Recently I had the opportunity to set up a productivity system for a very wealthy person. For a billionaire, in fact. Now, you might think billionaires have different problems than you and me. In some sense, that’s true: I don’t have to worry about my private jet being unavailable today due to maintenance. Presumably you don’t, either. But other billionaire problems are very relatable: Getting too much email and forgetting what you still need to respond to. Writing down to-dos in three different places, so you forget half of them. Not being able to find that document to read before a meeting. My client faced all of these problems. But we managed to fix them with a simple system. |
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The other day, my home ventilation unit stopped working. I recently moved into an apartment in Amsterdam that was built only two years ago, so it’s got all the fancy tech for energy-efficient living and for ultimate comfort. But sometimes that tech breaks. So this big unit in my storage room suddenly just borked. Here, I’ll show you a picture of the thing: While it’s huge and I could use more storage space, I love this unit because it constantly refreshes the air in the apartment. It uses the...
Most people’s to-do lists are just dumping grounds. They write things like: Learn Spanish Redesign website Train for a marathon Email dentist All in the same place. All with equal urgency. Which means every time they open their list, they’re hit with shame and indecision. But you? You have a Someday bucket. A separate list for ideas that aren’t for today—but still matter. You don’t delete them. You don’t obsess over them. You put them somewhere safe—and move on. Right?
What’s always just beyond your grasp? What would you definitely get to—if only you had an extra two hours in your day? What’s been on your goal list for a looooong time without any progress? How can you finally, finally get around to this thing? The answer isn’t trying harder. That doesn’t work. You’ve tried trying harder, haven’t you? I sure have. And I got two years of burnout as a reward. There’s only one way that works. But first: be nice to yourself, for Pete’s sake. Stop telling...