The Rules of Thinking by Templar, Richard -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Title page Contents Introduction Publisher’s acknowledgements Think for yourself

1 Avoid echo chambers 2 Don’t be scared 3 Consider the motive 4 Beware self-interest 5 Keep hold of your heartstrings 6 Don’t be gullible

Resilient thinking

7 Know who you are 8 Seek out support 9 Take control 10 Be flexible 11 Be self-aware 12 It is what it is 13 Don’t get over-distracted 14 Like yourself 15 Be ready to cope 16 Better out than in 17 Cut yourself some slack

Healthy thinking

18 Think yourself happy 19 Focus on other people 20 Be in the present 21 Stress is optional 22 Normality isn’t normal 23 Evaluate your emotions 24 Laugh at yourself 25 Keep learning 26 No one likes to be incompetent 27 Practice makes progress 28 Turn off the action replays 29 Sidestep bad habits 30 Appreciate semantics 31 Keep the bar steady 32 Look for the spin

Organised thinking

33 Believe in being organised 34 Learn to love a list 35 Think outside your head 36 Don’t overload your RAM 37 Make deadlines your friend 38 Don’t indulge decision making 39 Get creatively organised

Thinking creatively

40 Train your brain 41 Feed your mind 42 Get in the mood 43 Open up 44 There are no rules 45 Spot the box 46 Think like someone else 47 Make connections 48 Make mistakes 49 Forget about other people

Problem solving

50 Clear your emotions out of the way 51 Make sure there’s really a problem 52 Check you’re solving the right problem 53 Loosen up 54 Don’t settle for your first answer 55 If it’s plausible, it’s worthwhile 56 Find a way in 57 Don’t get bogged down 58 Try a new angle 59 Don’t panic 60 Get help

Thinking together

61 You’re better together 62 Play to everyone’s strengths 63 Think like a hive 64 Leave your ego behind 65 Keep an eye on the quiet ones 66 Question groupthink 67 Conflict is OK 68 Think up a storm 69 Have stupid ideas 70 Keep in synch

Making decisions

71 Decide what you’re deciding 72 Don’t start at square two 73 Set yourself boundaries 74 Untangle the knots first 75 Go for Goldilocks 76 Vet your advisors 77 Be your own advisor 78 Don’t jump to conclusions 79 Understand your emotions 80 Balance logic and emotion 81 Learn to compromise 82 Find option C 83 Assess the cost of a bad decision 84 Regret is a waste of energy 85 Be honest about procrastinating

Critical thinking

86 Read John Donne 87 Don’t be played for a fool 88 Stand back and take in the view 89 Look for what comes next 90 Don’t bother your pretty little head 91 Consider the odds 92 Facts are neutral 93 Don’t trust statistics 94 Understand cause and effect 95 If you can’t prove it’s true, that doesn’t mean it isn’t 96 Don’t believe it just because everyone else does 97 Don’t believe it just because you want to 98 Be devil’s advocate 99 Don’t go into lockdown 100 Opinions aren’t facts

These are the Rules

101 How to use the rules

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