Over the holidays, a family member mentioned that he’s been learning to play guitar.
Or, he had been learning, but it turned out to be more difficult than he had thought, so he gave up in frustration.
He used an app that showed the sequence of notes to play as the recording of a given song played in the background. The notation moved along, conveyor-belt style, sort of like the game Guitar Hero.
Read MoreI received hundreds of comments on a recent video in which I used the clearing of a brush pile to demonstrate how a person might make incremental progress toward a goal.
Such a high volume of engagement yields fascinating patterns. One common response goes something like this: “Oh, I could never do a project over multiple days. When I do something, I have to get it all the way done.”
Read MoreIf you were to break your leg, it would be a terrible idea to try to walk on it.
The bones would be unable to bear your weight, and you would likely cause additional damage just by trying.
Once the broken bone is realigned and healing has begun, you would likewise disrupt the process if you were to attempt to walk without the assistance of crutches.
Read MoreI don’t know if Savage Steve Holland’s Better Off Dead, starring a teenage John Cusack, qualifies as a cult classic, but it’s one of my favorite ‘80s movies.
In one memorable scene (featuring the late, great Vincent Schiavelli as the geometry teacher), Lane Meyer, played by Cusack, experiences that nightmare scenario of being unwittingly unprepared for class.
Read MoreI was the last customer at a favorite cafe. While an employee swept the floor and I packed up to go shortly before closing time, we struck up a conversation. She confessed that she has a tendency to procrastinate.
“What are you procrastinating about?” I asked.
“Everything,” she replied.
She said that she had just transferred to a new college and was anxious about her tendency to procrastinate. She’s always been this way and she’s not sure how to change.
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