Remove to Improve
Welcome to Effective Habits, a weekly newsletter where I share evidence-based strategies and tools to help you live a happy, healthy, and productive life.
Today at a Glance:
The Most Powerful Paradoxes of Life
People Who Eat a Lot of Fibre Spend More Time in Deep Sleep
Creating Space
“I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”
The Most Powerful Paradoxes of Life
Sahil Bloom
🔦Lights, Camera, ...
It’s tempting to see life in black and white. Clear answers feel comfortable, and simple explanations make the world easier to navigate. But reality rarely works that way. Many of the most powerful truths in life appear contradictory at first glance, like success that grows from failure, strength that comes from vulnerability, clarity that emerges from uncertainty. These are paradoxes: ideas that seem self-contradictory on the surface but reveal deeper truths when examined closely. Over time, certain paradoxes show up again and again in work, relationships, and personal growth, quietly shaping how life actually works. Recognizing them changes how you see the world and how you move through it.
🎬Action!
The Growth Paradox. Growth rarely happens in a straight line. Most meaningful progress feels painfully slow for long stretches, then suddenly accelerates once momentum and compounding take hold. Stay patient through the quiet phase as consistent effort today often produces results that appear “all at once” later.
The Intelligence Paradox. Being smart can become a trap when it leads to overthinking, overplanning, or unnecessary complexity. The simplest solution is often the right one. When decisions feel tangled in analysis, step back and ask: What is the obvious, practical action here?
The Hard Things Paradox. Taking on voluntary struggle now builds resilience for the involuntary struggle life will inevitably bring. Training hard, learning demanding skills, or tackling uncomfortable problems strengthens your ability to handle future adversity. Hard now often means easier later.
The Persuasion Paradox. People rarely change their minds because they were argued into submission. Real persuasion comes from curiosity and thoughtful questions. Listen first, understand the other person’s perspective, and guide the conversation instead of trying to win it.
The Failure Paradox. Growth and achievement require experimentation, and experimentation inevitably includes mistakes. The goal is not to avoid failure but to learn from it quickly. Fail fast, learn the lesson, and avoid repeating the same mistake twice.
The Icarus Paradox. Early wins can create dangerous overconfidence. The same strengths that drive success can also blind you to risk or change. Regularly question your assumptions and stay alert to the possibility that what worked before may not work forever.
The Surgeon Paradox. People who “look the part” are not always the most capable. Skill, experience, and resilience are often hidden behind ordinary appearances. Focus on proven ability rather than polished presentation.
The Social Media Paradox. Digital platforms make it easy to stay constantly connected yet emotionally distant. Protect time for meaningful conversations and in-person experiences. Sometimes the best way to reconnect is to disconnect.
The Productivity Paradox. Tasks expand to fill the time you give them. Long, open-ended work periods encourage distraction and low-value activity. Instead, set shorter deadlines, concentrate intensely, and work like a lion: sprint, rest, repeat.
The Fear Paradox. Avoided fears gradually become boundaries that limit your life. Growth often sits on the other side of discomfort. Treat fear as a signal pointing toward opportunities for development.
The Boredom Paradox. Creative insights often emerge when your mind has space to wander. Walking, resting, or stepping away from constant stimulation and work allows new ideas to surface. Schedule time without input or output.
The Solomon Paradox. It’s easier to see other people’s problems clearly than our own. When facing a tough decision, ask: What would I tell a close friend to do in this situation? Then consider following that advice.
The Looking Paradox. Some goals—like relationships, creativity, or happiness—often appear when you stop chasing them directly. Focus on building a meaningful life and the right opportunities may emerge naturally.
The Advice Paradox. Not all advice applies to your situation. Well-meaning guidance can become confusing when followed blindly. Gather perspectives, but ultimately rely on your own judgment and experience.
The Death Paradox. Awareness of life’s impermanence clarifies what truly matters. When time is understood as limited, priorities become sharper and courage becomes easier. Use that perspective to focus on what gives life meaning.
People Who Eat a Lot of Fibre Spend More Time in Deep Sleep
Dr. Carissa Wong
🔦Lights, Camera, ...
What you eat during the day may shape how well you sleep that night. In a large study analyzing more than 3,500 adults and roughly 4,800 nights of dietary and physiological sleep data, researchers found that people who consumed more fiber tended to experience more restorative sleep. Participants logged their food intake in real time through a mobile app and then wore multi-sensor devices overnight that tracked breathing, heart rate, blood oxygen, and other physiological signals to estimate time spent in different sleep stages. After accounting for factors like age, sex, caffeine intake, and the previous day’s sleep and diet, the researchers found that higher fiber intake was associated with modest increases in deep and REM sleep and reductions in lighter sleep, along with slightly lower nighttime heart rates—an indicator of deeper physiological recovery. The study also found that people who ate a greater diversity of plant foods tended to fall asleep faster and had lower nocturnal heart rates. While the study cannot prove cause and effect, the findings suggest that diets rich in fiber and plant variety may support healthier sleep architecture, possibly through gut microbes that convert fiber into compounds influencing inflammation and gut-brain signaling.
🎬Action!
Eat more fiber and diversify your plant foods during the day to support better sleep. Aim to regularly include fiber-rich foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, and try to eat a variety of different plant foods throughout the day as this pattern has been associated with more restorative sleep, faster sleep onset, and lower nighttime heart rates.
Creating Space
Jason Cohen
🔦Lights, Camera, ...
Greatness rarely comes from doing more—it comes from creating the space to do the few things that truly matter. That’s the real meaning behind the advice every startup and leader hears: focus. Not as a vague slogan, but as a deliberate act of subtraction. Only when we stop doing most things do we gain the time and energy to execute the important ones deeply. As Sylvia Plath once wrote about sitting in a fig tree unable to choose between its fruit, wanting everything can leave you with nothing as opportunities quietly wither. The same dynamic appears everywhere: when you stop chasing every customer, you make room for the right ones; when you let draining relationships or low-value work go, you create space for energizing collaborations and meaningful progress; when you stop trying to improve everything by 1%, you can transform the one thing that matters by 30%. Focus is not about restriction, but about clarity. When your priority becomes a visible mountain on the horizon, every decision becomes simpler: does this move you toward it or away from it? With limited time and energy, the path to thriving isn’t maximizing everything, but choosing what matters most and saying no to nearly everything else.
🎬Action!
Create space by eliminating one low-value commitment. Choose one task, meeting, obligation, or relationship that consumes time but contributes little to your most important goal and remove it, delegate it, or stop doing it this week. Use the space you create to invest that time and energy into the single project, relationship, or priority that matters most to you. As you grow comfortable with this small step, continue to create more space.
TOOL TIP
Acme Weather: Created by the original Dark Sky team, Acme Weather is an app that embraces forecasting uncertainty by offering "alternate possible futures" alongside hyperlocal, highly accurate, and customizable weather data. Available on iOS and soon for Android too.
FUN FACT
The average US American now spends 6.3 hours a day on their phone – up 51 minutes from the start of 2023. Surprisingly, adults 36 and over spend marginally more daily time on their phones (352 minutes) than 17–25-year-olds (350 minutes).
If you’ve found value in what I share, buying me a coffee is a great way to say “thanks” and help me keep doing what I love. Every bit of support helps me spend more time creating useful, thoughtful content for you. Thanks for being here—it means a lot! 🙏
If you enjoyed today's newsletter, please share it with your friends and family!
If this email was forwarded to you, consider subscribing to receive them in future!
What'd you think of today's edition?
Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We are not liable for any risks or issues that may arise from using this information.
