For a long time, I felt like a slave. I’ve enslaved myself with my own startup. I’ve enslaved myself by being funded by outside investors, not customers. I’ve enslaved myself by saying yes to things I should have said no to. I’ve enslaved myself by not valuing my time. I don’t want to feel enslaved….
Tag: Focus
The Best Habits I Started in 2019
I love building new habits. Also, breaking them. Here are the best ones I started in 2019: Guided journalingEvery morning, I do guided journaling, using the Stoic Routine App. It helps me to reflect, letting off steam and re-focus on what is truly important. I’m practicing this for a full year now, and the benefits…
Hell Yeah or No
Four words. This is the simplest and most useful decision making concept I have come across. I reflect on it regularly and it helps me to say “no” with more conviction. If you’re not saying “HELL YEAH!” about something, say “no”. When deciding whether to do something, if you feel anything less than “Wow! That…
Zero Browser Tab Policy
Open browser tabs are just another nagging reminder of unfinished work. I used to have 5-10 open tabs on my laptop and 50-100 open tabs on my phone. It served as my reading list, my video list, things I was researching. It didn’t feel right. And it was a source of anxiety. Then, I implemented…
The efficiency trap
Efficiency is often confused with effectiveness. It can be a trap. “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” Peter Drucker You can be efficient in doing the wrong things. You can be efficient in doing things you shouldn’t even do. You can efficiently waste your time. Too often, I make the…
Disable your notifications
For many years of iPhone usage, I became a victim of The Power of Defaults. I didn’t question the notification settings. Then it dawned on me: I can change them! So I did. My new default is inspired by Zero-based budgeting. I went through all notifications and disabled most of them: Sounds? Gone. Badges? Gone….
How to solve the email problem
Recently, a friend asked: “How do you deal with email? I get more than I can handle. Maybe I don’t invest enough time, focus or attention?” First of all, I don’t have a final solution. It’s a work in progress, as for most of you. Let’s use the principle of Inversion. How can we make…
Stop wasting your attention
Ever since reading The 4-Hour Workweek a decade ago I started applying the Low-Information Diet and stopped following the news: no newspapers, no news websites, no news on TV. The principle is simple: Quit the news. If it’s important enough you will hear about it from the people around you. In most cases, you won’t…
Zero-based budgeting
Simplify your life by using this powerful principle: Remove something completely. Then add back what you miss. Instead of “I want to use Facebook less often”, remove it completely and then add the elements back that you miss. Instead of “Let’s keep this, because I might need it someday”, get rid of it now and…
Asking big questions
As the year is coming to a close, it’s the perfect opportunity to ask some big questions. I recommend to do it in writing: Which people in my life are toxic? How can I reduce contact with them? Which relationships do I want to nourish? Am I investing my time & energy into the things…