Chris Loper has been writing about self-improvement and helping busy adults with habit formation since 2017. He also writes an education blog for parents and students for Northwest Educational Services. Along with Greg Smith, Chris is the cocreator of Parenting for Academic Success, a series of transformative classes that create empowered parents, confident students, and harmonious families. His most recent endeavor combines his academic and habit-formation expertise to help students thrive in college. Visit SmartCollegeHabits.com to learn more. In 2021, Chris published a humorous memoir titled Wood Floats and Other Brilliant Observations, a book that blends crazy stories with practical life lessons. He lives in Issaquah, WA where he is the owner of South Cove Tutoring.
Long-time readers (or fans of Cal Newport) will recall that there are two kinds of work: deep work and shallow work. Deep work is difficult and important; it requires your full attention. Shallow work is easier and less important; it can be done amid distractions or interruptions. Both are necessary, but deep work is more meaningful and creates more value. We often neglect deep work because shallow work is easier.… Read More »Deep Fun vs. Shallow Fun
James Clear (author of Atomic Habits) recently wrote something that I disagreed with: “You will rarely outperform your self-image.”1 Actually, this is precisely how you improve your self-image, but you can only outperform it incrementally, improving your self-image bit by bit via self-perception. Your self-image is partly the result of your thoughts – what you think you’re capable of. But a larger factor is your actions – what you’ve seen… Read More »How Your Self-Image Improves
Perhaps the only thing harder than receiving criticism without becoming defensive is giving criticism without triggering defensiveness. I, for one, struggle mightily with this. When I criticize someone’s behavior, ask them to do something differently, or point out an error they’ve made, I tend to sound judgmental. It seems that, by default, my tone of voice and choice of words make them feel attacked, so they often get defensive. So,… Read More »How to Criticize Without Triggering Defensiveness
Few things are harder in life than taking criticism well. I find that anytime someone tells me that I’ve done something wrong, no matter how minor, my brain starts generating a long list of reasons why I’m actually right, why their criticism is irrational, and why they’re actually the ones who have screwed up. This response is, shockingly, not helpful. So I need to get better at taking criticism. And… Read More »How to Handle Criticism Without Getting Defensive