An interesting reason you might be selling yourself short, based on procrastination science.

🤔 A very weird idea that comes out of procrastination research: The same elements of your brain ligh [Coach Tony]( Coach Tony [@tonystubblebine]( 🤔 A very weird idea that comes out of procrastination research: The same elements of your brain light up when you consider your future self as when you consider a stranger. That may be why your present self is so quick to sell your future self short by procrastinating. That’s one of ten different ideas that I highlighted in this [excellent summary]( of procrastination research from the world’s top procrastination researcher, [Tim Pychyl](. — ⚡ Vagus Nerve. Something I’d like to know more about, the vagus nerve. This [Markham Heid]( article is my starting point: “[Calm and controlled breathing quickly and dramatically snuffs out stress by stimulating the vagus nerve](” — 🗣️ From a reader about using binaural beats for productivity at work. Binaural beats help me by giving me a soft, non-intrusive background to whatever I’m doing. It’s neutral and thus very suitable for a lot of the work I do, which is writing marketing copy. It also helps enforce, for me at least, a sense of tranquility and calm. I know some people can’t listen to binaural beats because they prefer other forms of music, but I feel it depends on what you aim to get out of it. Here’s “[the best binaural beats playlist on spotify](” via [Deanna deBara]( in [this Bulletproof summary](. — 📚 A book about thinking and a book about management The Pragmatic Programmers were the first book publisher to [put all of their books onto Medium](. They mostly publish computer programming books, but they also have many great books about productivity & management. These are two of my favorites: - [Pragmatic Thinking & Learning]( by [Andy Hunt]( - [Behind Closed Doors]( by [Johanna Rothman]( and [Esther Derby]( — 📈 A deep idea about marginal competitive advantages. I often send [this article]( to entrepreneurs and here’s a key quote: The marginal advantage embodies the notion that one cannot, and should not, try to “win big.” In a competitive setting, the strong player knows that his best opponents are unlikely to make many exploitable mistakes. As a result, the strong player knows that he must be content to play with just the slightest edge, an edge which is the equivalent to the marginal advantage. More importantly, a one-sided match ultimately carries as much weight as an epic struggle. After all, the match results only in a win or a loss; there are no “degrees” of winning. Therefore, at any given point in a game, the player must focus on making decisions that minimize his probability of losing the advantage, rather than on decisions that maximize his probability of gaining a greater advantage. In short, it is much more important to the expert player to not lose than it is to win big. Consequently, a regular winner plays to extend his lead in a very gradual, but very consistent manner. — 💪 How can I help you achieve your goals? - I run the original [positive reinforcement habit tracker iPhone app](. It’s free and it’ll help you build great new habits. - Get a coach. You can get amazing accountability for almost any goal through the habit coaches at Coach.me ($87/month) or a personal coach who will meet with you for a few hundred dollars per session. A coach is a great way to make any goal more successful. Check them all out in the [Coach.me coaching directory](. - I also help publish incredible information about how to improve your own life, your productivity, your leadership, your health. This is all at [Better Humans]( and you’ll need a Medium subscription to read it all. - If you are an entrepreneur or have a side project or are looking to build financial independence, read [Better Marketing](. This also requires a Medium subscription, but you only need to pay once to read everything on Medium. (I think self-improvement and entrepreneurship are tightly related). - Get free coaching by emailing me or showing up to my weekly office hours: [Mondays at noon ET](. Don’t miss out on the other issues by Coach Tony [Become a member for $10 per month]( Did you enjoy this issue? [Yes]( [No]( [Coach Tony]( Coach Tony [@tonystubblebine]( Human potential busy body. Founded @coachdotme, @bttrHumans, @bttrMarketing. Helped @medium, @calm. You can manage your subscription [here](. If you don't want these updates anymore, please unsubscribe [here](. If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can subscribe [here](. Created with [Revue by Twitter](.