Will we live the way we have lived so far? _Scott Belsky, Vice President of Community, Adobe
In this rapidly changing work environment, I realized that I had neglected self-assessment regarding time management for too long.
A lot has changed in recent years.
My schedule and documents are now all stored in the cloud.
I use far more electronic devices, apps, alarms, and programs than ever before.
Moreover, thanks to the change in environment where one can work from anywhere, unexpected changes have occurred in the way work is done.
I was always so busy, rushing around, and working so hard that I never had time to stop and think for even a moment.
If you have to keep playing without any strategy time, it will be impossible to play the game as you want.
--- p.14

The more you love something, the more often you should do it. _Gretchen Rubin (habit expert and author of "Be Happy Unconditionally")
If all you can produce in a week is one page, one blog post, and one sketch, you'll naturally feel like you have to do exceptionally well and start to feel anxious about the quality of your work.
(Omitted) Since I didn't do much work, I thought the results had to be excellent.
On the other hand, I write every day, so a day's worth isn't that important to me.
Some days go well and some days don't.
Some days end without me getting much done.
That's okay though.
Because it's clearly something you're doing consistently.
As a result of my anxiety disappearing, I enjoy my work more and am more willing to experiment and take risks.
Even if you don't get a good result, you have plenty of time to try another method.
--- p.24~25

Why I Work, Here, Now _Seth Godin (author of "Purple Cow")
There are countless people who fail to develop their talents as they wish due to failed strategies and ultimately fail to achieve success.
This strategy is simple.
Practice is strategy.
Practice is doing something regularly and reliably in a habitual way.
There are many ways to remind yourself that you are developing a practice habit.
For example, wearing a white lab coat, wearing special glasses, or working in a specific location.
This is how you specialize your skills through habits.
(syncopation)
The idea that you start here, now, like this, even when you don't feel like it, and especially when you don't feel like it, is incredibly important.
There are plenty of people who are creative when they want to work, but you have to be able to get things done even when you don't want to to join the ranks of professionals.
--- p.39~40

Your daily life needs a refresh, too. _Tony Schwartz, CEO of consulting firm The Energy Project
Unlike computers, humans cannot operate continuously at high speeds for long periods of time.
Rather, we humans are designed to move rhythmically, expending and recovering energy.
Our brain alternates between high-frequency and low-frequency movements.
The heart rate is also irregular.
Our lungs also expand and contract as needed.
It's not just about breathing well.
In fact, the deeper you exhale, the calmer and more confident you will feel.
But we run in a straight line all day long, burning off our energy reserves.
It's like constantly withdrawing money from your bank account without saving any money.
At some point we all end up bankrupt.
The good news is that we can change the way we manage our energy.
Skillfully managing your energy allows you to accomplish more consistently, at a higher level, and in a shorter amount of time. --- p.47-48

Don't Be Fooled by the Multitasking Lie _Christian Jarrett (Psychologist)
To combat the temptation of multitasking, renowned novelist Jonathan Franzen practically locked himself in an unfurnished office while writing his bestselling novel, Freedom.
As he revealed in an interview with Time, he even took the wireless card out of his old laptop and disabled the Ethernet port with superglue and a saw.
As if that wasn't enough, we created an environment like a cocoon by wearing earplugs and noise-canceling headphones.
Although a bit extreme, Franzen's case poignantly illustrates how imperfect humans are.
The creative mind is easily distracted, and the allure of new connectivity is so powerful that it's easy to lose focus.
--- p.72~73

Become a creator for yourself _Todd Henry, founder of Accidental Creative
Of course you say, “Wait a minute.
I completely understand if you protest, “I barely have time to breathe, and you want me to cram another task into my already tight schedule just to have fun?”
Wherever we spend our time, there's always an opportunity cost, and spending time on unnecessary creative activities can feel like a truly inefficient choice.
In fact, it is actually quite inefficient.
But also consider the opportunity cost of investing your life solely in practical pursuits.
You spend so much time pleasing others and meeting their expectations, yet you never even attempt to discover your own inner aptitudes and creative potential, even though there's nothing more valuable than that.
--- p.116

How to Maintain a Creative Rhythm _ Stefan Sagmeister (Graphic Designer)
There is a wonderful anecdote about a Nobel Prize winner.
He was asked by a company to give a lecture on time planning.
He stood there holding a glass bottle and said, “It only takes two minutes to show you what I have to say about time planning.”
Then he took some large stones and filled the jar up to the top, then he put some smaller stones in the jar, then he poured sand in again, and finally he poured water in.
Finally, the glass bottle was full.
The message of this story is pretty clear.
The point is that you have to put the big stones in first.
That way, you can fill in the smaller things too.
--- p.132~133

People Who Wisely Overcame Slumps _Mark McGinnis (Creative Consultant)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is considered a great novel, but even Mark Twain had a moment when he fell into despair because he couldn't finish the novel.
In his autobiography, he described the moment when he could no longer advance the story as “my fuel tank was empty.”
Eventually, he stopped writing for two years and devoted himself to other things.
When he picked up the manuscript again, Mark Twain made the “great discovery” that his imaginative “storehouse” had been refilled, and he was finally able to finish the novel.
This discovery marked a major turning point in Twain's writing career.
From then on, whenever he wrote a book, he would carefully consider the point at which his reserves were running low, and when that point came, he would take a break and then finish the work.
--- p.148~149

How to Spend 28% of Your Day Wisely _Aaron Dignan (CEO of Undercurrent, a digital strategy firm)
According to research from the McKinsey Global Institute, knowledge workers spend an average of 28 percent of their workweek writing, reading, and responding to emails.
No matter what field you work in, there's a good chance you're spending too much energy managing your email.
As a result, many people are trying to reduce their email-related workload, leading to the so-called "email efficiency craze."
This craze has been fueled by the emergence of hundreds of tools, technologies, services, and plugins that help you manage your email.
Just following these 'best email management tips' one by one is exhausting.
--- p.160~161

Escape Screen Apnea _Linda Stone (Consultant and Author)
Deep, regular breathing, or diaphragmatic breathing, calms the sympathetic nervous system and allows the parasympathetic nervous system, which controls organ functions such as hunger, satiety, and relaxation responses, to take over a more dominant role.
Conversely, shallow breathing, temporary breath holding, and hyperventilation stimulate the sympathetic nervous system into a fight-or-flight state.
In this state, our heart rate increases, our sense of fullness decreases, and our bodies are fully prepared to engage in the physical activity that accompanies the fight-or-flight response as they always have.
(syncopation)
Our bodies react impulsively and compulsively when we are in a state of fight or flight.
It is also easy to fall into the tendency to consume excessive energy.
In this state, it is difficult to distinguish between hunger and fullness.
Whether it's food or information, we reach for every resource around us as if it were our last chance to get it, which leads us to constantly pull out our smartphones to check emails and text messages.

--- p.188~189