach solutions faster.

Lean Management Principles

How to Apply It: Set clear, realistic goals (like finishing a project in a week) but also challenge yourself with bigger, long-term goals (like aiming for a promotion or running a marathon).Use SMART goals for daily tasks and stretch goals to push your limits. This combination keeps you on track while inspiring you to do more.

SMART + Stretch Goals

The stories we tell ourselves become the stories we live.

How to Apply It: Create stories in your mind to make sense of your life and decisions.When you face a challenge, think of it as part of your personal story. How you overcame it and what you learned.This helps you remember important lessons and gives you clarity when making decisions in the future.

Narrative Creation

How to Apply It: Look for ways to combine existing ideas in creative ways.If you’re working on a project, try mixing ideas from different fields or hobbies you have.For example, if you’re a photographer, consider how technology trends might affect your art.Innovation often comes from blending old ideas in new ways.

Innovation Through Recombination

How to Apply It: Make small decisions that align with your big goals. For example, if you’re working out, decide to make exercise a choice, not a chore. Choose activities you enjoy or that bring you closer to your goals, like healthier food options. This helps you stay motivated.

Motivation Through Choice

"The best way to predict the future is to create it."

How to Apply It: When you’re working on something, take regular breaks to step back and see the bigger picture.For instance, if you’re deep in a project, take a few minutes to think about how it fits into your long-term goals.This keeps you from getting stuck in a narrow focus and helps you think more creatively.

Cognitive Tunneling Awareness

How to Apply It: Instead of just reading or listening to information, engage with it actively.For example, if you’re learning something new, try creating diagrams or teaching the concept to a friend. This active engagement helps the information stick and boosts your learning.

Data Engagement Techniques

10 Secrets to Becoming Smarter, Faster, and Better at Anything!

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of The Power of Habit and “master of the life hack” (GQ) explores the fascinating science of productivity and offers real-world takeaways to apply your life, whether you’re chasing peak productivity or simply trying to get back on track. “Duhigg melds cutting-edge science, deep reporting, and wide-ranging stories to give us a fuller, more human way of thinking about how productivity actually happens.”—Susan Cain, author of Quiet   In The Power of Habit, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Charles Duhigg explained why we do what we do. In Smarter Faster Better, he applies the same relentless curiosity and rich storytelling to how we can improve at the things we do.    At the core of Smarter Faster Better are eight key concepts—from motivation and goal setting to focus and decision making—that explain why some people and companies get so much done. Drawing on the latest findings in neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics—as well as the experiences of CEOs, educational reformers, four-star generals, FBI agents, airplane pilots, and Broadway songwriters—this book reveals that the most productive people, companies, and organizations don’t merely act differently. They view the world, and their choices, in profoundly different ways.   Smarter Faster Better is a story-filled exploration of the science of productivity, one that can help us learn to succeed with less stress and struggle—and become smarter, faster, and better at everything we do.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

habits

Habits

timemanagement

Time Management

books

Books

Charles Duhigg is an American journalist and non-fiction author. He was a reporter for The New York Times, currently writes for The New Yorker Magazine and is the author of two books on habits and productivity, titled The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business and Smarter Faster Better.

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