Author: zenhabits

On Being a Dad

By Leo Babauta Being a dad is messy … not just the many spills and broken dishes and dirty kitchens and finger-painted walls you have to clean up, but messy because nothing ever goes as planned. It’s messy because you start out with the best of intentions, hoping to be super dad and loving and […]

Zen Habits Book Now For Sale

By Leo Babauta I’m happy to announce that I’m offering my Zen Habits book to purchase, for the first time since I put it on Kickstarter at the end of 2014. The book is called, “Zen Habits: Mastering the Art of Change.” The Kickstarter campaign did extremely well, and people gave me wonderful feedback on […]

What Productivity Systems Won’t Solve

By Leo Babauta If you’re like me, you’re always looking for the perfect productivity system. Unfortunately, it doesn’t exist. The problem isn’t with the productivity system — the problem is that none of them can solve a few really important (and related) problems: Procrastination Fear of uncertainty Fear of discomfort For example, at the top […]

All You Need, You Already Have

By Leo Babauta There is a famous stone water basin (or “tsukubai”) outside of the even more famous Ryoan-ji Temple in Kyoto, with four characters that read: “ware tada shiru taru.” This is a Zen saying that can be translated in a number of ways, all to do with contentment. But my favorite translation is: […]

Some Days, You Just Have Nothing

By Leo Babauta Yesterday wasn’t a great day for me. I woke up late after too little sleep. Someone I love is mad at me, and doesn’t seem to want to talk to me, which put me in a down mood. I couldn’t get focused to do any writing, so I answered emails, read stuff […]

Let Go of Stress: Nothing to Cling To

By Leo Babauta Stress is a killer. It contributes to health problems, unhappiness, depression, relationship problems, and more. We’re always going to have some stress in our lives, but how can we manage it? By finding the cause, and working with that cause. In my mindfulness experiments, I’ve found that the root cause of stress […]

Two Ways to Form Habits Effortlessly

By Leo Babauta Forming new habits can be life-changing — if you start meditating, create a simple exercise habit, and eat more vegetables, you health and happiness can be transformed in a matter of months. But sticking to a habit can be difficult, because life gets in the way. And we get discouraged when the […]

The Get Fit For Summer Exercise Challenge

By Leo Babauta I’m a big fan of exercise challenges. I’ve used challenges to change my health and fitness habits, including: Pushup challenges with my wife & kids Burpee challenge with a friend Online group exercise challenges Workout and diet challenges with my wife (we got rewards if we stuck to the challenge) Accountability challenges […]

The Face Everything Technique: Why Avoiding Difficulties Doesn’t Work

By Leo Babauta We are, all of us, amazing at avoiding things. Our minds are less “thinking machines” than they are “avoiding machines.” And the incredible thing is that we aren’t even usually aware that we’re avoiding thinking about something. I’ll give you a few examples: Right now you’re reading this article but probably avoiding […]