Although Napoleon, like most historical figures, had his failings, there is much to learn from the man who was arguably the most successful general in history, sponsored scientific breakthroughs, reformed the French education system, created a law code that served as a template for countries around the world, and even had the time to write a romance novel.

A quick story. Following the surrender of Malta. Napoleon:

• Established a new civil code,
• Abolished slavery,
• Eliminated long established feudal privileges,
• Set up a new government that included 12 individual municipalities complete with their own judges,
• Established public finance to stimulate the…

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, an additional crisis threatens millions of people. Families USA has reported that between February and May, 5.4 million American workers became uninsured because of job losses related to the current crisis.

These recent increases in the number of uninsured adults are 39% higher than any previous annual increase ever recorded. In Texas, which had one of the highest increases in uninsured people, the number of uninsured increased from 4.2 million to almost 4.9 million, leaving three out of every ten Texans without coverage. Texas, among some other states, also has declined to expand Medicaid coverage to…

When I was a child, I remember driving across town to my local community garden and being immersed in both a world of plants and community of belonging. Age, race, status, wealth — it was all forgotten in that special place. I would see elderly Asian women who didn’t speak English helping white millennials, strangers sharing their produce, and an abundance of general friendliness. The same holds true now, as during the current crisis, community gardens can provide healthy produce to offset the lingering threat of food shortages, while strengthening community bonds and mental health.

Many stores are struggling with…

Work Mindfully is a publication for those who love all related to productivity and psychology. It is about sharing advice about the intersection between what happens in our brains with our performance in life.

Whether you have tips to share, stories to tell, or research to communicate, we want to hear from you. As long as it’s productivity, personal wellbeing, and/or psychology-related, we are happy to add you as a writer.

Do you want to write for Work Mindfully? Read below to find out how.

Submission Guidelines

By submitting work to Work Mindfully, you agree to all the following conditions: Please read carefully!

• It is up to you how frequently you submit an article, and it does not…

This is the first issue of my monthly newsletter Mindfulness Matters, you can sign up for it here

Hey Friends,

This month I started taking notes on most of the books I read (with the exception being the fantasy genre). In the past, I’ve always considered taking book notes to be solely reserved for academic textbooks and English class. But recently I’ve come to appreciate the multiple benefits of note taking.

Since most of us consume so much content each day, whether it be the news, blog articles, or scrolling through social media feeds, our brain has become excellent at…

An ignored problem

The Brennan Center has reported that between 2014 and 2016, over 16 million eligible voters nationwide were wrongfully removed from voter rolls. Although states describe the process as cleaning, a more accurate word is purging; removing names and forcing people to re-register, often inaccurately and unevenly across various demographics.

Many people spend little time considering the impact of voter purging on elections. An ideal purge is actually beneficial, as it can remove duplicates, people who’ve changed states, or those who’ve passed away. But in recent years, voter purges have been performed suddenly and based on subjective criteria…

Are you a runner that constantly checks if you are on pace during your recovery runs? I used to think the best way to get faster was by putting in 110% every single run. I understood that that having a rest day was important, and if I went all out every run I would get injured, but I also felt that running at a mere comfortable pace was just being lazy.

The 80/20 rule (also known as the Pareto Principle) is a concept created by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, its origins lie in the common trends that exist in the…

Often, the hardest part of being productive is to start a task. Our natural self sometimes act lazy; that is to say, we think about getting up and doing something, but then decide to just stay put instead. This happens because most of our daily actions drill a mindset to look for the easiest and fastest way to accomplish something. There is a clear gap between when we want to start a task, and when we actually start it.

Productivity Friction

A way to characterize the resistance in the gap between intention and action is productivity friction. If there is a lot…