1: A GE worker had an idea.

He suggested to his managers that they stop outsourcing the construction of protective shields for their grinding machines, as Charles Duhigg explains in Smarter Faster Better: The Transformative Power of Real Productivity.

This employee was taking part in what GE called a “Work-Out” within a struggling division that made jet engine parts.

Yesterday, we looked at a potential trap with SMART … continue reading

1: “It was the late 1980s and GE was the second most valuable company in America,” Charles Duhigg writes in Smarter Faster Better: The Transformative Power of Real Productivity.

“GE manufactured everything from lightbulbs to jet engines, refrigerators to railway cars,” Charles notes.

It was a massive enterprise employing more than 220,000 people.

The company’s leaders thought their formal goal-setting system was one of the keys to their success.… continue reading

1: What if the fastest way to make progress isn’t focusing on your bad days—but keeping score of your good ones?

Six months after suffering a concussion, Jane McGonigal was still living with postconcussion syndrome.  “It didn’t heal properly,” Jane writes in her book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.

The headaches “were bad enough that I was taking the maximum safe dosage of pain relievers almost every day,” … continue reading

1: Today, most games keep score automatically.

“At the bowling alley, computers tally points. Online Scrabble calculates your word scores for you. Video games track your experience points and level you up without any effort on your part,” Jane McGonigal writes in her book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.

But when you’re working toward big goals, keeping score yourself can really help you succeed.

For the past two … continue reading

1: Meg was in a bad place.

“I hated my job, and I saw little hope of anything in the future,” she recalls in Jane McGonigal‘s book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.

At twenty-six, Meg was living in Boston and working for a large company that didn’t share her values.

“I took the chance to sign up for SuperBetter,” she recalls.

A key element of the SuperBetter … continue reading

1: When it comes to setting big goals, what game designer Jane McGonigal calls “Epic Wins,” why are physical or athletic triumphs so motivating?

“If you search the SuperBetter database for all the epic wins from more than 400,000 players,” Jane writes in her book SuperBetter, four of the ten most commonly appearing verbs are walk, run, exercise, and dance. (Other top epic win verbs include finish, find, and … continue reading

1: After thirty-five years of research on goal-setting, it all comes down to this:

Harder goals inspire greater effort.

There is, however, a caveat,  Jane McGonigal writes in her book SuperBetter. “As long as the goal is not absolutely and obviously beyond a person’s control or ability.”

That’s the rub. Harder goals are better. As long as they aren’t too hard.

Here’s another key point about goal-setting: “Go only … continue reading

1: Laura was pregnant when she learned about SuperBetter.

“I’m getting SuperBetter because my second baby is due any day now,” Laura says in Jane McGonigal‘s book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.

“As all parents know, the first three months or so are pretty rough,” she remembers. “I figured anything that encouraged me to take care of myself would be a good thing.”

The SuperBetter framework asks … continue reading

1: Say you’re faced with a difficult challenge.

Or a big opportunity.

What if you approached it like a game?

This is the main idea behind Jane McGonigal’s SuperBetter framework, described in her book. It uses allies, quests, power-ups, bad guys, and epic wins to help you become more resilient and make real progress.

Yesterday, we looked at how radio producer Alex Goldman used SuperBetter to recover after … continue reading

1: What do you do when the battery turns red on your phone?  You recharge it.

Yet, many people who are tired and overworked just trudge forward.

Which begs the question, “Why do you think you can force yourself to run well on empty?” Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram write in their book The 5 Gears: How to Be Present and Productive When There is Never Enough Time.

“People … continue reading