For years, books and articles and blogs on productivity have been showing us how to be more productive: crank out the tasks, multi-task, work faster, be organized.
In short, they’ve taught us to be a good part of a corporation that wants more out of us. But that’s old-school productivity, or Productivity 1.0.

Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead.
As technology rapidly increases and the information age expands, our identities are at an increasing risk for being stolen. But it’s not a hacker trying to steal your social security number that should be causing you to lose sleep. It’s the ownership of your mind that’s at stake.

I’ve written about motivation a bunch of times before here on Zen Habits, but the more I learn about it, the more I realize that motivation isn’t that complicated.
Sure, there are numerous tips that can help, numerous tactics and strategies I’ve used with success. But it really all boils down to two things.
And those two things are so deceptively simple that you might decide to stop reading after I name them: 1) make things enjoyable and 2) use positive public pressure. But read on for more on how to use those two things to motivate yourself for any goal.

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Eric Hamm of Motivate Thyself.
It’s amazing how far off course we can get when we’re not watching our steps.  We just wake up one day and wonder, “Where the heck am I and how did I get so far off my intended path?”

“If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it.” - George F. Burns
Stress is a major problem for many people — a hectic, stressful job, a chaotic home life, bills to worry about, and bad habits such as unhealthy eating, drinking and smoking can lead to a mountain of stress.

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Nonconformity, the author of the Unconventional Guide to Discount Airfare.
I’m writing from my hotel balcony in Giza City, Egypt – just outside Cairo, and the site of the historic Pyramids. The sun is coming up right now, and the view is great. There’s only one problem:

“The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation.” - Bertrand Russell
As a blogger who has found some success amongst the seemingly endless sea of blogs, I’ve had to confront some old and rusty ideas I used to have about success and competition.
I examined these long-held beliefs early on in my blogging career, and discovered that they were false.
What I learned that has helped me tremendously, and these ideas can be applied to many fields of work and many areas of life:

I have to admit that while I eat pretty healthy at home, my weakness is at social gatherings: family parties, weddings, gatherings with friends, barbecues, eating out at restaurants.
I’ve tried different strategies, with mixed success. So before I went out last night (for the FIFTH time in six nights!), I asked my friends on Twitter (follow me here) for some of their best tips on eating healthy at social gatherings.

Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead.
I often get caught up in the hectic nature of life. I get bogged down with things to do and the drive to be productive. It’s hard not to get sucked into the routine of living and take life for granted. Sometimes it’s hard to stay excited about life.

“Our strength grows out of our weaknesses.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Something that has always intimidated me from starting something new has always been a deep worry about my shortcomings. I know that I have weaknesses, and I’m afraid they’ll lead to my failure.
I’ve learned in recent years, however, that those weaknesses can be turned into strengths with a very simple tool: the right mindset.