One suggestion to alleviate our society's misinformation problem is that people should take a stronger personal and civic responsibility to be informed and educate themselves in critical thinking and media literacy. This view puts the primary responsibility for our current informational predicament on individuals. It views them as somehow cognitively deficient. However, this view is mistaken.

A wrong view on how to reduce society's misinformation problem

The epistemic condition of responsibility states that one can only be held responsible for outcomes that one caused knowingly. For people to cause actions knowingly, they must be aware of what they are doing, the consequences, and alternatives to the action, and that the action is morally significant. Accepting the epistemic condition of responsibility raises a complex philosophical question when applied to the proposed responsibility to be informed. Since awareness and knowledge are necessary for responsibility, how knowingly do people know and share things?

The epistemic condition of responsibility

Two arguments support the view that people’s belief-forming and information-sharing behaviour generally does not fulfil the epistemic condition of responsibility. <ol><li>How people treat new claims are based on previous experiences, which are based on previous experiences etc. But this view would indicate that people's behaviour is only based on an involuntary sequence of events.</li><li>People do have some degree of agency. They form ideas from information environments of old and new forms of media, education and cultural institutions and virtual spaces.</li></ol>

Reasons against the epistemic condition of responsibility

If we accept that citizens are not primarily causally responsible for our poor information environments, they may still have a remedial responsibility to fix them.However, it is unclear when a person is informed if it will improve information practices. <ul><li>Many people will react defensively to simply being blamed for their ignorance.</li><li>If responsibility could be articulated without blaming citizens, there is no guarantee that citizens would successfully practice their responsibility to be informed.</li></ul>

The responsibility to be informed

Citizens should be encouraged to do what they can to prevent disinformation. For example: <ul><li>Staying mindful of the sources of online information</li><li>Pausing to consider the context, bias or the satirical nature of a story before sharing</li><li>Checking the publication date</li><li>Disinformation is effective when repeated often, so try to remain critical of outlandish content that you encounter repeatedly.</li><li>Be aware of cheapfake videos as they create manipulations by conventional editing techniques.</li><li>Reverse image searches can also reveal suspicious sources for specific images.</li></ul>

Encouraging responsibility to prevent disinformation

Leaning away from individual responsibility means that the burden should be shifted to those who have structural control over our information environments. Solutions include placing accountability and responsibility on technology companies, government, regulatory bodies, traditional media and political parties.

Responsibility of those who have structural control

As tech giants and algorithms distort the information landscape, what’s left of the individual’s duty to be informed?

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

On the moral responsibility to be an informed citizen | Psyche Ideas

Making historyIn 2016, Sikkim was recognised as the "first organic state in the world and crime-free state with the best governance" by the World Book of Record London.The government of Sikkim stepped into the organic mission process in 2003, the year when it stopped imports of chemical fertiliser in the state.

World's First "ORGANIC STATE SIKKIM"

With the green revolution in the 1960s, India increased its crop production and the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides increased simultaneously. This affected agriculture along with water, air and land. Recognising its adverse impact on the environment, sikkim promoted organic farming.

TACKING THE PROBLEM 

Organic farming makes ise of cow dung, compost manure, green manure, bio pesticides, earthworm manure, neem came, lemongrass, fruit residues, and bacterial culture.The use of organic and fossil fertiliser instead of chemicals and insecticides keeps the soil fertile and reduces the risk of droughts.

A GREENER WAY OF FARMING

To make Sikkim an organic state, organic practices were implemented on around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land. In this action plan, the Sikkim government prohibited the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The violation of this law could lead to imprisonment of 3 months including a fine of 1 lakh.

THE ROAD OF ORGANIC 

The government initiated partnerships with many agricultural R&D organisations in the country and overseas including biological research from Switzerland.Organic farming was done on 8,35,000 hectares of land in Sikkim, whicb benefited about 4,00,000 farmers.

SETTING AN EXAMPLE 

The state government adopted villages to convert them into bio- villages.People were made aware of organic fertilisers and organic manutmre was made available to all. In addition, nutrition management, techniques, pest management, and laboratories for farming were also introduced.

BIO- VILLAGE

In 2018, Sikkim was honoured by The United Nation's Fertiliser and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) with an Oscar Award for its best policies to acquire 100% organic farming

THE OSCAR GOES TO...

India ranks first in the number of organic farmers and fourth in terms of area under organic farming. Many states like Uttarakhand and Tripura have set targets similar to Sikkim to go fully organic

A TRADITIONALLY "ORGANIC COUNTY"

How is organic husbandry done in Sikkim? We should always learn new things 😍

"ORGANIC GREEN"

Done is better than perfect.

We live in a very interesting moment in which women have the highest level of expression in history, mostly thanks to the feminist movements of the 60s and 70s.On the other hand, because it seems like the fight for equality has been won, progress has been taking place, and things have been evolving, however at a low pace. Inequality of genders still exists in various spheres of society, mainly when it comes to careers and work.

Much Yet To Conquer

<ul><li>Despite significant progress, it is important to be aware that gender inequality still exists.</li><li>Women are still discriminated against, and many aren’t aware of the ongoing bias.</li><li>Women are noticeably absent from leadership positions.</li><li>Whether it’s due to childhood learned bias or motherhood, many women tend to be less committed to pursuing leadership positions.</li></ul>Example: Only 4% of Fortune 500 company CEOs are women even though women outperform men in pre-professional academic settings.

The Truth About Gender Equality In The Modern Age

What would you do if you weren't afraid?

<ul><li>Talk openly with others about inequality to work together towards a solution</li><li>Discussing gender inequality often identifies opportunities to help close the gap.</li></ul>Example: Professors who know that women are less likely to raise their hand in class may call on an equal number of males and females in order to level the imbalance.  <ul><li>Fake confidence until you build it naturally</li><li>Many women are plagued by the “imposter syndrome,” where they believe their skills are inferior and thus hold back in areas where career progression requires confidence.</li></ul>

Inequality At Work And The Self Confidence Of A Woman

There's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women.

In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.

Many times, we think that a masculine world discriminates women, but in reality, women also sabotage themselves.Both sexes have a perception of less value for the female sex, and we need to be attentive to these matters since this valid sexism exists and affects our lives.This hidden inequality also exists in the family environment and in relationships, where many times you expect the woman stalls her career to take care of the children.

Hidden Inequality

Gender stereotypes also act in veiled sexism. Society does not expect women to prioritize their careers or be ambitious, and it labels those who do it as bossy, among other things.These stereotypes are reinforced throughout life for the whole society, from childhood, ultimately limiting the perspectives of each gender.

Gender Stereotyping

It is necessary that the subject of gender inequality is increasingly addressed so that it is recognized, and eventually reduced. It is not a matter of demanding special treatment for women, but rather of engaging people in the cause and seeking solutions.When the conversation occurs, more women are inspired to lead change and more men who understand the problem want to become part of the solution to this inequality.Getting people to know and understand the problem helps us channel changes, albeit small ones, day in and day out.

Equality Has To Be The Agenda

Women often do not support each other, and to achieve a less inequitable scenario, we must change that.An example: if a woman manages to reach a leadership position in a mostly male company, she begins to feel threatened by other women and thus hinders their promotions. That is a type of behaviour that reinforces the current status of inequality.Another example: mothers who stay at home and do not have jobs constantly emotionally discourage working mothers, leaving them insecure about their careers.

The Women Is An Enemy Of Other Women

The shortage of females in the highest levels of leadership puts the couple of women who get to positions of power under in-depth examination, transforming them into representatives for their whole gender, regardless of whether they want to play that part or not.Example: The firestorm of negative feedback aimed at the president and CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer after she declared that she would do her job all throughout her maternity leave.

The Few Women On Top Are Scrutinized

Stereotypes do exist and still affect the way our brain processes information.Even today, society expects men to be decisive and direct and women sensitive. A successful woman breaks with her gender stereotype, and this causes her to face unnecessary resistance from society.Competent and ambitious men are praised while these women are described pejoratively. To further complicate things, trying to fit into an expected gender role can also limit a woman’s career.

Men Are From Mars And Women Are From Venus

Honest and transparent communication is essential to developing a promising career. It strengthens relationships, allows for challenging unsubstantiated decisions, and helps tackle complicated issues.Many women are afraid to talk about what they think about work, thinking that it causes them to be denied or criticized.It is the leader’s role to encourage authenticity by asking for feedback and suggestions, as well as publicly thanking those who have given their opinions and cared about an issue.

Express Yourself With Clarity And Transparency

There is no absolute truth, so to communicate effectively, you must first try to see things as the other.A good phrase to put yourself in the other’s position would be: “I understood that you are concerned about this because you feel …” Another tip of communication is to use the “I” to show your opinions and disagreements: “I think that we should do this another way … “, and never” You’re wrong.”

Be Politely Honest, Not Brutally Honest

You will not be able to do everything. Women may have a greater concern and feel that they are leaving things “on hold”, but it is important to have balance and focus.Even if you are an executive at a large company, you need to set boundaries and work within them.There is pressure on mothers to spend more time with their children, and this can create a sense of guilt in mothers who have a job.

Focus On What Matters

<ul><li>Find time to go to your children’s school, but do not worry about making the beds to perfection.</li><li>Find solutions that are sustainable in the long run, both at home and at work.</li><li>There is no recipe for balancing a meaningful personal life and a career in success, find out what works for you.</li></ul>

Finding The Balance

Self-made limits women put in front of themselves. Even the author was liable for similar conduct.Women are not in possession of enough self-confidence and are inclined to underestimate themselves. They are less decisive, as well, and feel more hesitant to self-promote and negotiate for themselves as opposed to their male partners.Alos, they want people to like them, which, as the author clarifies, can hamper their power.

Blocking Your Own Progress

The author urges the woman to sit at the table, lean in and speak up. Women should not be afraid to make sure their voices are heard. Apart from the workplace, women need to make real partners out of their partners and try to develop an equal distribution of labour at home.Until you decide that it is time to leave, stay fully engaged.

Lean In!

Sheryl Sandberg's balanced and honest take on gender inequality.

The #1 international best seller In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg reignited the conversation around women in the workplace. Sandberg is chief operating officer of Facebook and coauthor of Option B with Adam Grant. In 2010, she gave an electrifying TED talk in which she described how women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers. Her talk, which has been viewed more than six million times, encouraged women to “sit at the table,” seek challenges, take risks, and pursue their goals with gusto. Lean In continues that conversation, combining personal anecdotes, hard data, and compelling research to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what they can. Sandberg provides practical advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and building a satisfying career. She describes specific steps women can take to combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment, and demonstrates how men can benefit by supporting women both in the workplace and at home. Written with humor and wisdom, Lean In is a revelatory, inspiring call to action and a blueprint for individual growth that will empower women around the world to achieve their full potential.

books

Books

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • “A landmark manifesto" (The New York Times) that's a revelatory, inspiring call to action and a blueprint for individual growth that will empower women around the world to achieve their full potential.  In her famed TED talk, Sheryl Sandberg described how women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers. Her talk, which has been viewed more than eleven million times, encouraged women to “sit at the table,” seek challenges, take risks, and pursue their goals with gusto. Lean In continues that conversation, combining personal anecdotes, hard data, and compelling research to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what they can. Sandberg, COO of Meta (previously called Facebook) from 2008-2022, provides practical advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and building a satisfying career. She describes specific steps women can take to combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment, and demonstrates how men can benefit by supporting women both in the workplace and at home.

SHERYL SANDBERG is chief operating officer at Facebook, overseeing the firm's business operations. Prior to Facebook, Sheryl was vice president of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google, chief of staff for the United States Treasury Department under President Clinton, a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, and an economist with the World Bank. Sheryl received a BA summa cum laude from Harvard University and an MBA with highest distinction from Harvard Business School. Sheryl is the co-author of Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy with Wharton professor and bestselling author Adam Grant, which will be released April 24, 2017. She is also the author of the bestsellers Lean In: Women, Work, and the 

Sheryl Sandberg

Lean In

Workers across the world have picked up their smartphones to vent about the 9-to-5 on TikTok, the social media app with a billion monthly users.The app, in which users dive down an infinite scroll of short videos filmed by other users, attracts thousands of workers complaining about and making fun of work and their day jobs, mostly in the form of short comedy sketches filmed on their phones, often set to music and sometimes peppered with explicit language. The videos are filed under the popular hashtag of #worktok (as well as #careertok and simply #work) and are watched by millions.

Venting About Work On TikTok

The experiences and nuances of corporate life and working in an office are relatable and almost universal.Whether it's the annoyance of turning cameras on for Zoom calls or the whiplash of sudden check-ins with your boss, no work-related quirk is safe from ridicule.Many users on #worktok – a tag that has more than a half-billion views – found themselves ending up on TikTok out of lockdown malaise, when their companies implemented remote-work policies more than two years ago.#worktok shows how so many of us go through the same experiences, regardless of what our jobs are.

The Universal Appeal Of #Worktok

The rise of #worktok is part of a broader referendum on the current state of work.These videos provide light-hearted viral distractions that let people bond over what they dislike about work – but they also reflect how, as the pandemic has dragged on, many of the problematic elements of work have come under increased scrutiny.There is a realisation among many knowledge workers that they don't necessarily need to be in the office every single day. These TikTok videos are emblematic of the recent push for more worker flexibility, better work-life balance and greater mental health awareness.

Uncovering A Broader Issue

Workers are fed up with corporate culture. A growing number are poking fun and pushing for change in social media videos, to the tune of billions of views.

corporateculture

Corporate Culture

mindfulness

Mindfulness

#worktok: The surge of venting about the worst of work

As social creatures, we humans care what others think and are influenced by the number of likes, hearts, and retweets on social media posts. The downside? An attraction to popular beliefs—whether they’re true or false—can speed up the spread of conspiracy theories, suggests new UC Berkeley research.

Popular Beliefs Seem True

<ul><li>An extensive study shows that people are more likely to adopt pseudoscientific and misinformed beliefs when they believe them to be more popular.</li><li>These results have important implications for how highlighting social information with ‘likes’ is more likely to spread fake news.</li><li>Study participants were more likely to agree or disagree with a statement after seeing evidence that the belief was more popular than they had expected it to be. </li><li>Some who were on the fence about a controversial issue changed their minds based solely on the number of endorsements the statement received.</li></ul>

How Fake News Spreads

Fake news tends to travel, by some estimates, six times faster than fact-based news on Twitter and other social media platforms.That’s because the algorithms social media platforms use to promote whatever is most engaging or attention-grabbing are often at odds with what is actually true in the world, especially if one is prone to burrow into echo chambers where everyone agrees with you.

Fake News Has Greater Travel Speed

The responsibility to curb the spread of misinformation falls mostly on social media platforms. One remedy would be to remove social engagement metrics such as likes, hearts, and retweets from posts that have been identified as misleading.On an individual level, diversifying the media diet can help. Doing that will give a more representative sense of what kinds of beliefs are out there and get users more attuned to motivations, nefarious or otherwise, behind the information that’s being shared.

How To Curb The Spread Of Fake News

A new study finds that we are easily persuaded by popular beliefs, even if they’re wrong.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

How Our Brains Help Misinformation Go Viral

The third series of the sci-fi drama “For All Mankind” posits an alternative timeline in which humans visit Mars in the 1990s.The show envisions an alternative history where, instead of America landing on the Moon in 1969, the Russians did.This would have led to a fierce acceleration of the Apollo space programme, with America becoming desperate to catch up to and exceed their Cold War rivals.

A Fictional Alternate History

<ul><li>A manned mission to Mars is a challenge for modern NASA.</li><li>One of the big issues is the distance, along with the level of radiation the astronauts have to face.</li><li>Communication between the ship and Earth would be delayed by 10 minutes each way.</li><li>Around a third of everything that has tried to land on Mars has failed.</li><li>Food and supplies would require future planning. Initially, you would need to send your food and rocket fuel for your return journey in advance. Long-term, you could talk about <a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/turning-the-red-planet-green-how-well-grow-crops-on-mars/">growing things on Mars</a>.</li></ul>

Challenges With A Manned MARS Mission

Between 2007 and 2017, an experiment called MARS-500 sought to simulate the psychological conditions of travelling to Mars by locking up crews of astronauts together for 520 days. The crews weathered it relatively well, although some did suffer from sleep and psychological issues on their return journey.

MARS Living Conditions: A Simulation

The third series of this sci-fi drama posits an alternative timeline in which humans visit Mars in the 1990s. So could we soon be flying to the Red Planet?

history

History

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

timemanagement

Time Management

space

Space

For All Mankind: What’s stopping us from going to Mars?

The past decade has seen the rise of the Instagrammable food trend, where restaurants have altered menus to prioritize visual uniqueness—often at the expense of taste. In a competitive social media landscape, the question for restaurateurs has been how to stand out and generate audience engagement in the form of likes, comments, and shares.
Under the assumption that creating unique food items will help businesses stand out and garner more engagement on social media, the Instagrammable food trend has given birth to novelty items like unicorn lattes and poop cafés.

Food That Looks Great On Instagram

Since social media platforms use rank-ordering algorithms to prioritize and boost content, figuring out which foods garner more social media engagement will help restaurants and food content creators determine how to better amplify the reach of their online content.Conventional social media wisdom suggests that people will engage with social media content they deem entertaining, where “entertaining” is synonymous with unique, distinct, and atypical. In a food context, it has been assumed that entertaining means food that looks more unique, distinct, and atypical.

Instragrammable Food

While social media forecasters may suggest that unique foods are a trend, this logic contradicts some principles of evolutionary psychology. Humans evolved to quickly visually recognize foods, not just for what is edible, but also for what is calorie-dense.Since finding and eating edible food was crucial for survival when humans were hunter-gatherers, we may be hardwired to feel intrinsically good when we simply see the food we know we can eat.

The Brain Is Evolutionarily Programmed To Recognize Food

The average user spends over two hours a day on social media platforms, exposing themselves to hundreds of different posts in a single scrolling session.While rapidly processing content, the brain may instinctively feel more positively toward images that are more easily recognized as food. These positive feelings can then transfer to behaviours directed toward the post, thereby increasing the likelihood of the post receiving likes, comments, or shares.

The Power Of Social Media

Since people feel better when they see foods that are easily recognizable as food, normal-looking food tends to get more likes. On the other hand, unique foods tend to result in lower social media engagement because they are harder to recognize and classify as food.Despite food <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-42012732">industry bloggers</a> and <a href="https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/instagram-trends-2022">social media trends</a> suggesting that people crave unique, eye-catching content, the most successful Instagrammable foods are the normal-looking ones that are more easily recognized as food.

Recognizing Normal, Edible Food

The Instagrammable food trend has given birth to novelty items like unicorn lattes and poop cafes. But is this actually effective?


food

Food

Forget food porn. The latest Instagram trend is rooted in an ancient way of life

Activism can look big, like organising a march for racial justice or occupying a pump station to protest a pipeline. But the definition of activism is broader. Any time you do purposeful action with the hope of making the world better for other people, you're participating in activism. It could be speaking up for a teammate, donating your time to read with kids at a school, baking for a charity or using social media to inform.

Changing the world

Do away with your ideas of what activism or activists "should" look like or what causes you "should" care about. Understand the limitations of the space you have to give. For example, can you offer 20 hours of volunteer time a week? Does a recurring donation fit into your current budget?

Make a clearing

Once you've identified the space, evaluate what skills, gifts and interests you have to contribute. The "tinder" is the small bits of things you already love to do that you can use to grow a fire. Your love for baking cupcakes, your speed-reading skills, your eye for interior design can be used to hook into activism in a way that enriches you.

Gather your tinder

Think about the causes and beliefs that most light you up and move you to action. Identify the things that make you angry, break your heart or make you think something has to change. That is where you find your spark.

Find your spark

An important part of activism is finding ways to keep your passion ignited and avoiding burnout. We usually get into activism because we're angry, upset, or sad about something. Consider how you tend that soul fire. When is it time to take a break and let somebody else take over? You can maintain your fire by focusing on the longevity of the work, not the finish line. Your task is to take the baton from the people who came before and pass it along to the next people. You can do it by focusing on the progress instead of complete success.

Tend to the flames

Activism can look like big gestures of protest, but it can also look like baking cupcakes for a charity bake sale or reading at an after school program. These tips will help you find joy in activism while avoiding burnout.

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

How to find joy in activism

I’ve been striving to simplify my life for many years now, and recently, through my writing, have been advising others how to do the same.In the process, I’ve learned that making little changes in our attitudes, habits, and environment can have a big impact.So today, I thought I’d compile a list of 100 ways to simplify your life – from the practical to the philosophical, and everything in between.Note: not every item on the list will work for every person reading it.

Background

1. Ditch the TV (or at least turn if off). If you’re an average viewer, you’ll save over a hundred precious hours each month. An added bonus: less exposure to commercials means less desire to buy stuff, and more money in your pocket.2. Cancel magazine subscriptions. Read the content online instead, and avoid accumulating a pile of reading material.3. Read news online, instead of on paper. You’ll save plenty of time, and plenty of trees, by reading only the articles that interest you.4. Get rid of excessive furniture, so there’s less to walk around, trip over, or move when you have to clean.

Around The House

5. Opt for multi-functional furniture , so you can satisfy your needs with fewer pieces.6. Get rid of excessive décor , so you’ll spend less time and effort cleaning around stuff.7. Digitize your music. You’ll eliminate the clutter of CDs, and have easier access to your music library.8. Download movies instead of renting DVDs. You’ll avoid the hassle of picking them up, dropping them off, or mailing them back.

9. Put items away immediately after use. It takes a lot less effort than cleaning up piles of stuff later on.10. Have a place for everything. It makes it much easier to find things, and put them away.11. Clean as you go. Wipe up spills, and take care of little messes before they become big ones.12. Devise a cleaning routine. Streamline your chores into an ordered set of tasks for maximum efficiency.

13. Do laundry in large batches, instead of small ones. It’ll save you time, and reduce your energy (and water) consumption.14. Buy enough socks and underwear to make it through a full laundry cycle, to avoid doing small “emergency” loads.15. Wash towels less often. They don’t need laundering on a daily basis; you’re clean when you use them, after all!16. Consolidate hobby items in designated containers. That way, all your supplies will be on hand when you need them.

17. If you start a new hobby, drop an out-of-favor one (along with its equipment and supplies).18. Adopt the “one in, one out” rule: when you purchase something new, get rid of something old.19. Don’t start collections. Avoid the clutter, and save your money, by channeling your energy and creativity into something more productive.20. Get rid of one item every day. At the end of the year, you’ll have 365 less things to worry about!

21. Hang up clothes, or put them in a hamper, as soon as you take them off. Avoid starting a “floordrobe” or piling them on a chair, and you’ll have less straightening up to do later.22. Organize your clothes by category. For example, hang all your pants, skirts, or shirts together so you can quickly find what you need.23. Use containers to corral accessories like jewelry, watches, or scarves, instead of scattering them about.24. Choose versatile clothing. The more ways you can wear something, the fewer items you’ll need.

Wardrobe And Style

25. Don’t be a fashion victim. Chasing trends is a waste of time and money.26. Know what flatters you. You’ll avoid accumulating a closet full of wardrobe “mistakes.”27. Don’t buy “fantasy” clothes. In other words, if you’re not a social diva, skip the cocktail dresses – reserve your closet space for the stuff you’ll actually wear.28. Get a simple, no-fuss haircut ; it’ll save tons of time in the morning.

29. Embrace your natural hair. Don’t make it straight if it’s curly, curly if it’s straight, or brown if it’s gray.30. Keep makeup as minimal as possible, or go without. Most of us don’t need to look like supermodels on a daily basis!31. Use multi-purpose products (like a shampoo/body wash, or moisturizer plus sunscreen) to save time and eliminate bathroom clutter.

32. Standardize your grooming routine , so you can get ready each morning with a minimum amount of fuss.33. Don’t buy hope in a bottle , and clutter your cabinets with half-used “miracle” lotions and potions.34. Avoid unhealthy habits , like smoking, drugs, or drinking in excess. You’ll look better now, and avoid a boatload of health problems down the road.35. Let your inner beauty shine. A pleasant countenance and radiant smile will make you more beautiful than any cosmetics.

36. Love those leftovers. Cook extra for dinner, and have it for lunch the next day.37. Cook a week’s worth of meals at a time , and freeze for later (Google “batch cooking” for recipes and instructions).38. Plan your meals in advance. You’ll spend less time staring into your refrigerator, wondering what to make.

Kitchen And Dining

39. Shop with a grocery list. You’ll avoid making extra trips for forgotten items.40. Make one-pot meals , and drastically reduce your after-dinner cleanup.41. Pare down your dishes, cups, and utensils to what you regularly use . It’ll limit the amount of dishwashing that piles up in the sink.42. Purge unnecessary gadgets and seldom-used equipment. A large variety of meals can be made with basic pots and implements.

43. Eat healthy foods (like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables), and you’ll avoid a wide variety of medical problems.44. Keep your countertops clutter-free. Cooking is so much easier when you’re not moving stuff out of the way to do it.45. Develop a set of standard dishes (like a pasta, chicken, or tofu dish), and vary the sauces. That way, you won’t have to reinvent the wheel each night.

46. Stop as much incoming paperwork as possible. Get off mailing lists, cancel catalogs, and sign up for online billing and statements. The less physical mail you have to deal with, the better!47. Print as little as possible. Don’t give yourself more stuff to file. Instead, print to a PDF file using free software like cutePDF or pdf995.48. Digitize your paperwork. It’ll take up less space, and give you easier access to it.49. Backup to the cloud. Use an online storage service, as an alternative to DVDs or an external hard drive.

Office And Tech

50. Pay bills online. It takes much less time than writing and mailing a check, and no need to buy envelopes and stamps.51. Bank online. Transfer money without going to the bank, or standing in line waiting.52. Automate recurring transactions- a great way to pay your rent, mortgage, or insurance payments without lifting a finger.53. Automate investments. Set up your brokerage account to buy a fixed dollar amount of a certain investment (like an index fund) on a regular schedule. It’ll smooth out the effects of market volatility on your portfolio, and keep you from making emotional decisions.

54. Stay out of debt. Life is much simpler when you don’t have to worry about interest charges and minimum payments.55. Purchase bundled services. Buying telephone, tv, and internet services from the same company reduces your number of bills (and likely the amount you have to pay).56. Telecommute. Arrange to work from home at least once or twice a week, to save time and commuting costs.57. Don’t let junk mail enter your office. Keep a recycling bin by your front door, and dump junk mail and solicitations (without personal information) straight in.

58. Sort incoming paperwork immediately. Separate it into “file,” “act on,” and “dispose of” piles for efficient handling.59. Organize your digital files. Develop a logical system of folders, so you won’t have to wade through 100s of random files to find what you’re looking for.60. Purge your bookmarks regularly. The stuff you found interesting last month, or last week, may be of no use to you today. Don’t waste time scrolling through irrelevant stuff.61. Quit Facebook (or don’t join). It can be a huge digital commitment, and a major time sink. At the very least, limit the time you spend on it

62. Limit the number of blogs you read. When you subscribe to a new one, drop an old one, so as not to increase your time commitment.63. Reduce your Twitter time. Constant digital “chatter” can significantly reduce your productivity.64. Check and answer email during defined periods. When you’re distracted by constant incoming messages, it takes longer to complete the task at hand.65. Take digital sabbaticals. Disconnecting for a period of time – be it an hour, a day, or a weekend – can be quite liberating!

66. Learn to say no. It can be difficult, but will ensure you have enough time and energy for the stuff that really matters.67. Delegate. Give up trying to do everything yourself; get employees to help with projects, and children to help with chores.68. Limit your commitments. Don’t increase your number of obligations; drop old ones to make way for the new.69. Right-size your expectations. When you expect too much of yourself and others, disappointment and stress are often the result.

Time Management 

70. Choose your battles. There are thousands of little things that just aren’t worth fighting for – let them go.71. Go with the flow. Instead of trying to control things, let them happen as they may.72. Be flexible. Adapt to the situation at hand, rather than insisting on doing things “your way.”73. Forget about perfection. For the vast majority of tasks, good enough is good enough.

74. Fix little problems before they become big ones. A little effort now can save a lot of headaches later.75. Consolidate your tasks. It’s more efficient to do your ironing, pay your bills, and answer your emails in one sitting than in bits and pieces.76. Consolidate your errands. Plan your visits to the grocery store, dry cleaners, post office, etc., so you can take care of all of it in one trip.77. Declutter your To Do list. Purge any unimportant, unnecessary, or unfulfilling activities.

78. Ask for help or advice. Reaching out to someone with more expertise can often save you hours (or days) of muddling through on your own.79. Share your expertise with others. An open exchange of information makes things easier for everyone.80. Make it a goal to do less, not more. Increase your productivity to free up your schedule, rather than jam more stuff into it.

81. Keep an open mind. Life is infinitely more interesting and pleasant when you’re willing to consider opinions and viewpoints that differ from your own.82. Accept others for who they are. Live and let live, and you’ll have much less to worry about.83. Live in the present. Don’t spend excessive hours pining for the past, or fretting about the future. Be here now.84. Don’t meddle in other people’s business. Concentrate on keeping your own life in order, and don’t worry about everyone else’s.

Attitude

85. Forget about the Joneses. Conspicuous consumption benefits nobody but the companies selling the goods. We’d be happier, more relaxed, and more satisfied if we disengaged from it entirely.86. March to your own drummer. Don’t feel obligated to follow the crowd, or live according to others’ expectations.87. Think before you act. We can often save ourselves a lot of trouble if we think about the consequences before acting on impulse.

88. Think before you speak. Once you let some ill-considered words out of your mouth, you can’t get them back. Better to hold your tongue than have to deal with the fallout.89. Don’t be overly sensitive. Sometimes others don’t think before they speak. Let careless remarks roll off your back, not ruin your day.90. Don’t hold grudges. Forgiveness eases your stress and tension, and frees up your time and energy for more positive pursuits.91. Don’t be a drama queen. Making mountains out of molehills unduly complicates life.

92. Have an attitude of gratitude. Be grateful for what you do have, instead of stressing over what you don’t.93. Realize that you’re not living in the spotlight. Most people are too wrapped up in their own lives to care (or notice) what you own, what you’re wearing, or how you look.

94. Embrace the concept of enough. Once our needs are met, there’s usually little utility (or happiness) in acquiring more – by contrast, it often leads to cluttered homes and empty bank accounts.95. Enjoy without owning. Admire the objects in a shop window, the art in a gallery, the plants in a garden, without acquiring them for yourself. You’ll often get more pleasure from things when you don’t have the responsibility of ownership.

96. Downsize your digs. A smaller home means less to maintain, less to clean, and less to pay in mortgage, utilities, and rent.97. Go car-free. If you can walk, bike, or take public transit where you need to go, consider ditching your car. If you’re in a multi-car household, consider whether you can get by with one less car.98. Avoid advertising like the plague. When you don’t know an item exists, you won’t stress over desiring, acquiring, or paying for it.

Miscellaneous 

99. Don’t shop unless you need something. In other words, don’t browse stores, catalogs, or websites looking for something to need.100. Make your own definition of “success.” Raising a happy family or excelling at your job are better measures of success than status symbols and material accumulation.

Now that I have finished my final exams, I am taking this summer as the opportunity to declutter my life and for a fresh restart. This article has helped me realise that decluttering shouldn't only be a one time activity but a continuous mindset.

productivity

Productivity

habits

Habits

100 Ways to Simplify Your Life (and Make Yourself Happier)

Three great untruths are spreading throughout college campuses, high schools and many homes. These untruths are rarely taught explicitly. Instead, they are conveyed to people by the rules, practices, and norms imposed on them, often with the best intentions. <ol><li>The untruth of fragility: what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker</li><li>The untruth of emotional reasoning: Always trust your feelings</li><li>The untruth of us versus them: Life is a battle between good and evil people.</li></ol>

Untruths that spread throughout culture

The term anti-fragile describes things that have the capacity to not only tolerate stress but to flourish and grow as a result of it. Everybody will face completely unexpected events. When we have limited exposure to unexpected events, we will likely find navigating them difficult. However, when our brain and cognitive processes encounter unexpected events, they learn to adapt and grow, making them more likely to navigate uncertainty successfully. Parents and educators should help children learn and grow by letting them face risks and stressors, not shielding them from them.

Children are “anti-fragile”

Many colleges encourage students to indulge in these cognitive distortions: <ol><li>Emotional reasoning. Confusing feelings with thoughts or reality is a cognitive distortion.</li><li>Catastrophizing imagines a sequence of events. But it's seldom true. </li><li>Overgeneralising. </li><li>Dichotomous thinking. All or nothing thinking.</li><li>Mind reading.</li><li>Labelling. Because someone belongs to a category doesn't mean they embody all the traits of that category.</li><li>Negative filtering. Amplifying negative signals, so it overwhelms the positive.</li><li>Discounting positives. Rationalising away positive evidence as if it doesn't count.</li><li>Blaming.</li></ol>

Nine common cognitive distortions

“seeking out challenges (rather than eliminating or avoiding everything that “feels unsafe”), freeing yourself from cognitive distortions (rather than always trusting your initial feelings), and taking a generous view of other people, and looking for nuance (rather than assuming the worst about people within a simplistic us-versus-them morality).”

The antidote to the increasing fragility

The principle in philosophy and rhetoric is that one should interpret other people’s statements in their best, most reasonable form, not in the worst way possible. When you think that your feelings are real, you may believe that other people have worse intentions than they really do. This could cause you to see harmful behaviour in places that don’t exist.  A good hack is to try and see why someone said or did something from the most reasonable and well-intentioned point of view that you can.

The charity principle

<ol><li>A good idea is being physically safe on campus, such as not being subjected to sexual harassment, physical abuse, or being targeted personally for hate speech.</li><li>Another really bad view is that we need to be safe ideologically. For example, "I need to be safe emotionally and feel good all the time. If someone says something I don't like, that's a problem for everybody else." This idea is bad because engaging in ideological or emotional safety will make you weak. If you want to become strong, you need to engage,  similar to using weights in a gym. </li></ol>

Two views about safe spaces

How good intentions and bad ideas are setting up a generation for failure

New York Times Bestseller • Finalist for the 2018 National Book Critics Circle Award in Nonfiction • A New York Times Notable Book • Bloomberg Best Book of 2018 “Their distinctive contribution to the higher-education debate is to meet safetyism on its own, psychological turf . . . Lukianoff and Haidt tell us that safetyism undermines the freedom of inquiry and speech that are indispensable to universities.” —Jonathan Marks, Commentary “The remedies the book outlines should be considered on college campuses, among parents of current and future students, and by anyone longing for a more sane society.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Something has been going wrong on many college campuses in the last few years. Speakers are shouted down. Students and professors say they are walking on eggshells and are afraid to speak honestly. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide are rising—on campus as well as nationally. How did this happen? First Amendment expert Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt show how the new problems on campus have their origins in three terrible ideas that have become increasingly woven into American childhood and education: What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker; always trust your feelings; and life is a battle between good people and evil people. These three Great Untruths contradict basic psychological principles about well-being and ancient wisdom from many cultures. Embracing these untruths—and the resulting culture of safetyism—interferes with young people’s social, emotional, and intellectual development. It makes it harder for them to become autonomous adults who are able to navigate the bumpy road of life. Lukianoff and Haidt investigate the many social trends that have intersected to promote the spread of these untruths. They explore changes in childhood such as the rise of fearful parenting, the decline of unsupervised, child-directed play, and the new world of social media that has engulfed teenagers in the last decade. They examine changes on campus, including the corporatization of universities and the emergence of new ideas about identity and justice. They situate the conflicts on campus within the context of America’s rapidly rising political polarization and dysfunction. This is a book for anyone who is confused by what is happening on college campuses today, or has children, or is concerned about the growing inability of Americans to live, work, and cooperate across party lines.

The Coddling of the American Mind

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