The Best of ‘Crew’ – On Work, Life, Productivity, Writing, and Learning.
A few days ago I was reading the blog of one of my favorite web designers, NoSidebar by Brian Gardner. He wrote a post titled ‘The Best Resources for Consuming Creative Content‘ – a brilliant post, in which he mentions a brilliant company called ‘Crew‘.
A few days later, I emerged having read every article they have ever posted on their blog. I know, I know, but they were just too great to pass up. Little did I know that I was already using something Crew created almost everyday, a free image site called Unsplash (Oh, and unsplash just turned 2).
Even though they have already created their own “Best of Crew” Round-Up post – all that does is gives you a great place to start, but its by no means ALL of their best stuff.
So, I have curated my own list of all the articles of theirs that I have enjoyed and found education on the topics of Work, Life, Productivity, Writing, and Learning – that’s not how they separate it but I do find it fitting.
You will read posts from the science of fonts, to the science of persuasion (a great piece considering I wrote a book on the topic on Amazon), to the questions that haunt me such as, ‘Coffee vs Beer: Which drink makes you more creative?‘.
It is also brilliant to see that some of their posts are inspired by some of my favorite writers like Leo Babauta and James Clear, like this post on habits and systems, not goals, which is kinda what I talk about not aiming for success.
Before you begin reading through this list, you should probably read their post: How to improve your reading retention on any device.
Here goes, enjoy.
On Work
- We need a better way to work
- Why you shouldn’t charge by the hour: A guide to value-based pricing
- Want happier customers? Manage their expectations
- Why you should be sharing more of your work
- The surprising reason we have a 40-hour work week (and why we should re-think it)
- Creating a happy office takes more than free lunch and a ping pong table
- The science of collaboration
- The key to better work? E-mail less, flow more
- Want to be better at life? Go outside
- Dealing with strange customer behavior? Just ask them ‘why?’
- How to build trust with colleagues and friends
- Why you should play more at work
- The power of routine for boosting creativity
- How side projects saved our startup
- The single best thing you can do for yourself and your company
- What I wish I’d known about running a startup
- 6 huge benefits of listening to your community
- How to ask for help (and actually get it)
- 7 tricks to help you work through a creative block
- How to use your mood to work better
- Leave work at work: How to end your day
- Why you should always under-promise and over-deliver
- Here’s what happens if you work when you’re tired
- Which music should you listen to while you work?
- Out-teach your competition
- How to establish and maintain awesome client relationships
On Life
- Create more than you consume
- Feel like an impostor? You’re not alone
- The psychology of simple
- The modern mentor: A guide to courting influencers
- You need to be your own biggest fan
- What every confident decision maker knows
- Live like you’re dying (and find time for the things that matter)
- Why you should sit and do nothing
- How to use science to make better decisions
- The secret to networking: Help people
- The power of posture & how to improve it
- Create what matters: Do something new, different and scary
- Feel like an impostor? You’re not alone
- What a workout does to your brain (and why difficult exercises make your brain grow)
- What every successful person knows
- 7 things you can do right now to protect your vision
- Take A Break: Stop Hurting Yourself
- No one likes a critic: What science can tell us about criticism
- The reason you’re not happy (and how to fix it)
- You suck! Now what? The psychology of handling criticism
On Productivity
- In search of flow: A guide to making your work effortless
- 5 alternative ways to manage your time
- Want to be more productive? Stop comparing yourself to others
- http://blog.pickcrew.com/setting-multiple-goals/
- 3 ways to squash burnout and boost productivity
- Does your to-do list make you sad?
- Under pressure? Here’s how to deal with it
- Get out of your head and start something
- Want to improve your productivity? Get a dog.
- How to be more productive by not being productive
- Listen while you work: What music does to your brain
- Important: how to write a to-do list
- How clutter affects you (and what you can do about it)
- Urgent vs important
- The most productive ways to waste your time
- 5 principles for living a happier, more productive life
On Writing
- Take your writing from good to great with these editing tips
- 5 weak words you should avoid & what to use instead
- Beyond words: How to write for readability
- Write your way to a better life: why writing is for everyone
- Dear Writing, I hate you: Lessons from 7 famous authors who hated their job
- Write ugly: How to write 20 posts in 2 days
- What the best writers know
- How to cultivate a writing routine when you run a business
On Learning
- What I would do differently if I was learning to code today
- You should be teaching what you know (even if you’re no expert)
- Learning something new? Remember these 3 simple things
- Keep doing things you’re terrible at—here’s why
- The priming effect: Why you’re less in control of your actions than you think
- The truth behind the 10,000 hour rule and how to actually get good at something
- Devote time to unschooling
- The hidden power of ‘I don’t know’: How to work through creative blocks with Beginner’s Mind
- Build to learn: Why you should make things no one will ever use
- Throw yourself in the deep end
- 6 important things you should know about how your brain learns
I hope you enjoyed the list (don’t worry, take your time, its worth it).
While you’re still here, check out their Beginner’s Guide to Building an online business.
That’s all for now folks – enjoy.
