Soon after, your research efforts are expected to release themselves from your advisor’s orbit and follow a self-directed trajectory. It’s here that if you’re not careful to keep pushing forward, your improvement can taper off to what the performance scientist Anders Ericsson called an “acceptable level,” where you then remain stuck
if you’re not putting in the effort to become, as Steve Martin put it, “so good they can’t ignore you,” you’re not likely to end up loving your work—regardless of whether or not you believe it’s your true calling.
For them, something as basic as choosing a major became weighted with cosmic significance
The things that make great work great, it argued, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your career, you need rare and valuable skills to offer in return
Most knowledge workers avoid the uncomfortable strain of deliberate practice like the plague, a reality emphasized by the typical cubicle dweller’s obsessive e-mail–checking habit—for what is this behavior if not an escape from work that’s more mentally demanding?
deliberate practice
the fact that I had already spent time on easier tasks in the paper built up enough momentum to help push me forward.
It took, on average, ten minutes for the waves of resistance to die down
the vast majority of people don’t have pre-existing passions
career capital
More important than these small successes, however, was the new mindset this test case introduced. Strain, I now accepted, was good. Instead of seeing this discomfort as a sensation to avoid, I began to understand it the same way that a body builder understands muscle burn: a sign that you’re doing something right
It was as if my mind realized the effort I was about to ask it to expend, and in response it unleashed a wave of neuronal protest, distant at first, but then as I persisted increasingly tremendous, crashing over my concentration with mounting intensity
time structure
This type of skill development is hard
I chose a paper that was well cited in my research niche, but that was also considered obtuse and hard to follow
follow your passion” is bad advice
information structure
My Hour-Tally Routine
The traits that can make your life interesting, I learned, had very little to do with intensive soul-searching
My Research Bible Routine
while my classmates contemplated their true calling, I went seeking opportunities to master rare skills that would yield big rewards
Once a week I require myself to summarize in my “bible” a paper I think might be relevant to my research
I would conclude by writing a detailed summary in my own words
I would conclude by writing a detailed summary in my own words
time structure
My Theory-Notebook Routine
The traits that can make your life interesting, I learned, had very little to do with intensive soul-searching
Soon after, your research efforts are expected to release themselves from your advisor’s orbit and follow a self-directed trajectory. It’s here that if you’re not careful to keep pushing forward, your improvement can taper off to what the performance scientist Anders Ericsson called an “acceptable level,” where you then remain stuck
Once a week I require myself to summarize in my “bible” a paper I think might be relevant to my research
This type of skill development is hard
career capital
follow your passion” is bad advice
More important than these small successes, however, was the new mindset this test case introduced. Strain, I now accepted, was good. Instead of seeing this discomfort as a sensation to avoid, I began to understand it the same way that a body builder understands muscle burn: a sign that you’re doing something right
the vast majority of people don’t have pre-existing passions
the fact that I had already spent time on easier tasks in the paper built up enough momentum to help push me forward.
The things that make great work great, it argued, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your career, you need rare and valuable skills to offer in return
Most knowledge workers avoid the uncomfortable strain of deliberate practice like the plague, a reality emphasized by the typical cubicle dweller’s obsessive e-mail–checking habit—for what is this behavior if not an escape from work that’s more mentally demanding?
It took, on average, ten minutes for the waves of resistance to die down
I am going to work on this for one hour
I chose a paper that was well cited in my research niche, but that was also considered obtuse and hard to follow
It was as if my mind realized the effort I was about to ask it to expend, and in response it unleashed a wave of neuronal protest, distant at first, but then as I persisted increasingly tremendous, crashing over my concentration with mounting intensity
while my classmates contemplated their true calling, I went seeking opportunities to master rare skills that would yield big rewards
My Research Bible Routine
For them, something as basic as choosing a major became weighted with cosmic significance
information structure
deliberate practice
if you’re not putting in the effort to become, as Steve Martin put it, “so good they can’t ignore you,” you’re not likely to end up loving your work—regardless of whether or not you believe it’s your true calling.