Something which forces you to do something else. In this newsletter, almost always used in the sense of a process designed to force you to act in ways that you naturally resist but which are good for you. For instance, a practice of making pizza in a way that exposes you to ambient uncertainty to develop the capacity for productive discomfort—but there are examples of forcing functions in organizations too.
See also: adaptability, Boris, failure, negotiated joining, realistic imagination, self-therapy, teams, voluntary uncertainty, work-in-progress, writing.
#17: Boris
#36: Ready for the unexpected
#41: Surrendering control
#45: Civilization is weightless
#48: How to design remote work
#5: Cool-climate oceanside
#52: A year and change
ambient uncertainty
coronavirus
design
desperation by design
discomfort
emotion
failure
freedom
FULL LIST OF TOPICS
goal-setting
habits
hiring
innovation
maintenance by design
motivation
negative capability
open-endedness
pizza
productive discomfort
publishing
risk mindset
self-therapy
stuff
tradeoffs
voluntary uncertainty
work-in-progress
writing