Nelson Mandela on exercise on Robben Island
When he was in prison on Robben Island, Nelson Mandela spent long periods engaged in hard manual labor— breaking rocks into gravel, and working in a quarry. You
Experiments in six-hour days
The Guardian reports on experiments in Sweden to shorten the workday, in an effort to get higher-quality work and reduce turnover. In the Svartedalens care home, a Gothenburg nursing home, for
“science benefits when we think more and do less”
Susan Fitzpatrick, the president of the McDonnell Foundation, has an opinion piece in The Scientist about the importance of unstructured, social time in doing good science. There was
“Make the mistake of focusing too much on what matters most”
Y Combinator’s Sam Altman warns about the perils of “fake work” for startups that can apply to just about any serious creative endeavor. In general, startups get distracted
John Ashberry on routine
John Ashberry on the importance of routine for a writer, from Jill Krementz's lovely little book, The Writer's Desk: It's important to try to write when you are
The 8-hour work day
I’ve been thinking some about how to work some of the argument and insights of Rest into infographics; fortunately it won’t be difficult, though since I’m not artist
“intellectual refreshment withers the parasitic and nasty vegetation that smothers the good seed”
Santiago Ramón y Cajal's Advice for a Young Investigator (translated by Neely Swanson and Larry W. Swanson, and published by MIT Press) has some great stuff about research, rest, and
“Four or five hours daily it is not much to ask”
I'm constantly amazed at how, in the past, the idea that four or five hours or really focused work was a solid day for the thinker or artist was
“when chemistry distresses your soul, seek peace in the great pacifier, Shakespeare:” reading advice from William Osler
Two quotes from the great medical educator William Osler about the need for hobbies, and the value of a practice he developed as a student: reading before bed.
Digital nomads and deliberate rest: “How we practice rest will be an important factor of our working future”
One of the best things about working on big interesting projects like books, or editing the Encyclopedia Britannica, is that you encounter people you never would otherwise. Kavi