Shortform Books

How to Be a Better Partner in a Relationship: 3 Simple Tips

Do you have a “secure base” relationship? Do you share everything with your partner? Even if a relationship is going well, there’s always room for improvement. Rather than pointing the finger outward, consider what you can do. Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz share some practical tips in their book The Good Life. Keep reading to learn their advice on how to be a better partner in a relationship that you can put into practice starting today.

Video Game Development Roles That Cause Chaos

What are outside video game development roles? How do investors and business executives affect a video game’s release window? One of the biggest challenges in making a video game doesn’t relate to the development itself. Instead, it’s a product of collaboration with investors, publishers, and other people out of the game studio whose interests in selling the product might conflict with the developers’ interests in creating it. Discover how an outsider’s perspective can change everything about the development of a video game.

Jennette McCurdy’s Eating Disorder & How She Recovered

How did her mother jumpstart her disordered eating? In what ways did she struggle? How did McCurdy recover? Just as Debra McCurdy controlled her daughter’s acting career, she also controlled Jennette McCurdy’s eating. This steers McCurdy into anorexia and later, bulimia. Find out more about McCurdy’s eating disorders and how she recovered from them.

How to Improve Cognitive Skills: The 4 Best Activities

A diagram of a brain that shows cognitive bias examples

Why are you so susceptible to interference and distractions? What are activities that help improve cognitive skills? Technology and information overload cause interference in the brain because of cognitive control limitations. The Distracted Mind by Adam Gazzaley and Larry D. Rosen claims that this interference can be improved with certain activities that help brain function. Keep reading to learn how to improve cognitive skills.

How to Go Easy on Yourself on the Difficult Path to Success

Where’s that sweet spot between pushing yourself to achieve and being too hard on yourself? How might you bring more lightheartedness into your self-discipline? In Tribe of Mentors, Tim Ferriss shares advice from scores of experts in various fields on how to identify what matters most to you, how to navigate non-traditional career paths, how to appreciate failure, and more. Some of the counsel is about being kind to yourself in the process of pursuing your goals. Read more for advice on how to go easy on yourself and stop worrying that you’re not smashing all expectations perfectly.

How to Rest Your Mind: Healing From Directed Attention Fatigue

Is your mind always “on”? How often does it get a chance to rest and repair? How can you invite such opportunities? In Blue Mind, Wallace J. Nichols explains that water—looking at it, being near it, and being in it—reduces stress and allows the mind to heal. He discusses the theory of directed attention fatigue and shows how water can give your mind a break and a chance to rejuvenate. Keep reading to learn how to rest your mind by engaging with water.

The Effects of Chronic Stress: When “Red Mind” Is in Overdrive

Why do humans have stress responses? When do these responses cross the line from being helpful to being harmful? What impact does chronic stress have on our minds and bodies? In Blue Mind, Wallace J. Nichols advocates the Blue Mind state—a serene experience that we sometimes have when we’re around water. The opposite is the Red Mind state, and he explains what happens when we’re in that state on an ongoing basis. Read more to learn about the effects of chronic stress.

How to Begin a Speech: Dale Carnegie’s Timeless Strategies

What common mistakes do people make when beginning a presentation? What must you do well before your speech to help it get off to a strong start? How you begin your speech sets the tone for the entire presentation. In Public Speaking for Success, author and lecturer Dale Carnegie shares practical strategies you can use to grab your audience’s attention and make them want to hear more. Keep reading to learn how to begin a speech in a way that people won’t soon forget.

The Origins of Zen Buddhism: Indian & Chinese Traditions Meet

Where did Zen come from? What ideas did Zen borrow from Taoism, Confucianism, and Mahayana Buddhism? Zen created a synthesis of Chinese and Indian traditions. It continues to be practiced by millions of people around the world today. To find the origins of Zen Buddhism, we must go back to sixth-century China. Keep reading to learn how Zen Buddhism got its start in a culture already rich with ideas.

What Is Permission Marketing & Why Is It So Profitable?

What is permission marketing? Why is it more effective than old-style “Interruption Marketing”? Seth Godin says that the primary advertising method of the 20th century is no longer the most effective approach. He advocates building relationships through what he calls “permission marketing.” He explains what it is and why it’s so much more profitable in today’s brand-saturated market. Keep reading to understand what permission marketing is as well as the philosophies that are behind it.