“The best way of learning about anything is by doing.”
― Richard Branson

You don’t need to read another book.

You don’t need to watch another video.

You don’t need to complete another tutorial.

You don’t need more training, coaching, or practice.

Stop making excuses. Figure it out as you go. Make mistakes. Learn on the fly. You’re not improving because you’re too busy consuming instead of just doing.

You know what you need to do. Get to work and make it happen.

“If you are the kind of person who is waiting for the ‘right’ thing to happen, you might wait for a long time. It’s like waiting for all the traffic lights to be green for five miles before starting the trip.”
― Robert Kiyosaki

You don’t need permission. You have the technology. You’re smart enough and skilled enough. You’re ready.

So what are you waiting for?

What’s holding you back?

That book you want to write — write it. No publisher? No problem. Self-publish.

The software you want to build — build it. Not a programmer? No problem. Learn to code or try your hand at some no-code tools.

Your brilliant business idea — go for it. Don’t know how to start? No problem. Open your browser, search for solutions, and start moving forward.

Don’t leave your idea as just an idea. Give it life. Make it real. The world is waiting for you.

“To me, ‘busy’ implies that the person is out of control of their life.”
― Derek Sivers

Stop being satisfied with staying busy. Busy means you’re moving, but it doesn’t mean you’re moving in the right direction. Busy means you put in a hard day’s work, but it doesn’t mean you accomplished anything.

Instead, focus on prioritization. Focus on efficiency and productivity. Focus on doing work that matters.

“Age provides perspective, but life wasn’t designed with a point at which it definitively gets easier.”
― Jana Eleanor

My 20s were a time of exciting opportunities, difficult challenges, and constant learning. I am grateful for the journey, but if I had to give my younger self advice, this is where I would start.

1. Anxiety and excitement are basically the same feelings. Whenever you’re feeling anxious or whenever you’re feeling afraid, remind yourself to be excited and you’ll rise to the occasion.
2. Everything worth doing is difficult at the beginning. Nobody magically gets a free pass on this, so just focus on where you want to be, not how far you have to go to get there.
3. Perspective matters more than problems. You can focus on the difficulty or the opportunity. You can find a reason to be miserable or a reason to be grateful. You can focus on what you have to do or what you get to do.

“We like to give people the freedom to work where they want, safe in the knowledge that they have the drive and expertise to perform excellently, whether they are at their desk or in their kitchen. Yours truly has never worked out of an office, and never will.”
― Richard Branson

Remote work is no longer the future. It’s here now, and it’s not going away. Businesses have seen significant benefits, including reduced expenses, improved productivity, and happier employees. If your office hasn’t jumped on the remote work train, it might be time to find a new office.

There is a catch, however. To enjoy the benefits of remote work, you need to be a good remote worker. It’s no secret that many bosses are outside their comfort zone with remote workers, but if you’re crushing it away from the office, a smart boss will double down on that and get out of your way.

So how do you impress your boss, enhance your team, and maximize your results while working remotely? Here are ten tips to bring out your remote A-game:

1. Don’t start the day with work.

It’s tempting to get the workday going immediately. Resist the temptation. Instead, get up early enough to ensure at least two hours before you need to start work. Exercise (even a little bit helps), shower, get dressed and eat breakfast. Maybe knock out a personal task too. You’ll be primed and ready for action.

2. Invest in a solid internet connection, a good webcam, a quality microphone, and decent lighting.

These are non-negotiables today. A good video feed is the remote work version of “dress for success.” Sure, you’ll occasionally have “technical difficulties.” But your team will forgive you if high quality is the norm.

3. Get proper sleep, nutrition, and exercise.

If you want to be your best, you need to prepare like the best. Taking care of yourself will improve your focus, give you energy, and help you stay healthy. You don’t want to be dosing off in the next Zoom meeting or struggling to finish tasks, so take care of your body.

4. Overcommunicate.

That doesn’t mean cc’ing everyone on every email. It does mean keeping your team informed and your boss in the loop. Don’t leave anyone in the dark.

5. Show your work.

When you’re in an office, people assume you’re being productive. When you’re remote, you need to show your work. Of course, that’s probably a good strategy for in-office workers too.

6. Work on clearly defined tasks.

If something isn’t clear, get clarity. Ask questions and set expectations.

7. Focus on one thing at a time.

Multitasking slows you down. It’s the worst form of interruption. If you have several things to do on the same day, work in blocks. Email, brief responses, status updates, etc., can fit between solid focus time.

8. Get up and walk around, outside if possible.

Don’t focus on exercise. Focus on movement. When you get out of your chair and move around, it gets the blood flowing to your brain again. Stepping away from the monitor gives you a chance to reset your mind. Adding in some sunshine will improve your mood and give you a jolt of optimism. About 15 minutes twice a day is a good start.

9. Be reliable.

If your team can’t count on you to deliver results, non of this other stuff matters. You need to build trust and continuously reward that trust.

10. Keep improving.

Constant improvement is the “work smart” part of the equation. Push yourself to be a little bit better every day. Take on the challenging tasks that help you grow. Study, train, and experiment your way to new levels. The more you improve yourself, the more you improve the team.

“The trick is to find the simplicity inside the complexity.”
― Nick Wagner

Sometimes you run into what looks like a really difficult problem. How do you face that challenge? How can you find a solution? How can you beat it and actualy win?

I know there are a lot of problem-solving techniques, but when you’re facing the biggest problems, I believe there’s a very important, but often overlooked method that stands above the rest: divide and conquer.

Divide and conquer is a straightforward technique, but I’ve seen many people struggle for hours or even days before trying it. Like anything worth doing, it takes some practice to master, but you can get most of the benefits by simply remembering to use this approach.

So how do you use divide and conquer? It’s simple:

1. Pause, think about the problem, and ask youself what problem you’re trying to solve.
2. With the real problem identified, now you need to break it in to two pieces. If you’re not sure how to break it apart, ask yourself if there’s some way the problem could become easy.
3. Now that you broke the problem into two pieces, think about the first piece. If it’s still intimidating, repeat this process for just that smaller problem. Otherwise solve it and go to the next problem.
4. Repeat until the problem is solved.

Here’s a simple example using math (but you can do this for any challenge): x=91*17

1. Well, the real problem is clear enough in this case. We need to find the value of x.
2. It would be a lot nicer if we had something like 90*20 or 100*17. Can we do one of these? Yes: 91*17 = (100*17)-(9*17).
3. First problem: 100*17=1700. Done.
4. 9*17 would be easier if it was 10*17, so let’s make it 10*17-17.
5. Second problem: 10*17=170.
6. We now have x=1700-(170-17). That’s nice. No more multiplication.
7. 170-17 would be easier if it was 170-20, so (170-20)+3.
8. Third problem: 170-20=150.
9. We now have x=1700-(150+3).
10. This would be simpler as 1700-150-3.
11. Fourth problem: 1700-150=1550.
12. Now we only have x=1550-3.
13. Fifth problem: 1550-3=1547.
14. And we’re done: x=91*17=1547

This technique applies to a lot more than just math and the general idea apply to any problem that seems too big and complicated. Break it down, simplify the problem, and solve it one easy piece at a time.

Next time you find yourself facing an seemingly insurmountable challenge, try the divide and conquer technique.

“Never follow anyone else’s path. Unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path. Then by all means follow that path.”
― Ellen DeGeneres

Email used to stress me out. I would obsess over staying on top of it and replying promptly. If I received an email on Friday evening about something for Monday morning, I stressed out all weekend. If I was interrupted by even a subtle new mail alert, I immediately moved my attention away from my current focus.

The way I used email hurt my productivity, drove me crazy, and

Now I view email as a practical and helpful tool. Email empowers asynchronous communication, and that’s amazing when done right.

Sure, plenty of people don’t use it effectively, but that’s true of most tools. I’m sure I haven’t optimized my use either, but I have found some tricks that help me utilize the benefits of email without most of the negatives.

My email tricks (as of 2022):

• Use at least three email addresses — one for friends and family, one for hobbies and volunteer groups, and one for work. When you check one of the mailboxes, you won’t be easily distracted by the others.
• Create a CC folder and set a rule that automatically sends new emails to that folder if you are CC’d or BCC’d. Don’t check this folder more than once per day.
• Set up your phone to alert you only for messages that make it to your inbox.
• Set your phone to check email only at certain times. Configure different email addresses differently. For instance, check your hobby email only from 7-9 PM, but your work email only at 2 PM.
• Don’t check email early in the morning. Complete at least one task first.
• Unless you’re “on-call,” checking email twice a day is more than enough.
• You don’t have to reply to every email.
• You don’t have to reply “Thanks” to an email to let the sender know you received it.
• Never use email for synchronous or real-time communication.
• Unsubscribe from everything you don’t actively use.
• If you actively use a subscription, perhaps a useful newsletter, set up a folder and automatically filter those messages.
• Don’t worry about Inbox Zero, but archive emails once you no longer need them.

“Focus on being productive instead of busy.”
― Tim Ferriss

I don’t have time is a lame excuse. You have the time, but you’re spending it on other priorities. In other words, if you can’t find the time to do important things, then you have a prioritization problem.

I’ll help you fix it. Let’s reword all the “I don’t have time” excuses.

• I don’t have the time to read a book to my kids. => I choose Netflix over my kids.

• I don’t have the time to start a side hustle. => I choose hanging out at the bar over success.

• I don’t have the time to exercise. => I choose watching sports over my physical fitness.

• I don’t have the time to pray. => I choose social media over God.

• I don’t have the time to cook. => I choose games over my body.

• I don’t have the time to learn a new skill. => I choose complaining over leveling up.

• I don’t have the time to take a walk. => I choose stress over mental health.

• I don’t have the time to call my mom. => I choose shopping over family.

“I love lists. Always have.”
― Adam Savage

I love to-do lists. The only problem is they have an unfortunate tendency to grow. Of course, if you prioritize well, you can work from the top down. Still, I think it’s nicer to have a short to-do list.

There are several effective methods for dealing with a lengthy to-do list. One of my favorites is the Eisenhower Matrix. It’s excellent because it helps you focus on what matters most. The only problem is that sometimes it gets a bit complicated, especially when you feel like you need to do everything.

So I found a simple method that works for me.

Ultimately, there are only two ways to deal with items on a to-do list. You can either complete tasks or delete tasks.

With a long list, you won’t be able to complete everything in one day. You need to prioritize the list, and it’s easier to prioritize a shorter list. So let’s start by deleting tasks.

For every task, ask yourself these questions:

1. If I was out of the country for a month, could this task wait without negative consequences?
2. Does this task distract me from my long-term goals?
3. Can someone else complete this task?
4. Can I ignore this task entirely?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, consider deleting the task. Don’t try to keep it around because you’re afraid you might forget about it. Every item on your to-do list steals mental energy, so ruthlessly delete.

Now let’s prioritize what’s left.

For every remaining task, ask these questions:

1. Do I need to complete this task today to avoid a negative consequence? If yes, move it to the top.
2. If this is the only task I complete today, will I consider the day a success? If yes, move it below anything from #1
3. Will completing this task move me closer to one of my long-term goals? If yes, move it right below anything from #2.
4. Do I need to complete this task soon to avoid a negative consequence? If yes, move it below anything from #3.
5. Did I answer “no” to the first four questions about this task? If yes, delete the task.

Now let’s go complete some tasks.

“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results.”
― Ken Blanchard

If it’s convenient to eat nutritious food, you will unless it’s convenient to eat junk food.

If it’s convenient to exercise, you will unless it’s convenient to sit on your butt.

If it’s convenient to spend meaningful time with your family, you will unless it’s convenient to watch TV.

If it’s convenient to practice, you will unless it’s convenient to relax.

If it’s convenient to learn, you will unless it’s convenient to veg out.

If it’s convenient to get a good night’s sleep, you will unless it’s convenient to stay up late.

If it’s convenient to meditate, you will unless it’s convenient to distract yourself.