Checklists can also be so long and complicated that they become self-defeating. You can draw up a comprehensive list before heading to the supermarket, and then come home and find you forgot to get the coffee. But what checklists do accomplish is they get us to focus on things that are most likely to trip us up. Over time, preventing the most common errors will have the biggest impact on our lives. Perhaps most important, checklists are one of humanity’s oldest tools to combat our blindspots and our arrogance. The humble checklist reminds us of the importance of humility because, in the end, we’re only human.
Shankar Vedantam, Tara Boyle, Renee Klahr via The Trick To Surviving A High-Stakes, High-Pressure Job? Try A Checklist
100 Tips for a Better Life
Conor Barnes has an interesting collection of 100 tips for a Better Life. Some favorites from the list:
3. Things you use for a significant fraction of your life (bed: 1/3rd, office-chair: 1/4th) are worth investing in.
17. Done is better than perfect.
Dunning-Kruger Effect
The Dunning-Kruger effect is a type of cognitive bias in which people believe that they are smarter and more capable than they really are. Essentially, low ability people do not possess the skills needed to recognize their own incompetence.
Work Ethic
Jason Fried on work ethic
Work ethic is about showing up, being on time, being reliable, doing what you say you’re going to do, being trustworthy, putting in a fair day’s work, respecting the work, respecting the customer, respecting the organization, respecting co-workers, not wasting time, not making work hard for other people, not creating unnecessary work for other people, not being a bottleneck, not faking work. Work ethic is about being a fundamentally good person that others can count on and enjoy working with.
Source: Work Ethic
Alumni and Emeriti
Western Michigan University has a very handy reference guide on distinguishing the various forms of Alumni and Emeriti.
| Term | Description/Definition | Example |
| Alumna | Singular female i.e. a female graduate or former student of a particular school, college, or university | Jane is an alumna. |
| Alumnus | Singular male i.e. a male graduate or former student of a particular school, college, or university | John is an alumnus. |
| Alumnae | Plural female i.e. female graduates or former student of a particular school, college, or university | Jane and Mary are alumnae. |
| Alumni | Plural male and plural when both men and women are included | John, Jane and Mary are alumni. |
| Emerita | Singular female i.e. a female professor having retired but allowed to retain her title as an honor | Jane is an emerita. |
| Emeritus | Singular male i.e. a male professor having retired but allowed to retain his title as an honor | John is an emeritus. |
| Emeritae | Plural female i.e. female professors having retired but allowed to retain their title as an honor | Jane and Mary are emeritae. |
| Emeriti | Plural male and plural when both men and women are included. | John, Jane and Mary are emeriti. |