Not because they all add up mathematically and contribute equally to the sum of your work. Because they won’t. But because showing up today makes the other days – the days when you do your best work – more likely. Think of it as giving the muse a bigger surface area on which to strike.
Category: Focus
It’s good to be on the front foot – to know where you’re going, to be moving things in the right direction, to be proactive, to be setting the terms. We sometimes find ourselves on the front foot due to luck and circumstance – but being there consistently and staying there takes thought and preparation. There’s the long term discipline…
This is a piece of advice from The Four Hour Work Week that I need to re-learn and re-apply on a regular basis: Slow down and remember this: Most things make no difference. Being busy is a form of laziness – lazy thinking and indiscriminate action. Being overwhelmed is often as unproductive as doing nothing, and is far more unpleasant.…
It’s good to keep your products – and I include services as part of product – as focused as possible on the needs of your customers. One catch is that you are almost certainly serving multiple costumers: The people you hope to impact with your product End users of your product The people choosing and buying your product Any other…
Killing “big frogs” (sorry Kermit) has become a shorthand among a group of friends of mine for getting important done. I trace it back to reading Brian Tracy’s Eat That Frog! a few years ago, but it might have stranger and deeper roots – if so I look forward to being corrected in the comments. I was feeling frustrated today…
I’ve read and appreciated this suggestion from Peter Drucker enough times that I’m finally going to apply it. Here’s the idea: You can learn to identify your strengths by using feedback analysis. This is a simple process in which you write down every one of your key decisions and key actions along with the results that you expect them to…
What is the biggest contribution that I can make to this team or organisation? What does it mean for me to be good at my job? What would be happening around me if I was good at my job? How would I feel? How would the people around me feel? What’s getting in the way? What do I have to…
What would happen if you made a 30/90 rule? It looks like this. 30 For every “ten minute job” that isn’t completely routine – an email, a payment, a quick call – allow 30 minutes in your schedule. Then you’ve got five minutes to be running slightly behind and get to the loo or make a coffee, ten minutes to…
This is an interesting piece from REDEF on what happens next in the competition for our ears, eyeballs and thoughts, with a link to a reading list at the bottom. Recommend. Organic food became a multibillion-dollar industry as people took a greater interest in what they put in their bodies. The markets will be even bigger that are shaped as people begin…
Here’s Seth Godin with some of the best advice I’ve heard for drawing (finishing) lines. It’s especially relevant for businesses. Q: I’m wondering about personal financing your company and where you draw the line if you’re funding it yourself? Rule number one is you never put up your house. Don’t laugh. This means you can’t sign a personal guarantee on…