Slow ideas

Reference: Tim Harford, FT

Solomon Asch, professor at Swarthmore College in early 1950s proved by his experiments with groups that

1. People will go against the evidence of their own eyes if contradicted by a unanimous group,
2. Group pressure is much weaker if even a single person dares to disagree with the group,
3. It does not matter if a dissenter is mistaken, dissent punctures the group pressure either way.People are liberated to say what they believe, not because the dissenter speaks the truth but because the dissenter demonstrates that disagreement is possible.

Credit: Harvard-Fiction KH & Curious Minds

1. Accept full responsibility for your choices.
2. Decide what you truly want.
3. Set goals that match your values.
4. Create daily routines that support your growth.
5. Stop waiting for the “right time”.
6. Let go of excuses.
7. Prioritise your time relentlessly.
8. Strengthen your mindset.
9. Build confidence through small wins.
10. Set healthy boundaries.
11. Surround yourself with people who support your growth.
12. Commit to your continuous improvement.

Credit: Cal Newport

7 key takeaways

Remember: If you don’t produce, you won’t thrive – no matter how skilled or talented you are.

1. Focus on Deep Work for better results.
2. Eliminate distractions to maintain focus.
3. Time-block you deep work sessions.
4. Build routines that support deep work.
5. Ruthlessly measure your productivity.
6. Learn to say NO to shallow work.

Credit: Chris Williamson

1. I don’t need certainty to act.
2. If it’s reversible, I decide fast.
3. I choose one next step not ten.
4. I don’t solve feelings, I surf them.
5. My thoughts are not instructions.
6. Actions create clarity, not thoughts.
7. I write it down so my brain can rest.
8. I’m allowed to move with partial info.
9. I give myself a deadline, then choose.
10. I ask, “What’s the next visible action?”
11. I schedule thinking so that I don’t spiral.
12. I trade rumination for one small experiment.
13. I let future-me correct, not present-me freeze.
14. I’m aiming for progress, not the perfect plan.
15. I ask,”What would this look like if it were easy?”
16. I accept that some questions stay open while I move.
17. I notice loops and ask, Is this helping or just hindering?
18. I’m the kind of person who stops rehearsing and starts doing.
19. If it won’t matter in 5 years, it doesn’t get this much brainspace.
20. I’d rather be roughly right in motion than stuck “perfecting” ideas.