“True happiness arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one’s self.” — Joseph Addison

I used to wonder for a very long time why successful people are so happy, motivated, and have so much fun with what they do. I couldn’t figure it out until I looked at it from another angle. I realized that people who have fun are also happy and motivated, and they are also successful with what they do.

Shortly after that epiphany, I discovered that about myself too. The more fun I had with a task at hand, the more motivated and happier…

In her often quoted book Reality Is Broken, Jane McGonigal claims that the following is “the single most convincing and useful definition of a game ever devised”:

“Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles.” — Bernard Suits, quoted by Jane McGonigal in Reality Is Broken

But apart from the fun factor and consequences that it might bring with it, are these unnecessary obstacles really beneficial for real-life projects?

I believe so. What follows below in this article is an edited and enhanced excerpt from a blog post I titled “The ‘Unnecessary’ Obstacle of the 5 Minute…

Yes, I fully agree, Boateng!

And the great thing is that falling into "seriousness and forced pressure," which we can't help sometimes, is not a bad thing. It's just an indicator that we deviated from the fun and exciting path. :)

I thought I wouldn’t have much to say in conclusion to my future book about turning blogging on Medium into fun games. I thought I concluded it with the following article and that I would just need to repeat a few key messages from it and the rest of the book:

[A side-note: at the end of the article you are reading now, you will see a link to the introduction chapter, at the end of which you will find the links to all the other stories that will go into the book. …

Multitasking was “in” several years ago. And since it didn’t work for many people, concentrating on one task, or in other words, “unitasking,” is more and more appreciated and emphasized today.

I found the following revealing statement about multitasking:

“Multitasking is the wrong word. Our brains can’t handle more than one higher cognitive function at a time. We may think we’re multitasking, but we’re actually switchtasking. Toggling between one task and another. First the phone, then the e-mail, then the phone, back to the e-mail. And each time you switch, there’s a few milliseconds of startup cost. The neurons need…

I'm excited about this news as an author. I am looking forward to seeing how the bookselling/reading business will function here. I once shared a book chapter-by-chapter here, and it was well-received. Sharing books in one piece and get them curated/distributed would be fantastic. But I guess the licensing matters of book content in such addition will need to be considered. I think self-publishers will have it easier than traditional publishers to share their books that way. Oh, wow, quite many questions appear now. ;D

Super, super curious, and excited!

All the luck and success to the team who works on this addition!

And…action!

When it comes to this topic, my mind plays many tricks on me. It often leaps into action and starts generating ideas long before or long after I have at least some of the necessary equipment required for creative writing to take place. For example, many ideas come when I am taking a shower or just about to put my head on my pillow to sleep.

Then, when I am in the process of writing, it often takes another turn and doesn’t follow the “brilliant” thoughts I had before. That disappoints my brain. I deliberately say it is my…

Hi,

My name is Victoria, and I am probably one of the worst-earning authors on Medium.

It’s mid of February 2021 and my earnings this month are $2.41. It might even turn out to be my worst month earning so far since May 2020, my first full month on Medium as a blogger publishing here. The previous month, January 2021, was the worst so far, $7.85. My best was June 2020 with $25.53.

My earnings go down, and I publish less than initially. And still, I am writing a book about my experiences here on Medium.

Why?

Because I have…