Things To Do On Sundays For A More Productive Week

“Words have power. Use them wisely.”

— Unknown

Mind-Reading: Avoid This Common Trap to Improve Your Communication Skills

In psychology, “mind-reading” is when we try to infer what is going on in someone’s mind without asking them to clarify. It’s a common trap in relationships that often leads to miscommunication and misunderstanding.

Click here to learn more!

The only way out of this is through (opinion)

Spread kindness, not hatred and disease. We are only as safe as our most vulnerable, and I sincerely hope next spring I’m mocked as overly cautious instead of woefully correct.

I wrote a feature for local indie publication, This is Reno. An excerpt:

“Last weekend, conservative radio host Monica Jaye joined with Fight for Nevada to hold a march in downtown Reno. On their website, FFN encourages sending organization head Angela Blass donations via Venmo and CashApp. They also accuse Nevada COVID-19 Task Force Chairman Jim Murren of being involved in the Oct. 1 [Route 91 shooting in Las Vegas] in “various ways,” alleging he knowingly sold stock in MGM weeks before the shooting. The shadowy organization’s primary mission of attempting to recall Governor Steve Sisolak began in mid-February.

As Jaye led a crowd of approximately 100 marchers downtown, participants told reporters they lost jobs, had not received unemployment, and did not see why they should remain at home. While attendees’ anger is valid, it is misdirected by zealous charlatans capitalizing on uncertainty and economic suffering to push their own agenda.It’s no secret the unemployment system is an outdated mess, and Sisolak has not communicated well overall with the public. But by following Pied Pipers like FFN and Jaye, they are manipulated into placing us all at significant risk.”

Want to Improve your Self Discipline?

1. Make a genuine commitment to being a disciplined person.

2. Be honest about your weaknesses, distractions, and any habits that might knock you off your course.

3. Make a realistic plan. Write it down, or share it with a friend who will help you to be accountable.

4. Design your day to avoid those temptations that will likely undermine your self discipline.

5. If necessary, change your routine.

6. Reward yourself for small steps in the right direction.

7. Although you are aiming to make change a habit, accept that there are likely to be times when you fail – and if you do, just move on as you can always start again.

Psychology Book Recommendations

Foundational Authors & Works

Carl Rogers, On Becoming a Person

B. F. Skinner,  Beyond Freedom and Dignity and About Behaviorism and Walden Two

Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

Sigmund Freud, Civilization and its Discontents

John Norcross (editor), Evidence-Based Practices in Mental Health

Psychopathology & Diagnosis 

David Barlow (editor), Clinical Handbook of Psychological Disorders

Oliver Saks, Hallucinations

Kelly Lambert, Clinical Neuroscience

Criticisms & Controversial Topics

Stephen Hinshaw, The ADHD Explosion

Robert Whitaker, Mad in America and Anatomy of an Epidemic

Ronald Miller, Not So Abnormal Psychology

Allen Frances, Saving Normal

Bruce Wampold, The Great Psychotherapy Debate

Therapy Theories 

Carl Rogers, Client-Centered Therapy

Irvin Yalom, The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy

Aaron Beck, Cognitive Therapy of Depression

Steven Hayes, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Judith Beck, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Danny Wedding, Current Psychotherapies

William Miller, Motivational Interviewing

Jacqueline Person, Cognitive Therapy in Practice

Evidence-Based Therapy Manuals 

Marsha Linehan, DBT Skills Training Manual and Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder

Michelle Craske, Mastery of Your Anxiety and Panic

David Burns, Feeling Good

Richard Zinbarg, Mastery of Your Anxiety and Worry

Martha Davis, The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook

Lisa Najavitis, Seeking Safety

Expert Therapist Perspectives

Irvin Yalom, The Gift of Therapy and Love’s Executioner

First Person Perspectives

Kay Jamison, An Unquiet Mind

Elyn Saks, The Center Cannot Hold

William Styron, Darkness Visible

Carolyn Spiro and Pamela Spiro Wagner, Divided Minds

Research Design & Analysis

Alan Kazdin, Research Design in Clinical Psychology and Single-Case Research Designs

John Creswell, Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design

Culture & Diversity

Derald Wing Sue, Counseling the Culturally Diverse and Case Studies in Multicultural Counseling and Therapy

Stigma

Stephen Hinshaw, Breaking the Silence and  The Mark of Shame

Grad School and Careers in Psychology

Peggy Hawley, Being Bright is Not Enough

Adam Ruben, Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School

Peter Feibelman, A PhD is Not Enough

Paul Silva, How to Write A Lot

Karen Kelsky, The Professor Is In 

Life is a journey, not a competition

7 Ways to be More Productive with Less Effort

1.Sort out your priorities. Make time to honestly reflect on your life, and to think about what is important to you. Where are you going? What do you want? What are the steps that will take you there?

2. Focus on the essential tasks. Next, think about your short term responsibilities. Ask yourself: “Out of all the tasks that I have to do, which will get me the greatest return for my time and effort?” Make a list of these types of tasks — they’re your most important things to do this week.

3. Eliminate what you can. Now look at your list. What on the list is not essential? Is there anything there that you can drop from your schedule, delegate to someone else, or put on a “waiting list”. Often when we review these non-essentials later, we find they weren’t necessary at all.

4. Do essential tasks first. Begin each day by doing the two most important tasks. Don’t wait until later in the day as they’ll get pushed aside to make time for other stuff that arises throughout the day. You’ll find that if you do these tasks right away, your productivity will really increase.

5. Eliminate distractions. If you allow yourself to be constantly interrupted by email notifications, IM, cell phones, social media and so on, then you’ll never be productive. Turn them and, if you can, disconnect yourself from the internet.

6. Keep it simple. Don’t waste time on applications that are meant to organise your schedule. Make a simple to-do list with a word document, or with some paper and a pen. Then get started on whatever work you had planned on doing.

7. Do one thing at a time. In most situations, multi-tasking slows you down. You can’t get things done with a million things demanding your attention. Focus on what’s in front of you, to the exclusion of all else. That way, you are likely to achieve more, in less time, and with less effort.

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