In 2015, we stopped giving gifts on birthdays and holidays. It changed everything.
Continue reading
This is OK on Friday
Get an exclusive weekly dose of food for thought, tools, tips, resources and more.
Every Friday, I send out an email with the most intriguing or cool things I found and enjoyed that week.
“This is OK on Friday” is a free weekly newsletter that gives you tiny bits of food for thought that I personally like or find interesting and thought-provoking. Typically, these are useful tools, tips, techniques, and thought-provoking portions of information to enhance your well-being at work and in life in general.
Notes from a Naval Ravikant podcast
A few ideas from the conversation that resonated with me. I listened to it on Eric Jorgenson’s YouTube channel. Quotes have been lightly edited for readability. Emphasis mine.
Continue readingThe Cost of Taking Work Too Seriously
“One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.”―Bertrand Russell
Most high performers read it, nod, and go back to treating their work as terribly important. Sometimes, the harder they try, the worse it gets. Not always. But more often than you think, and through a mechanism many people never see.
Continue readingWhen “Normal” Glucose Isn’t Enough
Wait, what? “Within normal range” glucose doesn’t tell me much?
I am not a doctor, nor have I ever received a medical education, nor am I trying to be one. But I do notice patterns, decompose systems, and distill principles to their core. And I noticed some in at least a handful of people. I thought, if it was useful for my close friends, it could be for you.
Continue readingBoring Breaks? No, I’ve Got a Better Idea
“But that sounds miserable, doesn’t it?!” was the first thought that popped into my mind when I came across the concept of boring breaks.
The idea is to be bored during your breaks so that, when you return to work, it feels more interesting.
Continue readingThe reason I didn’t write to many people
“How screwed is this?” — I thought, reflecting on suddenly resurfaced memories of things I hadn’t done.
Continue readingHow you make any conversation productive. Step 0.
Know your goal = Why are you in this conversation?
You can have both productive and unproductive conversations on purpose. For example, if your goal is to hang out, it may not be traditionally productive — but it is productive for that purpose. What matters is knowing why you’re in the conversation to begin with.
Continue readingShould I move to Japan?
“Do you like living in Japan?” — That’s a question I’ve been getting a lot lately. But in some cases, what people really mean is: “Will I like living in Japan?” That’s when I realized I need to be careful with my answer.
There’s another question: “Should I go to Japan?”
My answer to that one is short — yes. At least once, and for at least two weeks.
Why ‘We’re Unique’ Means Nothing
“We create unique products!”
I haven’t heard of any company saying otherwise. Nobody ever says, “We create ordinary products.” Everyone’s unique—to some extent, so claiming just that means nothing.
To our target audience, messages from different companies in the same field tend to sound similar. While we say we’re unique, we’re targeting our “average” (read: not unique) customer. To be fair, for an average customer, we’re just another average supplier of services or products.
The solution? Be specific.
Why are we unique? It’s a much stronger message to say we are [specific characteristic] about our unique [specific aspect].
Another point: why should the characteristic we highlight matter to our target audience? Why should they care?
The message = specific characteristic + why it matters.
That’s a far stronger approach than simply saying, “We are unique.”
The Stress Meter: Evaluate Now With PSS-10 Test
When leaders effectively manage their stress levels, they positively impact others. By doing so, an organization becomes healthier and better equipped to respond to the constantly changing business environment. How stressed are you? What are you transmitting to your team? Use this stress meter to understand this.
Continue reading