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Technology can be a double-edged sword. The right amount can fuel productivity, but too much can become a time waste. As with most things, the key is striking a healthy balance. Unfortunately, the deck is stacked against you. Apps and websites are designed to grab and hold your attention. So, how do successful people resist? High-achievers use technology as a tool, not a distraction, says Sachin Puri, chief growth officer at the web-hosting provider Liquid Web. They make productivity apps their first priority, plan for intentional screen time, and select platforms intentionally. They may spend lots of time on screens, but they set boundaries where they need to, so that technology enhances their performance, rather than slowing it down. To determine how high-achievers leverage tech, Liquid Web surveyed six-figure earners who excel in their careers to discover the habits and strategies they use to maximize productivity and minimize time wasting. Here’s what they found: They Are Intentional with Screen Time High-achievers spend an average of seven hours a day on their computers, which is a good chunk of time. However, they are primarily focused on activities that fall under the productivity umbrella, choosing sites that enhance and not hinder their career growth. On average, they also limit phone use to three hours per day on things that could be deemed entertainment. This seems to suggest that they believe all work and no play can make a person dull. High-achievers spend significant time on their screens but with clear intent, says Puri. This contrasts sharply with average Americans, who spend 23% more time on their phones. They Go Tech-free (Sometimes) Forty-four percent of these high-achievers take daily tech breaks to better manage screen time and boost focus and well-being. While this is still the minority, it is a higher number than average Americans, 38% of whom take daily tech-free breaks. They use these breaks with intention, viewing them as a way to reset focus and maintain productivity rather than escape from work, says Puri. Instead of stepping away aimlessly, they use this time strategically to enhance their performance and mental clarity. Tech breaks happen both during and outside work hours, depending on individual routines. For example, some high-performers may take short breaks during the day to sustain productivity, while others may choose to unplug in the evening or on weekends to separate work from personal life. Regardless of timing, the key is using breaks strategically to maintain performance, says Puri. They Choose Tools for Productivity High-achievers also select their tech tools with an eye on efficiency, the survey discovered. For example, two thirds rely on calendar and scheduling tools, and 40% use AI chatbots to stay ahead of deadlines, optimize workflows, automate repetitive tasks, assist with brainstorming new ideas, and summarize lengthy pieces of information. Compared to average Americans, successful individuals were 32% more likely to use calendar and scheduling tools and 11% more likely to rely on AI chatbots to optimize their workflows, says Puri. These tools have enabled them to maintain focus, manage time effectively, and achieve their goals more efficiently. They Focus Their Social Media Habits Finally, high-achievers are mindful of social media. For example, 49% avoid TikTok entirely. Instead, they gravitate toward sites that offer a career-related benefit. Nearly 40% use Reddit as their most popular platform for learning and engagement. Successful people are also much more engaged on LinkedIn. Only 17% of high-achievers said they dont use the professional networking site, compared to 38% of average Americans who arent engaged there. Many high-achievers don’t give up on screens altogetherthey just shift their focus, says Puri. Their social media habits show it, with many opting for interactive, discussion-based apps such as Reddit over passive scroll-based apps such as TikTok. The lesson here is that screen time isnt always a time suck. Its where your attention goes that can help or hinder your success.
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What if there were a battery that could release energy while trapping carbon dioxide? This isnt science fiction; its the promise of lithium-carbon dioxide (Li-CO) batteries, which are currently a hot research topic. Li-CO batteries could be a two-in-one solution to the current problems of storing renewable energy and taking carbon emissions out of the air. They absorb carbon dioxide and convert it into a white powder called lithium carbonate while discharging energy. These batteries could have profound implications for cutting emissions from vehicles and industryand might even enable long-duration missions on Mars, where the atmosphere is 95% CO. To make these batteries commercially viable, researchers have mainly been wrestling with problems related to recharging them. Now, our team at the University of Surrey has come up with a promising way forward. So how close are these CO-breathing batteries to becoming a practical reality? Like many great scientific breakthroughs, Li-CO batteries were a happy accident. Slightly over a decade ago, a U.S.-French team of researchers were trying to address problems with lithium air batteries, another frontier energy-storage technology. Whereas todays lithium-ion batteries generate power by moving and storing lithium ions within electrodes, lithium air batteries work by creating a chemical reaction between lithium and oxygen. The problem has been the air part, since even the tiny (0.04%) volume of CO that’s found in air is enough to disrupt this careful chemistry, producing unwanted lithium carbonate (LiCO). As many battery scientists will tell you, the presence of LiCO can also be a real pain in regular lithium-ion batteries, causing unhelpful side reactions and electrical resistance. Nonetheless the scientists noticed something interesting about this CO contamination: It improved the batterys amount of charge. From this point on, work began on intentionally adding CO gas to batteries to take advantage of this, and the lithium-CO battery was born. How it works Their great potential relates to the chemical reaction at the positive side of the battery, where small holes are cut in the casing to allow CO gas in. There it dissolves in the liquid electrolyte (which allows the charge to move between the two electrodes) and reacts with lithium that has already been dissolved there. During this reaction, its believed that four electrons are exchanged between lithium ions and carbon dioxide. This electron transfer determines the theoretical charge that can be stored in the battery. In a normal lithium-ion battery, the positive electrode exchanges just one electron per reaction. (In lithium air batteries, its two to four electrons.) The greater exchange of electrons in the lithium-carbon dioxide battery, combined with the high voltage of the reaction, explains their potential to greatly outperform todays lithium-ion batteries. However, the technology has a few issues. The batteries dont last very long. Commercial lithium-ion packs routinely survive 1,000 to 10,000 charging cycles; most LiCO prototypes fade after fewer than 100. Theyre also difficult to recharge. This requires breaking down the lithium carbonate to release lithium and CO, which can be energy intensive. This energy requirement is a little like a hill that must be cycled up before the reaction can coast, and is known as overpotential. You can reduce this requirement by printing the right catalyst material on the porous positive electrode. Yet these catalysts are typically expensive and rare noble metals, such as ruthenium and platinum, making for a significant barrier to commercial viability. Our team has found an alternative catalyst, caesium phosphomolybdate, which is far cheaper and easy to manufacture at room temperature. This material made the batteries stable for 107 cycles, while also storing 2.5 times as much charge as a lithium ion. And we significantly reduced the energy cost involved in breaking down lithium carbonate, for an overpotential of 0.67 volts, which is only about double what would be necessary in a commercial product. Our research team is now working to further reduce the cost of this technology by developing a catalyst that replaces caesium, since its the phosphomolybdate that is key. This could make the system more economically viable and scalable for widespread deployment. We also plan to study how the battery charges and discharges in real time. This will provide a clearer understanding of the internal mechanisms at work, helping to optimize performance and durability. A major focus of upcoming tests will be to evaluate how the battery performs under different CO pressures. So far, the system has only been tested under idealized conditions (1 bar). If it can work at 0.1 bar of pressure, it will be feasible for car exhausts and gas boiler flues, meaning you could capture CO while you drive or heat your home. Demonstrating that this works will be an important confirmation of commercial viability, albeit we would expect the batterys charge capacity to reduce at this pressure. By our rough calculations, 1kg of catalyst could absorb around 18.5kg of CO. Since a car driving 100 miles emits around 18kg to 20kg of CO, that means such a battery could potentially offset a days drive. If the batteries work at 0.006 bar, the pressure on the Martian atmosphere, they could power anything from an exploration rover to a colony. At 0.0004 bar, Earths ambient air pressure, they could capture CO from our atmosphere and store power anywhere. In all cases, the key question will be how it affects the batterys charge capacity. Meanwhile, to improve the batterys number of recharge cycles, we need to address the fact that the electrolyte dries out. Were currently investigating solutions, which probably involve developing casings that only CO can move into. As for reducing the energy required for the catalyst to work, its likely to require optimizing the batterys geometry to maximize the reaction rateand to introduce a flow of CO, comparable to how fuel cells work (typically by feeding in hydrogen and oxygen). If this continued work can push the batterys cycle life above 1,000 cycles, cut overpotential below 0.3 V, and replace scarce elements entirely, commercial Li-CO packs could become reality. Our experiments will determine just how versatile and far-reaching the batterys applications might be, from carbon capture on Earth to powering missions on Mars. Daniel Commandeur is a Surrey Future Fellow at theSchool of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering at the University of Surrey. Mahsa Masoudi is a PhD researcher of chemical engineering at the University of Surrey. Siddharth Gadkari is a lecturer in chemical process engineering at the University of Surrey. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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E-Commerce
A year ago, I started reading again. I say again because, like the countless friends and colleagues I’ve spoken to who have also found themselves swept up in the reading renaissance thats currently reshaping the book industrythe U.S. market is projected to grow from $40.5 billion in 2024 to $51.5 billion by 2030, with audiobooks and ebooks seeing explosive growthId lost the habit somewhere between the demands of a growing career and the chaos of early parenthood. For too long, reading was relegated to vacationsand even then, I’d be lucky to get through a full book. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2015\/08\/Two-Truths-single.png","headline":"Subscribe to Two Truths...","description":"a newsletter that explores the many truths of motherhood through news round-ups, trend reports, and expert-backed deep dives on topics that matter to moms. To learn more visit twotruths.substack.com","substackDomain":"https:\/\/twotruths.substack.com","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}} But last year, something shifted. Twelve months later, Ive read over 100 books and listened to countless more on audio. I sleep better, stress less, have a better work/life balance, andfor the first time in yearshave an actual hobby thats purely for my personal enjoyment. Small but strategic changes Howd I do it? Call it a perfect storm: I stumbled into the world of BookTok, finally succumbed to the siren call of the Kindle, and I made a few small but strategic lifestyle changes that opened up a whole new world of reading. Below, Ive included five of the tactics that helped me make reading a priority (read the other ten on my Substack, Two Truths). My method wont apply to every person or be conducive to every career: Im primarily a stay-at-home parent of two young kids who works part-time in the margins of my free time as a writer. But its my hope that some of what worked for me will help you find more free time, toowhether its to read one book, 100 books, or do something else entirely. 1. I typically read three different books at once. This might sound chaotic, but hear me out. Heres how I break down my three-book method . . . One book is on my Kindle, which travels with me everywhere so I can fill any spare moments (waiting at the doctors office, sitting in the school pick-up lot, or standing in line at the grocery store) by sneaking in a few pages. This is also what I read at nighttime when my kids bedtime books are done and Im waiting for them to doze offthe tablets screen has a dark mode that doesnt disturb them, and its a nice way to wind down my day. One is a hard copy, either something from the library, or something I want to annotate (I appreciate the aesthetic nostalgia of highlighters and sticky tabs). This is how I read most of my nonfiction, which I prefer to hold in my hand. Since these books are often for work, research, or self-improvement, I often read them in the morning (more on that below), during naptime, or while both kids are playing independently. One is an audiobook, which I listen to while Im driving or doing work around my home. I regularly find myself cleaning out closets or reorganizing the pantry just so I have an excuse to keep listening to a book. I typically reserve my audiobooks for easier-to-follow, lighthearted reads.That way, if I get distracted and miss something, I wont be completely lost. 2. I stopped watching unintentional TV. There was a time when Id end the day by crashing on the couch and searching for something to watch before inevitably ending up on The Office (. . . again). Now, I only watch TV when I truly want to invest my time into a series, and I really cannot stress enough how much time this opened up for me in the evening. 3. I wake up early and read before the kids wake. I never thought Id say this (Ive never been a morning person), but having young kids trained my body to wake up at 5 a.m. These days, they usually sleep until 6but if the house is still quiet when I wake, I take the chance to read a few pages of my book before the day begins. Its a peaceful ritual that keeps me off my phoneand away from notifications and mindless scrollinguntil Im ready to address whatevers waiting. 4. I keep a running list in my Notes app with every book Ive read, plus a few emojis or keywords to represent how I felt about it. This helps me remember what I loved or didnt love about a book, which is crucial when someone asks me for a reading recommendation. I also like the sense of accomplishment that comes from scrolling through my list. 5. I chose to prioritize reading, and then built boundaries around it. Bottom line: I could certainly be doing a host of other things during the extra time Ive dug out of my days and nights; the unpacked boxes that have been sitting in my basement since our move two years ago would probably like a word. Maybe I’m missing out on some great series or films that I would have stumbled upon, and I could always tackle my overflowing inbox in that open hour at 5 a.m. But for me, reading offers a pretty effortless and accessible escape from the news, noise, and inevitable dilemmas that pop up dailyand those moments of peace are priceless. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2015\/08\/Two-Truths-single.png","headline":"Subscribe to Two Truths...","description":"a newsletter that explores the many truths of motherhood through news round-ups, trend reports, and expert-backed deep dives on topics that matter to moms. To learn more visit twotruths.substack.com","substackDomain":"https:\/\/twotruths.substack.com","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}}
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