The Art of Improvement, Author at The Art of Improvement

What We Should Have Learned in School But Never Did

When you think back on your school days, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? The school building itself? A memorable teacher? The friends you made? Chances are the actual lessons of reading, writing, math and science are not at the top of your list. Although they do serve as the basic skills of an education.

We may also learn certain social aspects that help us to be good citizens. At a very young age we learn to take turns, stand in a line, and function in a group. As we get older, we may learn more about cooperation and teamwork. And on a less positive side, we may experience relationship difficulties and peer pressure.

How to Combat Imposter Syndrome

So you finally reached a point in your life where you’re starting to feel accomplished, successful, and competent! You’ve worked hard, honed your skills and taken advantage of your opportunities, when suddenly it hits. A persistent and internalized fear comes over you that this is all wrong and somebody is going to find out you’re a fraud and call you out on it! You feel like you don’t belong in this role and the only reason you got here is by luck or circumstance. What just happened?!

You’ve been struck by Imposter Syndrome. This phenomenon was first described by psychologists Suzanne Imes and Pauline Rose Clance, who coined the phrase. It generally affects high achieving individuals who find it hard to accept their success and achievements. They feel that they are undeserving of the recognition and status they are receiving. Despite evidence of their competence, they seem to think they have somehow fooled people into believing in them and then feel guilty about it.

How to Hack Your Brain to Destroy Procrastination

Procrastination.

The dictionary defines this as something we delay or postpone that should be done. Sound familiar?

We’ve all been down that road at one time or another, where there’s something that needs to be done but we just keep putting it off. We’re perfectly aware of it. We’re expecting to do it at some point. There it is on our “to-do” list, staring us in the face. But for whatever reason, we push it to the back burner and tell ourselves we’ll get to it eventually.

5 Habits You Should Avoid to Become Highly Productive

Highly productive people have certain habits that other people don’t. What are they doing that sets them apart? How are they getting so much done, and achieving their goals? We all want to be successful, but what are we doing wrong?

Here are a few habits you really need to avoid, if you want to get on track with being highly productive.

How to Improve Your Decision-making

To explain how to make better decisions, let us first look at Dark, a German time-travel science-fiction drama on Netflix.

The show dips in an out of multiple timelines, showing characters interact with different versions of themselves and their loved ones. The characters are constantly making decisions with massive consequences in the present day and in all other timelines.

There’s one quote that stands out the most. One of the main characters, Jonas, is speaking to Marta:

“Why do we say that?”

“To have time. […]”

“How can you have time when it clearly has you?”

Time does control us – we’re simply along for the ride. But that doesn’t mean our journey is without aim. When making better decisions, utilising your time is perhaps your most effective tool.

5 Rules to Do Everything Better

In his book, The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz says,

“Always do Your Best.”

Most people try to do their best most of the time. But our best can be different depending on the day. If you’re tired, feeling out of sorts or just having a bad day in general, your best is going to look a lot different than on a day when you’re feeling great and everything seems to be going your way. And then there’s going to be days where you’re somewhere in between. Whatever the time or circumstance of your day, your best is going to change. But what if you wanted to up your game and do things a bit better on a regular basis, regardless of the day you’re having? Whether it’s work, home, health, finances, relationships, or something else, you might be wondering, how could I do things better?

7 Things Insanely-Productive People Do Differently

Productivity seems to be the holy grail of the working world. Imagine the perfect day – working from dusk to dawn, a productivity machine. Our bodies aren’t like that. Productivity levels ebb and flow, and it can sometimes feel like you can’t get anything done no matter how hard you try.

Thankfully, while it may seem elusive, a productive lifestyle isn’t all that difficult to achieve. It can make you feel like a working hero on a good day, but like every hero, there’s a villain. Here, that’s procrastination. You’ve likely been there before – falling down a YouTube-induced rabbit hole, completing the housework you’ve been putting off for days, replying to emails, or perhaps becoming fixated on your current book. Whatever it is, it kills productivity.

To be a productive person, you need simple, practical steps. You don’t need to completely overhaul your life, but simply telling yourself to be productive won’t be enough. In line with that, here are some things highly productive people do that will help you put procrastination behind you.

How to Develop a Reading Habit

What was the name of the last book you read? Can’t remember? Well maybe it’s time to build a new reading habit! You may think you don’t have time to read. Or maybe you haven’t enjoyed reading much in the past.

Author J.K. Rowling suggests,

“If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.”

Finding a book that interests you can make all the difference in the world. And books aren’t the only reading material. There are all kinds of magazines, booklets, newspapers, and ebooks. You can read a paper book or get an ipad to hold your book collection. Whatever works best for you is just fine! The main thing is to start reading!

Producer vs. Consumer - A Change in Mindset That'll Change Your Life

Consumer vs. Producer – A Change in Mindset That’ll Change Your Life

What’s the difference between a consumer and a producer? Some people have never given it much thought, or even know what it means and why it matters. How would one or the other make any difference in how we live our lives, or how it affects the world we live in?

It’s more important than you may think. Depending on whether you’re in a consumer or producer mindset; your life could look very different.

Which mindset are you? Well, to understand how we think, and how it could affect the way we do things, we first need to know what characteristics and qualities define each one.

5 Time Management Tips to Work Smarter, Not Harder

In the 1930’s, Allen Morgenstern coined the phrase, “Work smarter, not harder.” This was in response to the long and grueling jobs performed by workers at Industrial plants. By coming up with ways to make them more efficient with less effort, they found that productivity increased, and workers were happier.

But how did they do it?

How can one work “smart” rather than “hard”?

Most of us have heard this term, and wonder how that can apply to workers today. There are many ways to increase your productivity by using good time management practices and a few extra tools to batch your tasks, track your time and prioritize what’s most important to you.

Let’s look at 5 time management tips that can help you to work smart, not hard.