In this column I share articles, books, research, and thoughts related to the science of self-help, along with experiments and random rabbit holes I’ve gone down across the previous month.

This month was pretty uneventful. After turning in a massive book project last month, I’ve been suffering from a bit of paralysis in moving forward with personal goals. I’ve also gone out of town and had guests visit, all of which changed up the normal flow of things.

But I did finish the first phase of the Finder’s Course, an intense meditation course, record a podcast on sleep, and attend my first in-person Stoic group meeting since before the pandemic started. I’m two months into my new sleep protocols, resulting in ongoing and automatic early morning wake ups. This is a huge change for me, and I’m glad it’s still stable despite all the recent interruptions to my routines.

Oh, and Coursera reference me in an article on motivation (linked below).

Interesting Stuff

The “father of cognitive behavioral therapy” passed away at 100 [New York Times]
How humming helps with anxiety [Inc]
100 days of rejection [TedX]
Microworkouts throughout the day offer a potential replacement to the gym [Mark’s Daily Apple]
A guide to blue light and sleep [The Mattress Nerd]
What to do if you absolutely have to concentrate [Better Homes and Gardens]
A blog with a lot of summaries of self-help books [Muthus Blog]
10 tips for self improvement and motivation [Coursera]
A timeline of scientific discoveries on memory [Science Focus]

Research

Zinc improves the efficiency and quality of sleep [research]

Social

How to condition yourself - an alternate method for self discipline [Reddit]
How to deal with morning anxiety [Reddit]
Why you should train both concentration and vipassana in meditation [Reddit]
3 ways to train deep focus [Reddit]
Why social media is so addictive [Reddit]
20 scientific methods to boost creativity [Reddit]
5 reasons meditation is so difficult to practice [Reddit]
How to start a basic and consistent meditation practice {Reddit]

Miscellaneous and Esoteric

Qi skipping

If you’ve got any interesting links, books, comments, or suggestions, shoot me an email at scienceofselfhelp (at) gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you!