What I learned this week: 04.25.16-04.29.16

  • Amid the stress and sometimes chaos of a breaking story, I often silently repeat my newsroom mantra: One problem at a time. As it turns out, humans are really awful at multitasking. This article from the New York Times calls into question why we ever thought it was a desirable skill. And yes, I was able to read it without any distractions.
  • Also from the New York Times, in addition to his more well-known literary/poetic exploits, Walt Whitman was also quite the proponent of fitness and self-help. He, of course, put his Whitman-esque spin on things.
  • A professor at Princeton University published a CV of his failures. Apparently, it's the most well-read thing he's ever published. The Associated Press reports: "The list ends with a 'Meta-Failure' that the CV has received 'way more attention' than Haushofer's entire body of academic work."
  • Tim Ferriss has come up with a better way to do everything, including taking notes.
  • Never underestimate the power of momentum. Even something as difficult as writing consistently can become habit with enough repetition, I'm discovering.