the boringwork.

Motivation fades.
Hacks break.Boring work compounds.

Self-improvement claims, traced back to the source that started them. Systems instead of sprints, sources instead of vibes. A library, not a feed.

Test your instincts first Or start with your problem
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.Annie Dillard · The Writing Life, 1989 · checked
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Myths

Everyone repeats this advice. Is it true?

Each piece takes one confident claim, finds the first place it was ever said, and reports what that source actually contains.

  • 33 claims traced to the source
Open the registry →

Which of these do you believe?

Five claims you have almost certainly heard. A different five on every visit.

You believed 0 of 5. Each one is traced to its source in the registry.

Start where it hurts

Which one sounds like you?

Books

I read the famous book. Nothing changed.

59 books read end to end and checked against a decade of replication attempts. Here is what we told readers about the famous ones.

All 59 verdicts →
Cover of Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without BurnoutNewRead itSlow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without BurnoutSound Advice for People Who Own Their CalendarCover of Thinking, Fast and SlowRead itThinking, Fast and SlowKahneman Retracted a Chapter. Here Is What Else MovedCover of Why We SleepSkipWhy We SleepThe cancer claim failed a 1.5-million-person meta-analysis.Cover of Atomic HabitsNotesAtomic HabitsMakes repetition easier. Repetition is not mastery.Cover of Rich Dad Poor DadSkipRich Dad Poor DadThe metaphor survives. The method does not.Cover of Solving the Procrastination PuzzleRead itSolving the Procrastination PuzzleThe mood-repair model held up. Its main tool has real trial support.Cover of HappierNotesHappierThe 40% Its Authors WithdrewCover of The Willpower InstinctNotesThe Willpower InstinctGood Exercises, Dead Mechanism

Latest entries on the site

The feed sits at the bottom on purpose. A library is organised by subject, not by date — but here are the thirty most recent pieces, newest first. The complete index, filterable by kind and topic, is on the browse page.