Let’s talk about relationships. No, not about those kinds of relationships. Although over the years, in a variety of romantic relationships, I’ve learned a lot about what not to do… And a few things here and there that are probably good to do! But I digress. Maybe I’ll share my romantic relationship experience some other day. I want to talk about a very important relationship that all of us have. It could be a happy relationship, but for many people it’s a troubled one. It’s a relationship...
12 days ago • 1 min read
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...
19 days ago • 1 min read
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...
26 days ago • 2 min read
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?
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
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...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Have you heard this saying before? Apparently it comes from the Navy SEALs: “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” It’s easy to imagine SEALs working this way. They don’t rush their preparation. They don’t cut corners when cleaning their rifle. And they don’t jump out of their helicopter a second before they’re supposed to. It’s harder to remember this for ourselves. We don’t need to imagine we’re special operatives as we go about our days. (Yikes, way too stressful.) But, as much as we might...
2 months ago • 1 min read
In the comments on my latest YouTube video, someone asked: Do you have videos on prioritisation? I have an awesome system I’ve set up in Apple Reminders, but I just can never seem to prioritise the list perfectly and always feel behind. This person is already doing a great job, having all of their to-dos captured to Apple Reminders and organized into lists. But it’s a good question: How do you actually decide what to work on first? Is there a formula? I’ll get back to that in a second. But...
3 months ago • 2 min read
One of my favorite things to do is to say, “no”. No, I won’t embark on that new project right now. (I have too many unfinished projects already.) No, I’d rather not help out with that volunteer initiative you’ve started. (I’ve overcommitted myself and don’t want to make it worse.) No, this week is not great for meeting for lunch. (I need as much focus time as I can get to ship this new product.) That last one can be tricky. Because people like to feel special. When you say, “this week isn’t...
3 months ago • 1 min read
I’m in Bali right now, coworking with a good friend of mine. About two years ago, he and I were also both here on the island. In fact, that’s when we met. I remember our first conversation well. He was extolling the virtues of cryptocurrency and I was, to put it mildly, skeptical. To me, crypto felt like a hype—nothing more. In the months after, we often talked about a different hype: AI tools, and in particular ChatGPT. I was initially quite skeptical about those, too. I thought most AI...
3 months ago • 1 min read