fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
The 4 Purposes of Dreams
By: Eshan Samaranayake
Tags: Health, Neuroscience, Mental Health, Psychology, Science

Passionate about the synergy between science and technology to provide better care. Check out my newsletter: scienceforreal.substack.com 📰

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Surviving a Rod Through the Head
By: Rishav Sinha
Tags: Brain, Health, Development, Psychology, Science

You’ve heard of him, haven’t you? Phineas Gage. The railroad worker who survived an explosion that involved an iron rod piercing through his left cheek and out of his brain and skull.

Yeah.

I know.

You’re probably wondering “yeah, alright sweet. What about him?” Well, let’s just say that he was a really popular patient for the field of neuroscience (Cherry, par. 1). And what I found the most interesting about this tragic event was the science of his behavior afterward.

For those of you who don’t know much about Phineas Gage, let me fill you in with the help of my research.

Phineas Gage, 25 years old, was a railroad worker in Vermont. One day, at work, he was using an iron rod to handle explosive gun powder. As he was using the iron rod to handle the gun powder, an explosion suddenly occurred. The iron rod then went through his left cheek and brain. Fortunately, he survived and was able to talk and walk after the accident (Cherry, par. 2–3).

Why did people say that Phineas Gage was a “different person” after his accident? It actually has to do with neuroscience.

The iron rod went through his brain, in particular, it went through the frontal lobe of his brain. Does this mean that the frontal lobe of your brain has to do with the kind of person you are? To answer this question, we have to understand what the frontal lobe in our brain is responsible for.

Our frontal lobes are responsible for many things. Some of them are higher-order thinking, personality, and decision making. This explains why people who knew Phineas Gage said that he was a totally different person after the accident. Since the iron rod went through his frontal lobe, it means that his personality and thinking, as a whole, completely changed, making him seem like he was a whole different person due to the way he started acting.

This accident and the treatment of Phineas Gage actually played a big role in the field of neurology. His case helped scientists better understand the role of the frontal cortex of the brain (Cherry, par. 16–17).

Bibliography

Cherry, Kendra. “The Famous Case of Phineas Gage’s Astonishing Brain Injury.” Phineas Gage’s Astonishing Brain Injury, Verywell Mind, 3 Oct. 2019, www.verywellmind.com/phineas-gage-2795244#targetText=The%20rod%20penetrated%20Gage's%20left,be%20seen%20by%20a%20doctor.
Exploring New York City Restaurants
Tags: New York, Data Visualization, Public Data, Dataviz, Engineering

By Rashida Kamal and Vivien Ngo

Enigma’s latest project Food for Thought provides an interactive interface to explore health inspection data for restaurants across New York City. We dug a little deeper into the relationships between these inspection scores and how popular restaurants are with New Yorkers to highlight a few hidden gems, as well as the places to avoid.

Click an image to play with the full-sized interactive map!

Methodology

Each map contains geocoded Yelp data on restaurant ratings and prices and restaurant inspection data from Enigma Public. Data analysis was done using Pandas, and histograms were made with Matplotlib with Adobe Illustrator for touching up. Restaurants shown with a “?” were inspected but did not receive a letter grade; for our analysis we used the violations score from the most recent inspection even if a grade was not issued. The interactives were designed by Enigma’s previous data journalism fellow, Rashida Kamal, and the maps were updated with June data by Vivien Ngo. Lots of thanks to Peter Henderson for his help!

Originally published at www.enigma.com on July 19, 2018.
Brick by Brick: Build a multi-page dashboard
By: Simi Talkar
Tags: Exploratory Data Analysis, Dashboard, Plotly, Visualization, Data Analysis

CODE AND DOWNLOADS

The code for this series can be found at this Github repo. The application is run from Jupyter notebook. There are .py (Python) files that will contain code for the layout and data manipulation. I used, and highly recommend, Visual Studio Code for working with these as there are a number of handy extensions available for formatting that is particularly helpful to build the HTML DOM structure which we will accomplish with this article.

INSTALLATIONS

Follow along the instruction in this Medium article to set up and run the Dash app server from Jupyter notebook. The notebook in Github also lists the packages used as well as their versions to help you get going.

STRUCTURE

The Title bar declares the dashboard to be a Rental Analysis Dashboard. It will contain an icon to brand our dashboard. Beneath the title, on the left hand side, we create a navbar containing filters. For now these are generic dropdown lists containing three choices, Weekly, Monthly and Yearly. We will be using various types of filters as the project matures. The filter area is being defined in this scaffolding.

To the right of the filter pane is the chart area. I have split this up into four rows. The first row will be reserved for KPIs/gauges or cards with summary information to provide “at a glance” key aggregations.

We will follow that up with maps, line and bar chats to analyze the data from various angles. This will be the graphing area.

And finally at the bottom is the narrow band of page navigation links.

Folder structure and files

We will use Bootstrap to have a responsive dashboard page. To style the various HTML components and to use Bootstrap’s CSS, we create a folder called assets in the root of the app directory. We will also create a folder called data down the line that will contain all the data we gather in CSVs from the Inside AirBnB website. For Dash to recognize this folder structure, note that creation of the app includes __name__ in the constructor.

Important: Why you need to include __name__ in your Dash constructor.

There are other elements that we will store in the assets folder such as the icon and logo images. Once this folder structure is followed, retrieving the assets is performed with a call which depends on the image file being present in the assets folder.
Quora Overview
By: Casey Botticello
Tags: Productivity, Entrepreneurship, Writing, Startup, Social Media

Making the most of Quora for content marketing

There are several things you can do to boost your chance of having your blog posts receive attention on Quora:

1. Submit answers to popular questions: The most viewed and upvoted answers on Quora tend to have the highest potential to attract outbound traffic. It follows that you should seek out such answers to interact with in order to improve your chances of gaining meaningful traffic to your blog posts.

2. Create a strong profile: Having a solid profile allows you to stand out as well as boosts your credibility. Building a strong profile on Quora involves drafting a concise bio, completing your profile summary (which allows you to add clickable links, such as your blog), and including relevant topics into your bio.

3. Spend time crafting quality answers: The quality and accuracy of any answer you provide will determine whether you get upvotes or downvotes . Receiving downvotes can lead to your content being suppressed, so you want to spend time researching and writing answers that readers on Quora will appreciate.

4. Plug links to your blog posts: This is highly important. You need to remember to place links into your answers that lead back to your blog posts, which is the main way to get website traffic from Quora.

5. Share regularly: The more active you are on Quora, the greater your chances of getting strong viewership of your answers. More answers being viewed means increased exposure that could lead to people clicking back to your blog posts. How often you post is up to you, but some people recommend answering questions every day to build your reputation on the website.

Using Quora for content marketing purposes represents a win-win. On one hand, you get to help people find the answers they are looking for, while at the same time encouraging people to check out your content well into the future.
The Simple Formula For Becoming A Better Writer
By: Matt Lillywhite
Tags: Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Blogging, Productivity, Writing

You Need To Show Up Every Single Day.

“The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.” — Steven Pressfield

I used to be a master procrastinator in College. If my professor gave me a task to complete, I’d always find an excuse. I’d say it was too difficult, time-consuming, or anything else. And just like magic, someone more competent would do it for me.

I enjoyed sitting on the couch. I hated going outdoors. So I guess it’s no surprise that most people considered me to be extremely lazy. The only marathon I’d ever complete was a twelve-hour binge of my favorite shows on Netflix.

But then the cash in my bank account began to disappear. The truth is that I wasn’t making anywhere near enough money to support my lifestyle, so I needed to improve my work ethic.

The above quote from Stephen Pressfield changed my life forever. It made me realize that excuses are pointless. Why? Because nothing amazing will happen unless you sit down and do the work.

You don’t need a fancy keyboard, perfect lighting, or anything else a productivity guru might say. Instead, just open your laptop, connect to the internet, and write. That’s it.

Each morning, I get up at approximately 7am, go to my desk, and write a new article for several hours. Following this routine has helped me to remain consistent, create a daily writing habit, and generate a full-time income doing something I love.

If you want to improve your creative process, consider doing the same. Find somewhere quiet to work, and do your best to write something. Because when you show up every day to write, the power of compound interest will create incredible results over time.
Avoid Clickbait: Headline Techniques Used by Six Reputable Media Sites
By: Cynthia Marinakos
Tags: Marketing, Headline Hacks, Productivity, Startup, Writing

Avoid Clickbait: Headline Techniques Used by Six Reputable Media Sites

Yes, you can draw in traffic without clickbait. Practical examples included

Illustration by Cynthia Marinakos.

As I write this piece on the 19th of December 2020, Internet Live Stats has clocked over 4.5 billion Google searches. Roughly 306.4 billion emails were sent and received each day worldwide, according to statista.com.

With so many people searching for information and receiving emails, it’s tough to break through the avalanche of content. Writers know they have to stand out with their headlines. It can be tempting to write headlines that seduce our potential readers with general statements. If this is what it takes to draw a little traffic to our work, why not?

How do you feel when you see countless headlines like these?

Try These 3 Ways to Make Money Fast

Learn To Play Piano Instantly: #1 Beginning Training

The Greatest Opportunity for Financial Advisers

Kerri-Anne’s miracle: The news that shocked doctors

One man’s unbelievable anniversary gift to his wife

What happens when you fall for a widower

Too many headlines like these are like buying a car from a used-car salesman. They might look great and sound like a good price. Yet we realize we’ve been duped soon afterward with a lemon. We can’t help but feel betrayed, angry. Our time has been wasted. And we’ll never buy from that place or that person again. What’s worse, we’re more likely to be skeptical of all used-car salesmen in general and buy directly from buyers instead.

Clickbait headlines are headlines that bait readers into clicking by teasing, being intentionally vague, or deceptive in their promises.

Clickbait has been a significant issue in journalism. In 2015, Trinity Mirror, one of the UK’s biggest newspaper publishers announced plans to set website “click” targets for reporters. This led to concerns that headlines with a constant you won’t believe what you’re about to read approach is frustrating to online readers and would diminish the value of news with fluff and sensationalism. Unsurprisingly, these plans didn’t go ahead.

Reputable media sites are wary of clickbait as they understand it damages the credibility of their content, their brands, and doesn’t serve their readers. These sites are now valuable places to learn how to avoid clickbait headlines. Especially as writing headlines isn’t a science. As writers, we can get better with our own headlines by identifying common characteristics behind headlines written by reputable media sites: BBC News, The Guardian, The New York Times, TIME, NBC News, and CBC.
The Power of Sleep in Learning: Mind-Blowing Science
By: John Von Neumann Ii
Tags: Self Improvement, Productivity, Science, Health, Entrepreneurship

The Power of Sleep in Learning: Mind-Blowing Science

Many people, sadly, haven’t unlocked this potential their whole lives

W e all know sleep is important for (mental) health, but what do the numbers say?

According to the book:

Sleeping well can boost your learning with 20 to 40% in comparison to those who are sleep-deprived.

The problem, however, is that it’s hard for long-term sleep-deprived people to know they are sleep-deprived. However, according to the book, just 1 hour of less sleep for 10 nights is sufficient to make your performance equivalent to someone who is drunk. This includes driving, learning, reaction time, and so on.

One hour of less sleep every day, sadly, is a reality for many people and especially students.

So how does sleep enhance learning?

The Mechanics of Sleep In Learning

First of all, as we progress throughout the day learning new stuff, they are mostly stored in the hippocampus. This brain region, however, has a relatively small space to store memories and can get full quickly.

What happens during sleep, is that these memories either get transferred from the hippocampus to the neocortex (which has a much bigger storage space) or they get removed.

See: Memory consolidation, Wikipedia for more information

A lack of sleep results in your hippocampus not being completely emptied (or almost) nor are your memories that well consolidated (strengthened). This, in turn, makes it harder to learn and remember new things the next day.

Sleep and Productivity

I f you had to choose between earning $80,000 a year while working normal hours and getting good sleep versus $140,000 while working insane hours and only sleep 6 hours a day, what would you choose?

Most people would choose the latter. The book, however, teaches that you can get both in the long-term, namely earning $140,000 while sleeping well every night.

Why? Because you make less errors, are much more creative, and so on when having slept well.

This, too, counts for studying and learning things.

Don’t sacrifice quality for quantity.

Improving Your Sleep Quality

For those interested, Bill Gates wrote a review on the same book mentioning tips to improve your sleep quality:
3 Marketing Strategies That Can Work Like Magic
By: Niyati Jain
Tags: Marketing, Startup, Writing, Work, Productivity

3 Marketing Strategies That Can Work Like Magic

#1 Challenging the customer

Image courtesy: Author

In today’s world, everything has come down to how well you can promote your brand. No matter how well you have implemented your idea or how great your product is, if your audience does not get to know about it, it’s of no use. Marketing strategies are what is used while promoting a product.

But these strategies involve a lot of thought process before they can be implemented. With the world getting smaller day by day, it’s hard to come up with a new and distinct idea every day. The ones who can, end up winning the race.

Here I am going to tell you about 3 such uncommon strategies, that can help you build a greater audience. However, they are just a direction and there will be a lot that you can experiment with:
All the Love you do not see
By: A Singular Story
Tags: Social Media, Future, Society, Writing, Mental Health

All the Love you do not see

On writing with heart and hope

Photo by JOSHUA COLEMAN on Unsplash

The words I do not recognize are the ones my heart wrote, so feverish with hope every line feels like a hallucination.

And yet, these moments happened and still happen, everything is true. Suddenly, life is poetry and joy opens up portal into new universes that leave you speechless. Unless you surrender to it, you cannot experience awe; that surrender is not verbal. Transcription takes place well after the facts and always feels like an unreliable witness account.

Finding yourself writing love letters to life as a chronic depressive freelancer on the verge of financial collapse is weird but I’m here for it. Against the stark backdrop of death and destruction, life is more beautiful than ever, and I am, dare I say it, content.

There is so much gentleness in the generosity of acceptance, it frees up mental bandwidth for everything else. The moment is as impermanent as life. To not celebrate it would be an affront to hope, the same hope that has seen me through everything so far.

I shouldn’t be here anymore but I am. Despair has shades and nuances, hope is blinding, and I have been dazed and confused since I set aside the past and embraced the present almost two years ago.

Hope is the blank page beckoning your heart to release its findings.

So others might benefit from them.
Allow Yourself To Be Creative
By: Mike Marolla
Tags: Writing, Creativity, Motivation, Self-awareness, Art

Allow Yourself To Be Creative

“There’s no path ’til you walk it”

Photo by Amy Shamblen on Unsplash

Do you get a little nervous before showing someone your artwork or writing? Before clicking publish or submitting to a publication?

I do.

There’s a certain level of fear that comes with being creative — Why?

We’re all a little suspect of our own talent — Ethan Hawke

This was the first thing that jumped out at me when I saw Ethan Hawke’s TED Talk about creativity. We’re hesitant when it comes to being creative.

Why?

We’re unsure about how we’ll be judged on our suspect talents. We’re insecure. Should we be? What are we so afraid of?

After all:

If history’s taught us anything, the world is an extremely unreliable critic.

Who knows what will be “popular” or “valuable” or “good”. Not us. We have no say in that.

Sure, there are “recipes for success” in creativity — I guess. Look no further than the countless writing advice posts on Medium. But do you want a recipe for someone else’s success, or do you want to blaze your own trail?
Founders’ silent struggle — The biggest needs (Part 7)
By: Inga Stasiulionyte
Tags: Startup, Mental Health, Interview, Entrepreneurship, Psychology

“Every time when it’s really difficult you start asking yourself if this lifestyle is really for you. But when you know that you have a chance to make a difference in the world, then you roll up your sleeves and face the problems. What if this thing does not work — it is still the best time of my life” Tommaso Troiani, a founder of swabit.app.

Founders need to have high energy and ability to generate diverse resources for at least 4 to 10 years of constant emotional and financial turbulence, painful pivots and multiple times starting from square one.

It’s ok if a response to turbulence and sudden startup swings is shrieking and puking, however, a founder should have a strong recovery plan and support system to help them to clean up and go on the ride again.

Founders listed their biggest needs:

Fundraising, how to screen investors and prepare for next rounds better

More sales, salespeople, digital marketing

Improving skills of communication, presenting and pitching

Teaching team an entrepreneurial mindset and how to recover from failures healthier

Business models at different business stages

Connections finding the right mentors and coaches

Creating better physiological and psychological health for better stress management, handling negative thoughts and emotions, keeping calm during turbulent times

Becoming mentally stronger, getting better rest, maintaining motivation and energy

Managing better introverted or extroverted capacities

What are your needs? What is your favorite place to find startup related answers?

PS.: Some tools can be found at Disciplined Entrepreneurship and Disciplined Entrepreneurship Toolbox.
Walking Is Underrated: The Unappreciated Complexity and Power of Walking
By: Eshan Samaranayake
Tags: Mental Health, Health, Neuroscience, Science, Fitness

Walking Is Underrated: The Unappreciated Complexity and Power of Walking

“Walking is man’s best medicine!”— Hippocrates

Photo by Yogendra Singh from Pexels. Edited by the author on Canva.

Even though moving around seem simple, it requires considerable brain power

In his book, ‘In Praise of Walking’ [1], Shane O’Mara starts off by talking about the life of a sea squirt.

In its early stages of development, it moves around in rock pools in search for food. To support this movement, the young sea squirt develops one eye, a brain, and a spinal cord.

As the sea squirt matures, it undergoes a major transition. It attaches itself to a rock, and never moves again.

It then eats its brain, eye, and spinal cord. Because it just doesn’t need them anymore.

But surely humans are not quite the same as sea squirts, right? We might be a little closer than you would imagine.

Developmental biologists compared the genes of two seemingly different species: the skate (a type of fish) and the mouse. The biologists discovered that the two species share many genes related to movement. These shared genes determine their spinal cords, the placement of their limbs or fins, and the nearby muscles and nerves [3].
House Reports Claims Anticompetitive Behavior by Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook
By: Paul Dughi
Tags: Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Government

“Our investigation leaves no doubt that there is a clear and compelling need for Congress and the antitrust enforcement agencies to take action that restores competition, improves innovation, and safeguards our democracy.” — Rep. David Cicilline

After reviewing more than 1.3 million internal documents and interviewing more than 240 people and three dozen antitrust experts, and former employees of the major tech companies, the House Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust Subcommittee wrapped up its 16-month investigation. The report concludes that Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook have exploited their power of the marketplace in anticompetitive ways.

“This investigation has revealed that Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google were committed to drowning out competition through unfair and anti-competitive practices — often doing so at the expense of user privacy and innovation,” said Rep. Val Demings. “Their anticompetitive acts have come at a cost for consumers and small businesses.”

In its report, the subcommittee recommended the following actions be taken:

Structural separations to prohibit platforms from operating in lines of business that depend on or interoperate with the platform;

Prohibiting platforms from engaging in self-preferencing;

Requiring platforms to make its services compatible with competing networks to allow for interoperability and data portability;

Mandating that platforms provide due process before taking action against market participants;

Establishing a standard to proscribe strategic acquisitions that reduce competition;

Improvements to the Clayton Act, the Sherman Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act, to bring these laws into line with the challenges of the digital economy;

Eliminating anticompetitive forced arbitration clauses;

Strengthening the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice;

And promoting greater transparency and democratization of the antitrust agencies.

“Our investigation revealed an alarming pattern of business practices that degrade competition and stifle innovation.” — Rep. Val Demings

You can download the entire report here.
The Sustainable Element-Technology Nexus that has Great Potential
By: Sophia Nynnat
Tags: Technology, Sustainability, Health, Environment, Science

The Sustainable Element-Technology Nexus that has Great Potential

A simple and cheap technique to mitigate water pollution

The image is taken from the author’s photo collection

The element carbon forms only 0.025 percent of the earth’s crust by mass. But its particular valency number of 4 gives it a unique capability. The ability to react with a range of other elements. Carbon atom’s readiness to share four electrons to attain stability. Added to this, carbon is gifted with the ability to exist in three oxidation states. They are +2,+3, and +4. This makes it an accommodative partner for other elements to form an ‘alliance’ with. The alliance between elements forms a compound.

This unique approach of carbon has attracted a strong and everlasting partnership with hydrogen and other elements. This includes nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, phosphorous, and silicon. This prompted our scientists to start a new branch in chemistry. It is called organic chemistry.

Organic chemistry is the study of compounds that contains carbon. They are an indispensable part of the living world as they are the structural foundation of many compounds. This includes the backbones of life such as carbohydrates, proteins, and deoxyribonucleic acids.

As technology evolved, organic compounds found new applications. Fossil fuels are derivatives of organic compounds. They are being used worldwide for energy production.

Many human commodities are made of organic compounds. These include pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, and plastic. Their ubiquitous nature in the products has prompted the contamination of water sources. Some of them are harmless and gets degraded easily. Others have serious health repercussions on the health of the living world [1].

After the advent of ion-exchange membranes, scientists found ways to purify water. But, the removal of neutral species from water remained a problem [2]. Many organic compounds are neutral.

The process of reverse osmosis (RO) is the most advanced of ion-exchange technology today [2]. RO is capable of purifying even seawater which has the highest concentration of total solids among natural water sources [2]. But as organic compound concentrations in water sources increased, things became a little complicated.

RO is costly. The increasing presence of organic contaminants was found to be hazardous to the RO membranes affecting their lifetime. Organochlorines are one of the most potent of the membrane destroyers [2]. It became imperative to remove organic compounds before the process of RO.

RO process releases copious amounts of wastewater as RO concentrate. This water can be reused for domestic and industrial applications after treatment [2]. But the technology used for treatment should be cheap to make the venture sustainable and inexpensive.
How To Write a Powerful Piece of Content in One Hour
By: Jonah Malin
Tags: Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Efficiency, Productivity, Writing

How To Write a Powerful Piece of Content in One Hour

Writing can be a long, arduous process — but it doesn’t have to be

Photo by LinkedIn Sales Navigator on Unsplash

Typically some combination of planning, research, and editing goes into a professional piece of content, which can take several months to perfect. However, sometimes speed and efficiency become an imperative and unavoidable part of the process. From writing a blog post to developing a multifaceted marketing campaign, having an effective strategy to produce quality content in limited time is essential.

My writing career is still in its twilight phase, and I am in the process of deciding exactly where I want to take it. But I can tell you one thing: After nearly 5 years of working in marketing, hours spent researching the world’s top entrepreneurs, and delicately balancing a schedule that includes a career and multiple side hustles, I have learned how to craft high-quality content in one hour or less.

If I can do it, you can too.
AI Diagnoses Alzheimer’s With More Than 95% Accuracy
By: Eshan Samaranayake
Tags: Machine Learning, Health, Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience, Science

AI Diagnoses Alzheimer’s With More Than 95% Accuracy

Alzheimer’s is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States.

All the illustrations were edited by the author via Canva

A little 30-second video. By Science for Real.

Subscribe to my newsletter to receive articles about science, healthcare, technology, and happiness!
The 3 Best Ways to Respond to Negative Comments on Your Articles
By: Jon Hawkins
Tags: Writing, Productivity, Psychology, Marketing, Freelancing

The 3 Best Ways to Respond to Negative Comments on Your Articles

We’re writers, not comedians — dealing with critics is difficult

Photo by King Buwa on Unsplash

That was the infamous response comedian and poet: John Cooper Clarke gave when being insulted by a member of a live studio audience.

Sadly, us writers aren’t comedians. We can’t go around insulting every reader who disagrees with our work.

Our aim on this platform is to gain our readers’ trust. We want to provide knowledgeable, accurate and accessible content that is backed up by academic, factual and historic sources. And that gives our work a sense of credibility that can only be earned with hours, weeks or months of research.

But by insulting, or arguing with someone who disagrees with us, we are throwing away that trust.

This is because insults are interpreted by psychologists as a defence mechanism bought on by fear.

Someone disagreeing with your work is, in effect, questioning whether what you have spelled out is even accurate. And by insulting them, rather than pointing out their mistake — you are behaving as if you have something to hide. It’s like you know your content is inaccurate and you’re trying to deceive your audience.

Of course, after hours of research, you don’t want to give off that impression. But you can’t just leave that negative comment unanswered, can you? If you do, readers who see a challenge to your work may also wonder about its truth.

So how exactly should you deal with hecklers? Your response need not tip-toe around in the hopes of not offending your challenger. But it should be presented in such a way that re-establishes your credibility.

And how exactly you do that will depend on the current position you find yourself in.
How to Escape a Writers Slump in The Easiest Way Possible
By: Jordan Mendiola
Tags: Motivation, Inspiration, Productivity, Writing, Creativity

How to Escape a Writers Slump in The Easiest Way Possible

A guide specially made for creators who are struggling to stay consistent

Photo by Korhan Erdol from Pexels

The right working environment can stimulate creativity and innovation. Colours, lighting, sounds and arrangement all influence how creative people are. — René de Ruijter

My goal is to post one article every single day. Sure there are days when I can’t get anything onto the screen, but we all have those days — even the most consistent creators.

Many catalysts decide whether or not you succeed or you struggle. Your environment, time on your hands, and your motivation.

At the tippy-top of the list is your environment. If you can’t put yourself into an ideal creative environment, then you’re going to be stuck in the cycle of inefficiency.

After reading this article, you’ll change your environment in a way that is optimal for you to create 100% more.
How a 77-Year-Old Theory Can Help You Write Wonderful Headlines
By: Cynthia Marinakos
Tags: Headline Hacks, Writing, Psychology, Creativity, Productivity

How a 77-Year-Old Theory Can Help You Write Wonderful Headlines

Look to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to understand and uplift your readers during COVID — and beyond

Illustration by Cynthia Marinakos.

He had a dream.

A vision.

A vision of a peace table where people would sit around discussing the important things in life — human nature, hatred, war, peace, and brotherhood.

Just after Pearl Harbour, this man drove home in his car, stopped to let through a “poor, pathetic parade.” Tears ran down his face as he watched. He was overwhelmed with sadness that “we didn’t understand — not Hitler, nor the Germans, nor Stalin, nor the communists. We didn’t understand any of them.”

And this man believed this lack of understanding was holding back progress.

“It was at that moment that I realized that the rest of my life must be devoted to discovering a psychology for the peace table. That moment changed my whole life.”

This was the drive behind Abraham Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs, as told by Hoffman in The right to be human: A biography of Abraham Maslow (1999, 2nd edition).

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was first introduced in his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation” in Psychological Review. It has been used widely in many different fields, particularly in management, to understand human motivation and happiness.

What made Maslow’s studies different from other psychologists during his time was his focus on happiness and health — rather than human weakness. He believed when basic needs are met, the deeper desires of creativity and fulfilling our potential can be addressed.

How is this helpful when writing content — and headlines? Firstly, we can better capture our reader’s attention with content that addresses their deep needs. Secondly, when we believe our reader is capable of achieving their best self, we help our readers believe that too.

Today we’ll look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and learn how we can bond more deeply with our readers by fulfilling one or more of these needs in our content and headline writing.
Exploring Your Mobile App Business Idea
By: Edwin Klesman
Tags: Mobile App Development, Product Development, Entrepreneurship, Startup, Development

An actionable post to get going with your mobile app idea

In this post, I give you actionable advice on what to think about and consider before you start building your mobile app business idea. As a web- and mobile developer with over 16 years of experience on his belt, I’ve learned what needs consideration before you start your mobile adventure, both for business supporting apps and stand-alone mobile app services.

Every assumption that you’re starting your mobile app product on is false until proven valid

Your Assumptions Are Wrong

In an era where building Minimum Viable Products (MVPs), and pivoting ideas as taught by The Lean Startup and agile processes are king, assuming you just need to build your mobile app and turning it into a success is proven to have a 99% chance of failing.

Every assumption that you’re starting your mobile app product on is false until proven valid. This is a law that applies universally.

I’m not saying you’re always in the wrong ball-park. But it is unlikely that you are spot on in one stroke, and you should always assume that you are working on wrong assumptions.

Your assumptions could be a little off and just need a little tweaking to work for your idea, or they can be wrong entirely.

As an entrepreneur or maker, it is your job to find out what assumptions are right and wrong, and how to improve them or find the right ones for your product.

Here are some ways that can help you to minimize the error in your assumptions:

Scratch your itch: work on an idea for a solution that you need for yourself or to solve a problem that you’re experiencing yourself. That way, you can validate if it works for you. You’ll need to find out if there are enough of other people that have the same problem to see if this is going to be viable

Idea pivoting: create the simplest form of your idea that helps you to demonstrate your solution to others. This could be as simple as creating an Excel sheet, a clickable wireframe, mockups, or non-coding examples. If you’re a quick developer a simple duct tape proof of concept using your developer stack could do as well. Just invest the least amount of effort that is needed to enable the demonstration of your idea

Landing pages: you can pivot your idea on a simple website to show how and what value it provides (and for whom) to see if it gets tractions before you build anything.

There are awesome books available that can help to provide you with the right mindset and information to find out if your idea is viable.

Coming from a technical background, the following books helped me to shape my mindset for sure:

🔑 Take-aways:
How Much Sleep Do You Need?
By: Eshan Samaranayake
Tags: Health, Neuroscience, Mental Health, Sleep, Science

How Much Sleep Do You Need?

There are links between excessive sleep and cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes.

All the illustrations were edited by the author via Canva

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Mind Management, Not Time Management now available for pre-order
By: David Kadavy
Tags: Books, Productivity, Writing, Creativity, Time Management

After many years of work, I finally got my first copies of Mind Management, Not Time Management! The Kindle edition is now available for pre-order.

You’ve done everything you can to save time. Every productivity tip, every “life hack,” every time management technique.

But the more time you save, the less time you have. The more overwhelmed, stressed, exhausted you feel.

“Time management” is squeezing blood from a stone.

Instead of struggling to get more out of your time, Mind Management, Not Time Management will arm you with the tools to start effortlessly getting more out of your mind—especially when creativity matters.

Quit your daily routine. Use the hidden patterns all around you as launchpads to skyrocket your productivity.

Use the hidden patterns all around you as launchpads to skyrocket your productivity. Do in only five minutes what used to take all day. Let your “passive genius” do your best thinking when you’re not even thinking.

Let your “passive genius” do your best thinking when you’re not even thinking. “Writer’s block” is a myth. Learn a timeless lesson from the 19th century’s most underrated scientist.

Learn a timeless lesson from the 19th century’s most underrated scientist. Wield all of the power of technology, with none of the distractions. An obscure but inexpensive gadget may be the shortcut to your superpowers.

An obscure but inexpensive gadget may be the shortcut to your superpowers. Keep going, even when chaos strikes.Tap into the unexpected to find your next Big Idea.

Mind Management, Not Time Management isn’t your typical productivity book. It’s a gripping page-turner chronicling my global search for the keys to unlock the future of productivity.

I’m working hard putting the finishing touches on this, and I’m very excited to bring it into the world. Please pre-order it on Amazon.
Do Headlines Really Make a Difference?
By: Cynthia Marinakos
Tags: Marketing, Headline Hacks, Productivity, Creativity, Writing

Do Headlines Really Make a Difference?

First impressions count

Illustration by Cynthia Marinakos

It gets a little confusing.

What really gets writers noticed?

Quality writing. Formatting. Getting curated. Submitting to publications. Headlines.

Writing a lot. Writing less with quality. Getting claps. Shares. Reads. Comments. Tagging other writers. Choosing the right tags.

There are so many aspects to writing, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Add to that a crapload of well-meaning advice out there sharing the pros and cons of all of these.

What should you focus on?

Great writing, of course. That’s what people are here for. Also, focus on your headline. Here’s why:

Think of the last job you applied for — and how it compares to writing.

You’ve got the experience and skills for the job — quality.

You’ve sent your CV out to employers — submitting to publications.

Perhaps you’ve applied to 30 jobs. Perhaps only to three — writing frequency.

Sometimes you get an interview. Other times you don’t hear a damn thing — claps, shares, reads, comments.

Say you land an interview — awesome!

You prep answers and practice with a mate. Perhaps you even video yourself and record your answers. Analyzing. Refining. Practicing again and again. Rehearsing your answers to your partner. Speaking to no one but the pitter-patter of the shower. While you munch on your cornflakes. In your sleep. The lines echoing in your mind as soon as you wake.

Bring it on!

You’re feeling calm. Confident. Composed.

You walk into the interview…

Wearing your PJs. Hair unbrushed. Crusty drool around your mouth. Sleep in your eyes. Stinky breath. Slouching. Head down. Your eyes not meeting anyone’s eyes. You did put on some runners though.

What sort of first impression are you making?

Well not bothering with your headlines is a lot like that.

Heading in fully prepared yet not taking time to dress well and make a good first impression at your interview is a surefire way to throw a job away — if not get hauled out of the building by security.

Writing often. Writing tags. Submitting to publications. All that doesn’t matter if you don’t pay attention to your headline. Your readers, curators, editors — your colleagues, prospects, customers — they’ll ignore all that hard work you’ve put into your:

Article.

Report.

Presentation.

Ad.

TED talk.

Apart from being ignored, you miss out. You miss out on money from more readership and sponsors. You miss out on being respected and admired. You miss out on invitations that help you realize your dreams and ambitions.

You miss out on gifting the world with insights you know will make their work, their relationships, their writing, their health — better.

You miss out on connections that relate to you, trust you, confide in you. You miss out on feeling energized and fulfilled, knowing you can make a difference in people’s lives with your words — but being noticed by no one.
How to Write Something People Will Actually Read
By: Todd Brison
Tags: Work, Entrepreneurship, Writing, Creativity, Productivity

How to Write Something People Will Actually Read

“Just write every day” is not the answer

Photo by Retha Ferguson from Pexels

The writer’s job is not to write. It is to think and to make others think.

This is a hard job today. It isn’t because people are getting dumber (although it seems that way at times). It’s because we, your potential readers, are drowning in content.

The bar for getting and keeping a person’s attention in order to make them think is higher than a giraffe’s ear hair.

In 2012, Seth Godin said: “We’re living in the first moment in time… when credentials, access to capital, and raw power have been dwarfed by the simple question: do I care about what you do?”

That’s never been more true.

The problem? Good writing doesn’t get anyone’s attention.

Novelty does.

The right adjective is not nearly as important as the right story. What has your reader not seen? Or at least, what have they not seen lately? A good writer finds what’s missing. They look where nobody else is looking.

This, too, is a difficult job to execute.

Luckily, though, the answers are simple:
Four Reasons You Won’t Make It as a Professional Writer
By: Jessica Lynn
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Self-awareness, Productivity, Money, Writing

You complain.

You are complaining that other writers have it easier than you.

Yes. Some writers will just take off. Like my previous example of writer Allie Brosh. Good for them. Be happy for them, even if the only reason you are happy for them is that complaining will not be good for your writing career.

There is a lot of negativity online. Don’t add to it. People aren’t attracted to people who complain and approach anything with a “whoa is me” attitude.

We all have pangs of envy and jealousy.

I read an article in The Atlantic last night that had me really questioning if I’d ever be a great writer; that doesn’t really matter; the only thing that matters is if I like to write and whether I think it is worth time. I do.

If you wonder why some writers take-off faster than you, you are putting your energy in the wrong place. You may think, I can’t believe so and so wrote that piece, and it has X amount of views; it isn’t even very good. I can write a better piece than that four minute piece of…

Well, you didn’t write that four-minute piece of …that everyone seems to love. You didn’t come up with the idea or articulate it in a way that resonates.

Instead of concentrating on why you think they don’t deserve x and x, put that energy into writing better.

Do this instead.

One way of getting out of the comparison trap you put yourself in with other writers is to remember that growth happens when we compare ourselves to our own evolution.

Real growth doesn’t come from measuring ourselves against others but from measuring our progress. Compare yourself now to yourself a month ago, three months ago, a year ago. Then, plan what you want your life to look like three months, six months, or a year from now.

Don’t worry about what others are doing; put sustained effort into your writing journey and find out what you are capable of, and your writing life will expand exponentially. Complaining that you aren’t as far as such and such when you started earlier only increases that burden.

When I find myself in the comparison trap or dealing with “imposter syndrome,” I ask myself, what do I want, what could I do to grow my writing chops?

Then I answer the question. It is usually something straightforward, like read a book on writing or take a writing class. And then, I do it. I’m continually pushing myself to get better, and one of the ways I do this is sitting down to write every day.
5 Tactics to Keep Writing when No One is Reading Your Work
By: Dayon Cotton
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Writing, Self Improvement, Creativity, Productivity

“If you live for the love of other’s, you will die from their rejection.” Lecrae

Followers, claps, likes, and views all have one thing in common — they’re distractions. These stats distract from the reason you started writing to begin with and that’s to create quality content that people everyone can enjoy reading.

We already live in a world with too many distractions. Our faces are magnetized to our cell phones, we have jobs to do to pay bills, and too many social media notifications is constantly barking at us like a dog that you forgot to feed. It’s a constant feeling of overwhelm and it can take away from your artistic quality.

This feeling of overwhelm is elevated even more so, when you allow it to interfere with your work as a writer. Whether you write as a passion or as means to generate revenue, it’s always important to maintain creative control of your work. When you allow superficial concepts such as followers and claps to determine your work, your writing will inevitably suffer. Nothing you write will feel good enough because you’re constantly searching for external approval instead of allowing your creativity to take over. At this point, you’re no wonder a writer but an entertainer to the masses.

I have personally struggled with this myself and I’m only recently learning to cut through the overwhelm and prioritize my writing. I have at least ten different drafts that I have started but never finished due to a fear that none of it will be good enough. This has been going on for the past three months but its been a constant life struggle for me.

For example, you start writing then you lose hope that it will amount to anything because you have very few followers and no claps on your past articles. Maybe you publish your article but notifications never go off on your Medium app so you slowly lose interest and wondering if you’re wasting your time. That’s my struggle with validation and it may be your struggle as well.

Recently, after my 26th birthday, I came to the realization that if I ever want to be a great writer, I have to do it for myself and no one else.

Here are some tactics to get away from external approval and focus on where it matters: writing quality content.