10 Essential Tools for Practical Travelers

I grew up traveling. My dad was a manufacturer’s representative in home furnishings, which meant he did a tour of all the furniture stores in the Midwest every few months. In the summers, we went with him, exploring the tiniest of Midwestern towns while he showed the fall line in some Main Street furniture store.

After college, I headed to London. When my 6-month work visa expired, I traveled Europe… » Continue

May 7 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: backpack, cheap, clothing, gear, tip, tool, travel | 24 comments»

The Tao of Travel

Against all odds, I became a world traveler in my 25th year.

It began, as all things inevitably do, with a girl. I thought it was ever-lasting love. She was setting out for a year abroad — a summer in Germany, then an academic year in England. I decided, halfway through our summer apart, that I’d join her in England.

Ah, youth.

The relationship didn’t even last until… » Continue

May 5 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: adventure, experience, travel | 13 comments»

Read This Now! Stop Procrastinating and Get Stuff Done — or Else!

OK, I’m done with procrastinating. I’m done with the guilt, anxiety, stress — and, of course, the not getting stuff done. I’m tired of answering “what’d you do today” with “nothing…”. Of course, it’s a lie — I did do something, just not anything important. Not anything that made me feel happier, more complete, or more relaxed. What I did today was spend 8 hours kicking myself, putting myself down… » Continue

April 30 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: getting_started, motivation, procrastination, reward, timer | 15 comments»

How to Improve Your Memory

Our memory is one of the integral parts of day-to-day human life. We’re using it every moment, consciously or not, as we perceive the world and interpret it based on our memories and experiences, or as we look for the car keys, trying to recall where, exactly, was the last place they were seen?

It’s no small wonder that this part of our brain would fall prey to such… » Continue

April 21 2008 | By Joel | Tagged: diet, exercise, gtd, meditation, memory, minimalism, mnemonics | 5 comments»

Your Individual Development Plan

Where do you want to be in 5 years?

This question is one of the lynchpins of the personal development field. It’s usually followed by instructions to visualize yourself having achieved those goals, and maybe an admonishment to ask yourself if what you’re doing now will get you there.

None of this is hard. What is hard, though, is making a plan that will get you there… » Continue

April 16 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: education, growth, improvement, learning, personal_development | 15 comments»

How to Fuel Your Idea Machine

“Reading fiction is a waste of time.”

Have you ever heard someone spout this line of complete and utter bollocks? I’ve rarely heard anything so ridiculous said in my life. Fiction, like all the arts, is an important part of culture; both a reflective distillation of it, and the base elements that form it. Society’s collective attitudes, values, beliefs and the public memory have a symbiotic relationship with the arts.
Books… » Continue

April 12 2008 | By Joel | Tagged: books, creativity, fiction, ideas, problem-solving, reading | 21 comments»