Helpful resources to help you to do more.
Reflections on the first semester of my Master of Applied Positive Psychology
Taking Stock While it’s important to do, it’s just as important to be. To stop, to appreciate, the savour, to reflect, to consider, to breathe. And that’s what I’m doing here. It’s not going to be my usual productivity-focused article. It’s going to be about my thoughts on my Master’s education. My Master of Applied…
2 Practical Ways To Use Mindfulness for Productivity
Cleaning your mind No, this is not about dirty thoughts. This is about unnecessary thoughts that clutter your mind – just like how random objects strewn about in your house may end up cluttering the place. So just as we need to clean the house to maintain the hygiene of the place, and just as…
“Multitask” Better By Using The Zeigarnik Effect: Running Tasks In Your Brain’s Background System
Unresolved post-credit scenes Do you remember the post-credits scene for Iron Man (2008)? Chances are, probably not – because it’s already been resolved. The scene has Nick Fury talking to Tony Stark about the Avengers, which paid off in the multitude of Avengers movies we now have. However, I’m sure you remember that Harry Styles…
Why Your Brain Hates Change: Using Prospect Theory for Productivity
Transformation makes us cringe Unless you’re transforming Transformers, transformation tends to make use cringe. What do I mean by that? Transformation is a four-syllable synonym for change – and change comes all the time. Whether it’s in the form of government policies (hello, TAEPP), company initiatives (back to office mandates), or even changes in friendships…
Meaningful Productivity: How Purpose Supercharges Your Output (Without Burning You Out)
Pointless productivity You know that feeling when you’ve completed the tasks you were supposed to do but then ended up feeling… unfulfilled? Hollow, even? It’s basically completing a side quest while forgetting about the main quest in an RPG. I mean sure, side quests are great (weapons, armour, spells, advanced class options) – but they…
Why the same decision makes you either productive or panicky: the framing effect
How you see it and what you see In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos decides to use the Infinity Gauntlet to Snap away half of the universe. Thanos’ framing of the action is that he’s saving the entire universe. The half that survives will have enough resources, while the half that is dead… won’t suffer from…
The invisible nudge reducing your productivity – anchoring (and how to defeat it with adjustment)
Making decisions with imperfect information You’ve been in this situation before. You need to make a business (or personal decision) in order for your team to move forward. You don’t have the time or expertise (well okay maybe with the deep thinking modes of GenAI chatbots, you do have that expertise, but then there’s the…
The allure of automaticity: Using mindful workflows to replace mindless automation
Autopilot isn’t always awesome I’m a fan of automation. Standardised workflows. SOPs. Muscle memory. To me, this is efficient, because it frees up your mind space for other, more productive endeavours. And that’s what I used to do. When I take a bath, I clean myself in a very set routine so I can devote…
Why your boundaries need border control (and maybe a visa application too?)
Welcome to your personal embassy I recently had to go through a rigorous process of obtaining a visa, which made me reflect on how countries maintain border control. Having written an Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) drama before, Point of Entry, I’m also familiar with the rigorous processes that Singapore has in place for those…
Quitting your job is like a breakup: a 5-step framework for moving on and healing
Why a job is like a relationship We spend 8 hours per weekday (haha, we all know it’s longer than that) at our job. That’s roughly half of our waking time that we spend at work (on weekdays) – probably as much (if not more) time as we spend with our significant other. So doesn’t…
Friend breakups hurt – here’s how to heal and still function optimally
When a friendship ends You know what I mean. That friend who now replies to your invites with “oh but I wanna sleep in today”. That friend who now responds with a 👍 to your memes. That friend who now takes two weeks to respond to your texts but is posting nonstop on social media.…
What real productivity looks like: how to avoid toxic productivity
If you’re tired, it’s probably toxic productivity I love productivity. If everybody gets more done (more of what they want), then we get a better, more beautiful world. But if getting more done means you’re so exhausted that you slump on the couch at the end of the work day, doomscrolling to death, and eating…
Eliminate regret by deciding faster: do more with quicker, better choices
Too busy to decide I like making optimal choices. But that often means a lot of overthinking, 17 browser tabs, 23 days of research – just to buy one blender (true story). And when I did buy it – did I really know if it was really the best choice? All I knew was that…
Permission to play: how “doing nonsense” is the smartest productivity hack you’re not using
When was the last time you played? I’m going to be terribly hypocritical by asking this. When was the last time you did something that felt silly – maybe even pointless? Something that wasn’t about building skills, or making money, or for social media visibility? When was the last time you did something just because…
How to win the race of life? By realising it’s a Choose Your Own Adventure game
I loved reading Choose Your Own Adventure gamebooks when I was a kid. You didn’t read them linearly like other storybooks – you got to decide your own path, flip to the relevant chapters, and there were different endings! Then I went on to the longer books, aptly titled Choose Your Own Super Adventure. From…
Brain hack: how mindfulness rewires your brain for efficiency
I used to think mindfulness was useful only in small doses. Helpful for a short while, but not great in quantities. People who openly preached and espoused mindfulness felt ungrounded, and not very productive to me. Then I had to write an assignment about Mindfulness Psychology for my Graduate Diploma in Applied Positive Psychology. I…
The paradox of overplanning – how to embrace uncertainty to boost productivity
Before I start, I have to disclaim – I’m not saying that you don’t plan. Planning is important. But the dose is what makes the poison – and hence, that overplanning can be detrimental. The truth is, I like to plan quite obsessively. I time-block (almost) every hour of my day, colour-code my calendar, and…
People pleasing kills productivity – what is the cost of approval addiction?
How many times did you agree to do something – because you were terrified that the other person would be angry with you if you said no? That’s me. And it might not even be the fear of angering the other person. It might be the fear that my friendship with the other person might…
Good emotional literacy is different from EQ – and makes you more productive
Think about the optimal conditions for you to produce your best work. Is it cool or warm enough? Are you hungry or thirsty? How about the wifi speed? Do you have all your tools at hand? You might not think of these as needs, but if you want to function optimally and create your best…
“Manifesting” can be legit – if you “do” it in a mindful and practical way
Does manifesting really work? (Credit: Meta AI) Manifesting is such a horribly woo-woo, vague, New Age-y term that I cringe whenever I hear it. It hasn’t been proven to scientifically work, but it feels good (and trendy) to say that you’re manifesting something. Clearly, I don’t believe it. So why am I even suggesting that…
5 Benefits Of Treating Your Emotions Like People
If you’re like most normal people – then treating emotions like people means calling them by name. And if you’ve heard the phrase naming your emotions, then you know that this is one of the objectives of treating your emotions like people. But why name your emotions? If you’re feeling something, then don’t you already…
Happiness for Busy People 