I occasionally get asked some version of “How long do I need to practice my habit before it will stick?” The coachee has often heard some magic number – 21 days, 6 weeks, 9 weeks – that will make a new habit automatic and robust. (I hear surprising different numbers, giving how similar the rest of the statement is.)
It’s an alluring idea. Habits form the backbone of our default actions. We probably would be happier, healthier, and wealthier if we could just make doing the “right thing” automatic.
But I think this mindset is missing something important about habits really work.
Read moreThe Peek behind the Curtain interview series includes interviews with eleven people I thought were particularly successful, relatable, or productive. We cover topics ranging from productivity to career exploration to self-care.
This sixth post covers “What does self-care look like for you?”, including what sustainable work hours look like for these folks.
Read moreThe Peek behind the Curtain interview series includes interviews with eleven people I thought were particularly successful, relatable, or productive. We cover topics ranging from productivity to career exploration to self-care.
This fifth post covers prioritization, including “How do you decide which projects to pursue?,” “How much of your time is allocated top down versus being in more reactive mode or just following what's exciting?,” and “How do you prioritize/plan your work?”
Read moreThe Peek behind the Curtain interview series includes interviews with eleven people I thought were particularly successful, relatable, or productive. We cover topics ranging from productivity to career exploration to self-care.
This forth post covers “If you could send a list back in time to your college freshman self, what would you tell them?” plus other reflections on career exploration and decisions.
Read moreThe Peek behind the Curtain interview series includes interviews with eleven people I thought were particularly successful, relatable, or productive. We cover topics ranging from productivity to career exploration to self-care.
This third post covers “What is most important for your productivity?”
Read moreThe Peak behind the Curtain interview series includes interviews with eleven people I thought were particularly successful, relatable, or productive. We cover topics ranging from productivity to career exploration to self-care.
This second post covers “Do you need to love your work to do it well?”
Read morePeople often look to others that they deem particularly productive and successful and come up with (often fairly ungrounded) guesses for how these people accomplish so much. Instead of guessing, I want to give a peek behind the curtain.
I interviewed eleven people I thought were particularly successful, relatable, or productive. We discussed topics ranging from productivity to career exploration to self-care.
The Peak behind the Curtain interview series is meant to help dispel common myths and provide a variety of takes on success and productivity from real people. To that end, I’ve grouped responses on common themes to showcase a diversity of opinions on these topics.
Read morePeople often look to others that they deem particularly productive and successful and come up with (often fairly ungrounded) guesses for how these people accomplish so much. Instead of guessing, I want to give a peek behind the curtain.
I interviewed eleven people I thought were particularly successful, relatable, or productive. We discussed topics ranging from productivity to career exploration to self-care. The Peak behind the Curtain interview series is meant to help dispel common myths and provide a variety of takes on success and productivity from real people.
This first post covers “Have you ever doubted whether you're good enough to pursue your career?” and other personal struggles.
Read moreRohin Shah is a Research Scientist at DeepMind studying methods that allow us to build AI systems that pursue the objectives their users intend them to pursue, rather than the objectives that were literally specified. Rohin completed his PhD at the Center for Human-Compatible AI at UC Berkeley and publishes the Alignment Newsletter to summarize work relevant to AI alignment.
In this interview, Rohin and I discuss his advice for careers in AI safety, as well as his productivity style, experience with research, and personal career path.
Read moreMichelle Hutchinson holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Oxford, where her thesis was on global priorities research. While completing that, she did the operational set-up of the Centre for Effective Altruism and then became Executive Director of Giving What We Can. She is currently the Assistant Director of One-on-One Programme at 80,000 Hours.
Michelle and I discuss management, how to get advice, and her experience starting organizations.
Read moreJulia Wise serves as a contact person for the effective altruism community and helps local and online groups support their members. She serves on the board of GiveWell and writes about effective altruism at Giving Gladly. She was president of Giving What We Can from 2017-2020. Before joining CEA, Julia was a social worker, and studied sociology at Bryn Mawr College.
In this interview, Julia and I discuss her thoughts sustainable motivation, mental health, and finding her place in effective altruism.
Read moreJade is Governance Lead at OpenAI. She was the inaugural Head of Research & Partnerships with the Centre for the Governance of Artificial Intelligence (GovAI), housed at Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute. She completed her DPhil in AI Governance at the University of Oxford and is a Rhodes scholar.
In this interview, Jade and I discuss her thoughts on motivation, productivity, and career path.
Read moreGregory Lewis is a DPhil Scholar at the Future of Humanity Institute, where he investigates long-run impacts and potential catastrophic risk from advancing biotechnology. Previously, he was an academic clinical fellow in public health medicine and before that a junior doctor. He holds a master’s in public health and a medical degree, both from Cambridge University.
In this interview, Greg and I discuss his productivity style, experience with forecasting, and advice for careers in biosecurity.
Read moreEva did an Economics Ph.D. and Mathematics M.A. at the University of California, Berkeley after a master’s in Development Studies at Oxford University. She then worked at the World Bank for two years and founded AidGrade before finding her way back to academia.
In this interview, Eva and I discuss her thoughts on mentors, doing a PhD, research, and sustainable motivation.
Read moreThis interview is part of the “A Peak behind the Curtain” interview series. Daniel Ziegler researched AI safety at OpenAI.
He has since left to do AI safety research at Redwood Research. In this interview, Daniel and I discuss his career path, work motivation, and advice for getting into AI safety.
Read moreThis interview is part of the “A Peak behind the Curtain” interview series. Ajeya Cotra is a Senior Research Analyst at Open Philanthropy where she worked on a framework for estimating when transformative AI may be developed, as well as various cause prioritization and worldview diversification projects. She joined Open Philanthropy in July 2016 as a Research Analyst. Ajeya received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley.
In this interview, Ajeya and I discuss her thoughts on research approach, including research phases and flow. We also touch on self-confidence, sustainability, and rest.
Read moreThis interview is part of the “A Peak behind the Curtain” interview series. Abigail Olvera was a U.S. diplomat last working at the China Desk. Abi was formerly stationed at the US Embassies in Egypt and Senegal and holds a Master's of Global Affairs from Yale University.
In this interview, Abi and I discuss her experience with working in policy, her thoughts on networking, and how her career path unfolded.
Read moreThe following is an interview I had informally with Duncan Sabien back in early 2020 when I was trying to improve my writing. I thought Duncan gave some great, actionable tips, so I’m sharing it here for other people trying to improve their writing.
Read moreI’ve gathered together a handful of resources here on yearly reviews and setting new years goals. …Just in time for everyone to have wrapped up their new years reflections. Oh well, better late than never, right?
Read moreWhen I imagine someone who I expect to actually succeed at building an organization to improve mental health, I visualize an expert who can answer all of the questions above right away, with convincing arguments supported by facts that they know off the top of their heads. They might not have a direct answer to every question, but whenever they don’t have a direct answer they’ll have a good explanation of why that question is not particularly important. In short, these experts have an unusually complex mental map of the problem. I call these mental maps ‘deep models’.
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