In a  recent blog post, Avoiding bad habits the Eames Way, Dan Pink described fifteen habits that authors and designers could profit from in their writing and in their lives.

Dan Pink is in the top tier of America’s original thinkers. His blog, like his books, are always fresh and provocative; they always leave you with something unexpected to think about. Dan’s books include Free Agent Nation, A Whole New Mind, and The Adventures of Johnny Bunko.

In his post, he links to a list of great habits practiced by Charles and Ray Eames, two of America’s most talented product designers, known best for their furniture. The list, The 15 Things That Charles and Ray Teach Us, originally appeared on the DARE+Company blog, where it is credited to an essay by Keith Yamashita. The list includes:

1. Keep good company
2. Notice the ordinary
3. Preserve the ephemeral
4. Design not for the elite but for the masses
5. Explain it to a child
6. Get lost in the content
7. Get to the heart of the matter
8. Never tolerate “O.K. anything.”
9. Remember your responsibility as a storyteller
10. Zoom out
11. Switch
12. Prototype it
13. Pun
14. Make design your life… and life, your design.
15. Leave something behind.

Dan takes his blogging seriously, as all authors should. His postings cover a lot of ground, even though the themes remain consistent. He’s constantly on the lookout for topics that will interest his readers.He never disappoints and wastes his reader’s time by using more words than necessary. And he always credits his sources.

In short, Dan Pink’s books and blog posts present nonfiction authors with a great example to emulate.