For the last 20 years, I’ve been studying work, creativity, science, and the human condition.
Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing the best of what I’ve learned about living a life that matters. Stay tuned!
The policy didn't ask students to sleep better. It just moved the clock.
Sometimes the most effective intervention removes a structural obstacle rather than demanding individual change.
The mental health findings were stronger among boys than girls — including a 31% drop in reported suicidal intentions.
That should be – no pun intended - a wakeup call.
The largest academic gains went to Hispanic students and economically disadvantaged students.
Thinking strategically and scientifically about school start times can widen opportunity.
More evidence of what scientists have known for years and what I wrote about in WHEN.
When California delayed school start times, kids slept longer and their grades improved 👇
Before the law, nearly 1 in 3 California teens weren't hitting the CDC's minimum sleep recommendation.
After it: students were 14% more likely to get 8 hours a night.
California's SB 328 (2022) required middle schools to start no earlier than 8am, high schools no earlier than 8:30am.
First statewide mandate of its kind in the US.
Your childhood home shapes your intelligence early in life.
But new research finds something surprising:
By adulthood, parenting and home environment have little effect on your brainpower. 🧵
Random means: accidents, illnesses, micro-environments, maybe even who your friends happen to be.
Not parenting. Not schools. Not socioeconomic status within the normal range.
The implication of all this is not to throw up our hands and do nothing. Instead, it’s to reorient what we do.
We've spent decades studying the wrong environmental levers for adult cognition. The real ones may be unpredictable by design.
Question worth sitting with:
What would education policy look like knowing that the one thing shared environment does affect is the decision to pursue more education?
Maybe there’d be a much greater push toward equal access and building ladders everyone, no matter to whom they’re born, can climb.
Step 6: Start before you feel ready.
Flow doesn't come first. Action does.
You start → you focus → sometimes you reach flow.
Motivation isn't a prerequisite. It's often a result.
When you're struggling to focus, stop asking "what's wrong with me?"
Ask "what's wrong with my setup?"
Flow is mechanics, not magic. Build the machine and it functions for you.