Series

Series

Some topics take more than one article. Each series is ordered so you can read it from top to bottom, in the order the questions tend to come up.

Thinking about changing jobs 11 parts

From Sunday-night dread to whether to quit, where to start, money, how to say it, and what comes after, in the order the doubts tend to come.

  1. Part 1 Why are Sunday nights so heavy? What weekends fill in us, and what research says about switching off from work. 3 min read
  2. Part 2 Is wanting to quit your job running away? Breaking down whether to quit or change, with research on job demands, resources and burnout. 5 min read
  3. Part 3 "I'm not cut out for this job": how true is it? Is it the work, or the workplace? Research on fit, and job crafting. 4 min read
  4. Part 4 When fear keeps you from changing jobs Living with the fear of changing jobs, through research on loss aversion and regret. 3 min read
  5. Part 5 Where do you start when changing jobs? Reasons and priorities, taking stock, the market, applying, checking the offer, resigning. Six steps in order. 4 min read
  6. Part 6 Why are recruitment agents free? Know the habits their fee structure creates, and be the one using them, not the one being used. 4 min read
  7. Part 7 How many recruitment agents should you use? Why two or three, how to combine them, the rules for using several, and how to decline. 3 min read
  8. Part 8 Does changing jobs raise your pay? 40.5% of job changers in Japan earned more, 29.4% earned less. What makes the difference? 4 min read
  9. Part 9 What to know when you can't bring yourself to say you're quitting The two-week rule, handling attempts to keep you, and three kinds of resignation services, under Japanese law. 5 min read
  10. Part 10 Will changing jobs make you happy? Satisfaction rises right after a job change, then falls. The honeymoon-hangover research. 4 min read
  11. Part 11 Books to read when you start thinking about changing jobs What you want, judging companies, pay, a long life. Four books, by stage of doubt. 4 min read

Looking clean, checked 7 parts

First impressions, smell, bad breath, sun damage. Checking what makes someone look clean, one study at a time.

  1. Part 1 First impressions form in 0.1 seconds. And sleep loss shows on your face A tenth of a second was enough to judge a face. How does a sleep-deprived face look to others? 4 min read
  2. Part 2 How much does smell shape how people see you? That vague sense that someone seems nice can depend on smell too. Likability, emotion, attraction, pheromones and memory. 6 min read
  3. Part 3 Start odor care with your armpits and the soles of your feet Underarms: genetic differences. Feet: humidity and microbes in your shoes. How body odor works. 6 min read
  4. Part 4 How to choose an antiperspirant or deodorant Stop sweat or stop odor? Reading active ingredients, and what safety assessments say about aluminum. 3 min read
  5. Part 5 Most bad breath comes from the mouth, not the stomach Data from 2,000 halitosis-clinic patients on tongue coating, gum disease, saliva, and what works. 10 min read
  6. Part 6 How to choose tools for bad breath Tongue cleaners, interdental brushes, mouthwash. How to choose and use them, from systematic reviews and public information. 3 min read
  7. Part 7 How to choose a sunscreen Even SPF 50 falls short if you apply too little. What a trial and official guidelines say about choosing and applying it. 4 min read

Asking the philosophers 5 parts

The Stoics, Nietzsche, Camus, Sartre. Taking today's worries to two thousand years of philosophers.

  1. Part 1 Are you worrying too much about what you can't change? What's up to you, and what isn't. Thinking from the first line the Stoics drew 2,000 years ago. 4 min read
  2. Part 2 God is dead. So why do we keep living? In a world where no meaning is handed to us, what will I leave behind? 2 min read
  3. Part 3 Can you be happy when every day is the same? Camus wrote that we must imagine the man who pushes a boulder forever as happy. 3 min read
  4. Part 4 Condemned to be free A paper knife has a purpose. A person doesn't. Sartre's lecture on the weight of choosing. 3 min read
  5. Part 5 Books to read when you want to think about how to live Meaning, freedom, other people's judgment. Four books for going deeper into the questions in these essays. 3 min read

Sleep, checked 5 parts

Nap length, weekend catch-up sleep, morning and night types, noise and light, screens. Checking what we are told about sleep.

  1. Part 1 How long should a nap be? Experiments comparing nap lengths and adding caffeine, on how to nap well. 3 min read
  2. Part 2 Can you catch up on lost sleep on the weekend? A mortality study and a metabolism experiment gave different answers. Putting them side by side. 5 min read
  3. Part 3 Can you change being a morning or night person? Genes, age, and light. How much of your chronotype is fixed, and how much can move? 3 min read
  4. Part 4 How to choose earplugs and an eye mask How to cut bedroom noise and light. Choosing by earplug material and eye mask shape. 5 min read
  5. Part 5 Do blue-light glasses help with eye strain? What a systematic review and eye-doctor associations say about screen eye strain. 3 min read

Is that health claim true? 5 parts

Coffee, dark chocolate, olive oil, blueberries, blood sugar. Rechecking "good for you" and "bad for you" against the papers.

  1. Part 1 Is coffee really bad for you? You hear both that coffee is bad for you and that it's good for you. Using an umbrella review of meta-analyses, official caffeine guidance, and a sleep experiment to sort out how many cups a day, and until what time, the evidence supports. 4 min read
  2. Part 2 Is dark chocolate really good for you? Cocoa flavanols, blood vessel function, blood pressure, cardiovascular events, and heavy metals. Sorting out from randomized trials and meta-analyses how far the evidence goes. 6 min read
  3. Part 3 Is olive oil really good for you? EVOO, cardiovascular disease, oxidized LDL, blood sugar, and heating. Sorting out from human RCTs and meta-analyses how far the evidence goes. 7 min read
  4. Part 4 Are blueberries really that special? Anthocyanins, blood vessel function, cognition, blood pressure, blood sugar, and gut bacteria. Sorting out from human research how far the evidence goes. 7 min read
  5. Part 5 Why does blood sugar matter so much for health? Blood sugar, blood vessels, and your future health. Thinking about how they connect. 6 min read

How people change 6 parts

Who you want to be, self-image, goals and systems, fear. What to understand before relying on willpower.

  1. Part 1 What kind of person do you want to be? Before changing what you do, think about who you want to be. 5 min read
  2. Part 2 Self-image changes long-term behavior How you see yourself affects how many times you try, and how much experience you build. 4 min read
  3. Part 3 A goal without a system goes nowhere Break a goal down into daily actions, and design them as habits and routines. 6 min read
  4. Part 4 Maybe fear is discomfort, not danger When you feel afraid, is it really dangerous, or just uncomfortable? 4 min read
  5. Part 5 Understanding why you can't change, through how habits work Why I recommend Russell Poldrack's Hard to Break: Why Our Brains Make Habits Stick. The themes to know before reading, and ways to connect it to your own daily work and behavior. 2 min read
  6. Part 6 Books to read when you want to change your habits Six books chosen with research in mind, with the caveats later studies found. Pick by problem. 5 min read