I went from “Always Connected” to “Always Disconnected.” In practice, it works like this: On my phone, wifi and mobile data are standard off. I only turn it on when I need it. On my laptop, I use an app called SelfControl during the times I work (try FocusMe for Windows). The app blocks distracting sites. The advantage is that my apps like Evernote, DayOne, Office 365 remain connected so I can save my work in the cloud.

Why Disconnecting from the Internet

Are you also tired of putting off your dreams until "tomorrow?" Guess what! Tomorrow never comes. Am I right? I've procrastinated and putt off my desire to write a book for a decade. I always came up with excuses like, "it's not the right time." Or, "I need to do more research." But in 2015 I got tired of this endless procrastination, and finally took action. Six months later, my first book was published. Look, we all have limited time on our hands. And we're getting closer to death every single minute. That shouldn't scare. That should motivate you! Time is limited, that's why we must do the things we want: Today. In this "best of" collection, I've handpicked 30 of my best articles that help you to overcome procrastination, improve your productivity, and achieve all the things you always wanted. Plus, I've written an extensive introduction about my life and work philosophy. And I've made many improvements and edits to the articles. So the content of this book is different from the articles on my site. In Do It Today, you'll learn: 1.Why we procrastinate and how we can overcome it 2.How to increase your productivity without being stressful 3.How to achieve more meaningful things in your life so you can enjoy it more Are you ready to start reading this book? If so: Do it today--not tomorrow.

productivity

Productivity

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

Are you also tired of putting off your dreams until "tomorrow?" Guess what! Tomorrow never comes. Am I right? I've procrastinated and putt off my desire to write a book for a decade. I always came up with excuses like, "it's not the right time." Or, "I need to do more research." But in 2015 I got tired of this endless procrastination, and finally took action. Six months later, my first book was published. Look, we all have limited time on our hands. And we're getting closer to death every single minute. That shouldn't scare. That should motivate you! Time is limited, that's why we must do the things we want: Today. In this "best of" collection, I've handpicked 30 of my best articles that help you to overcome procrastination, improve your productivity, and achieve all the things you always wanted. Plus, I've written an extensive introduction about my life and work philosophy. And I've made many improvements and edits to the articles. So the content of this book is different from the articles on my site. In Do It Today, you'll learn: 1.Why we procrastinate and how we can overcome it 2.How to increase your productivity without being stressful 3.How to achieve more meaningful things in your life so you can enjoy it more Are you ready to start reading this book? If so: Do it today--not tomorrow.

Darius Foroux (pronounced as Da-reeus Fo-roo) is the author of 7 books, and the creator of 6 online courses. He writes about productivity, business, and wealth building. His ideas and work have been featured in TIME, NBC, Fast Company, Inc., Observer, and many more publications. Until now, more than 30 million people have read his articles.

Darius Foroux

Do It Today: Overcome Procrastination, Improve Productivity, and Achieve More Meaningful Things

The brain controls us and defines our behavior.It's responsible not only for thinking, learning, and mental abilities; the brain reacts to every tiny stimulus inside the body and in the outer world.

Brain

The brain is the very essence of our personality and abilities. Unraveling the brain will help us understand the basis of human behavior and actions.

A vivid account of what makes us human.   Based groundbreaking new research, We Are Our Brains is a sweeping biography of the human brain, from infancy to adulthood to old age. Renowned neuroscientist D. F. Swaab takes us on a guided tour of the intricate inner workings that determine our potential, our limitations, and our desires, with each chapter serving as an eye-opening window on a different stage of brain development: the gender differences that develop in the embryonic brain, what goes on in the heads of adolescents, how parenthood permanently changes the brain.   Moving beyond pure biological understanding, Swaab presents a controversial and multilayered ethical argument surrounding the brain. Far from possessing true free will, Swaab argues, we have very little control over our everyday decisions, or who we will become, because our brains predetermine everything about us, long before we are born, from our moral character to our religious leanings to whom we fall in love with. And he challenges many of our prevailing assumptions about what makes us human, decoding the intricate “moral networks” that allow us to experience emotion, revealing maternal instinct to be the result of hormonal changes in the pregnant brain, and exploring the way that religious “imprinting” shapes the brain during childhood. Rife with memorable case studies, We Are Our Brains is already a bestselling international phenomenon. It aims to demystify the chemical and genetic workings of our most mysterious organ, in the process helping us to see who we are through an entirely new lens.   Did you know?   • The father’s brain is affected in pregnancy as well as the mother’s. • The withdrawal symptoms we experience at the end of a love affair mirror chemical addiction. • Growing up bilingual reduces the likelihood of Alzheimer’s. • Parental religion is imprinted on our brains during early development, much as our native language is. Praise for We Are Our Brains   “Swaab’s ‘neurobiography’ is witty, opinionated, passionate, and, above all, cerebral.”—Booklist (starred review)   “A fascinating survey . . . Swaab employs both personal and scientific observation in near-equal measure.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)   “A cogent, provocative account of how twenty-first-century ‘neuroculture’ has the potential to effect profound medical and social change.”—Kirkus Reviews

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

health

Health

habits

Habits

books

Books

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

D. F. Swaab

We Are Our Brains

<ul>
<li>Your core values are your internal compass. They act as the filter through which you run all of life’s requests, requests, and temptations, making sure they’re leading you toward your intended destination.</li>
<li>Getting your core values defined and adjusted is one of the most important steps in redirecting your life toward your own definition of success.</li>
<li>Decision-making is also easier when you are certain of your core values.</li>
</ul>

Core Values: Your Personal GPS

Repeated choices become habits. The first step toward change is awareness and the best way to become aware is to measure.
<ul>
<li>Track every action that relates to the area of your life you want to improve.</li>
<li>Start off with an easy tempo. Just track one habit for one week.</li>
<li>Pick the habit that has the greatest control over you; that’s where you’ll start.</li>
<li>Once you start tracking your life, your attention will be focused on the smallest things you’re doing right, as well as the smallest things you’re doing wrong.</li>
</ul>

Become Aware Of Your Choices

<ul>
<li>95 percent of everything we feel, think, do, and achieve is a result of a learned habit.</li>
<li>With enough practice and repetition, any behavior, good or bad, becomes automatic over time.</li>
<li>That means that even though we developed most of our habits unconsciously (by modeling our parents, responding to environmental or cultural associations, or creating coping mechanisms), we can consciously decide to change them.</li>
<li>The habits you indulge in could be compounding your life into a repeated disaster.</li>
</ul>

Creatures of Habit

<ul>
<li>The most motivating choices are ones that align with your “why” and your purpose.</li>
<li>You need a deep why for doing stuff. With a why that is meaningful enough, you will do almost anything.</li>
<li>The access point to your why-power is through your core values, which define both who you are and what you stand for.</li>
</ul>

Find Your "Why" Power

problemsolving

Problem Solving

7 Books on Habits

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, based on the principle that little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or to disaster by default. No gimmicks. No Hyperbole. No Magic Bullet. The Compound Effect is a distillation of the fundamental principles that have guided the most phenomenal achievements in business, relationships, and beyond. This easy-to-use, step-by-step operating system allows you to multiply your success, chart your progress, and achieve any desire. If you're serious about living an extraordinary life, use the power of The Compound Effect to create the success you want. You will find strategies including: How to win--every time! The No. 1 strategy to achieve any goal and triumph over any competitor, even if they're smarter, more talented or more experienced. Eradicating your bad habits (some you might be unaware of!) that are derailing your progress. The real, lasting keys to motivation--how to get yourself to do things you don't feel like doing. Capturing the elusive, awesome force of momentum. Catch this, and you'll be unstoppable. The acceleration secrets of superachievers. Do they have an unfair advantage? Yes they do, and now you can too!

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, based on the principle that little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or to disaster by default. No gimmicks. No Hyperbole. No Magic Bullet. The Compound Effect is a distillation of the fundamental principles that have guided the most phenomenal achievements in business, relationships, and beyond. This easy-to-use, step-by-step operating system allows you to multiply your success, chart your progress, and achieve any desire. If you're serious about living an extraordinary life, use the power of The Compound Effect to create the success you want. You will find strategies including: <ul><li>How to win--every time! The No. 1 strategy to achieve any goal and triumph over any competitor, even if they're smarter, more talented or more experienced.</li><li>Eradicating your bad habits (some you might be unaware of!) that are derailing your progress.</li><li>The real, lasting keys to motivation--how to get yourself to do things you don't feel like doing.</li><li>Capturing the elusive, awesome force of momentum. Catch this, and you'll be unstoppable.</li><li>The acceleration secrets of superachievers. Do they have an unfair advantage? Yes they do, and now you can too! </li></ul>

Darren Hardy is an American author, keynote speaker, advisor, and former publisher of SUCCESS magazine. Hardy is a New York Times best-selling author, who wrote The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster, Living Your Best Year Ever and The Compound Effect. 

Darren Hardy

The Compound Effect

It is anything that keeps you from focusing and thinking straight. Stray thoughts, tasks, fears, worries, details to remember: they all add up to mental clutter, preventing you from focusing on the present.All that takes energy away from the work you’re meant to do and the moments you are supposed to be present. Getting rid of mental clutter brings more clarity, focus, efficiency, creativity and productivity. It also reduces stress and forgetfulness

Mental Clutter

Stray thoughts, fears, worries, details to remember: they all add up to mental clutter. What could you accomplish if all that mental space were freed up? Are you focused and present, or are you mentally running through your to-do list, thinking about email replies, and debating where to go to lunch while also catching up on online reading (like this article for example)?

timemanagement

Time Management

The Importance of Removing Mental Clutter

Few people have a passion that neatly translates into a career, and following one's passions often leads to misguided career moves. Rather, your satisfaction at work has more to do with your experience with that work rather than the type of work.
To have intrinsic motivation at work, you need:
<ol>
<li>Autonomy - feeling like you have control over your time</li>
<li>Competence – the feeling that you’re good at your work</li>
<li>Relatedness – connecting with other people in the process</li>
</ol>

"Follow your passions" is bad advice

<ul>
<li>A "passion mindset" focuses on what the world can offer to you - what perfect job can you find to fit your passions? This often leads to confusion and wandering from job to job.</li>
<li>A "craftsman mindset" focuses on what you can offer the world in whatever position you are in and offers clarity.</li>
</ul>

Think about what you can offer the world

In an unorthodox approach, Georgetown University professor Cal Newport debunks the long-held belief that "follow your passion" is good advice, and sets out on a quest to discover the reality of how people end up loving their careers. Not only are pre-existing passions rare and have little to do with how most people end up loving their work, but a focus on passion over skill can be dangerous, leading to anxiety and chronic job hopping. Spending time with organic farmers, venture capitalists, screenwriters, freelance computer programmers, and others who admitted to deriving great satisfaction from their work, Newport uncovers the strategies they used and the pitfalls they avoided in developing their compelling careers. Cal reveals that matching your job to a pre-existing passion does not matter. Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before. In other words, what you do for a living is much less important than how you do it. With a title taken from the comedian Steve Martin, who once said his advice for aspiring entertainers was to "be so good they can't ignore you," Cal Newport's clearly written manifesto is mandatory reading for anyone fretting about what to do with their life, or frustrated by their current job situation and eager to find a fresh new way to take control of their livelihood. He provides an evidence-based blueprint for creating work you love, and will change the way you think about careers, happiness, and the crafting of a remarkable life.

In an unorthodox approach, Georgetown University professor Cal Newport debunks the long-held belief that "follow your passion" is good advice, and sets out on a quest to discover the reality of how people end up loving their careers. Not only are pre-existing passions rare and have little to do with how most people end up loving their work, but a focus on passion over skill can be dangerous, leading to anxiety and chronic job hopping. Spending time with organic farmers, venture capitalists, screenwriters, freelance computer programmers, and others who admitted to deriving great satisfaction from their work, Newport uncovers the strategies they used and the pitfalls they avoided in developing their compelling careers. Cal reveals that matching your job to a pre-existing passion does not matter. Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before. In other words, what you do for a living is much less important than how you do it. With a title taken from the comedian Steve Martin, who once said his advice for aspiring entertainers was to "be so good they can't ignore you," Cal Newport's clearly written manifesto is mandatory reading for anyone fretting about what to do with their life, or frustrated by their current job situation and eager to find a fresh new way to take control of their livelihood. He provides an evidence-based blueprint for creating work you love, and will change the way you think about careers, happiness, and the crafting of a remarkable life.

Cal Newport is Provost’s Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, and the author of seven books. His ideas and writing are frequently featured in major publications and on TV and radio.From his website: "I write about the intersection of digital technology and culture. I’m particularly interested in our struggle to deploy these tools in ways that support instead of subvert the things we care about in both our personal and professional lives."

Do It Today: Overcome Procrastination, Improve Productivity, and Achieve More Meaningful Things

We Are Our Brains

The Compound Effect

It's time to Read like a Pro.

The Importance of Removing Mental Clutter

It's time to
Read like a Pro.