Write about the things you practice; practice the things you write about. Words without action is fraudulent. (It’s hard, but I try.)

Professionals don’t need fake deadlines and don’t respect them. Instead, we have the chance to build in appropriate slack, get our priorities straight and keep our promises.

In the world of the compass, direction is important. Where are we going? Why excatly are we once again on a Monday morning feeling out of control? In the world of the compass we are concerned less about 'getting stuff done' and more about getting the right things done. Do those and we invariably have to get less stuff done tomorrow.

Change your clock for a compass.

Having a clear purpose is the key for a happy life.

Even when researchers compared lonely people with purpose to social butterflies without it, purpose came out on top. In other words, it’s possible when we’re doing things to better our society, the body assumes there’s a society there to better. We’re technically alone, but it doesn’t feel that way.

Via Jason Kottke

What a great idea! I would love to work as a CWO.

To see themselves through the I.T. revolution, companies hired chief information officers. Perhaps the coronavirus pandemic will make chief workflow officer an equally important role.

I closed my Facebook and Instagram accounts over a year ago and have not missed it for a single day. I am still dreaming of leaving WhatsApp as well, but that proves to be more difficult.

Since then, not a single month have gone by without news coming out about Facebook’s blatant disrespect of its users, privacy and ethics.

I have made my choice, and I encourage you to make yours. If you disagree with Facebook and its policies, leave. You might be one account, but if you are one among millions, you will make a difference.

Nicholas Bate is the master of helpful advise in bite sized lists. I’m already waiting for the second part of the list Covid–19, 101, 1–10m

8. Your business will continue to be a blend of high-tech and high-touch. The former must be fast, easy and responsive. The latter must be fast, easy and attentive.

[…]

10. A phone call without visual distraction can be surprisingly productive. Try it.

For his 68th birthday, the amazing Kevin Kelly shares 68 bits of unsolicited advice.

There is no limit on better. Talent is distributed unfairly, but there is no limit on how much we can improve what we start with.

So, I propose a different definition of productivity: It’s about selecting a specific focus for every interaction—and taking actions that arise out of that focus.

In other words, productivity boils down to intentionality

This coincides closely with my own definition of effectiveness: intention management.

You can’t control the future:

When the future doesn’t cooperate, we spend even more time trying to change the next bit of future so that it ends up more closely matching the future we were hoping for.

What if, instead, just for a little while, we simply did our best?

What I believe in:

While there are many benefits to using software tools, there are many hidden costs as well. Consider all the time you’ve spent researching, learning, evaluating, upgrading, and maintaining various software tools. Are you getting a good payoff for your investment when you consider the total time you’ve had to invest?

Now add the additional time you may have lost from digital distractions when you use software tools, especially on an Internet connected device. How often did you break away from using a genuine productivity tool to check email or social media or to look something up online?

40 years of experience working from home compressed into 10 pieces of solid advice:

While there are many benefits to using software tools, there are many hidden costs as well. Consider all the time you’ve spent researching, learning, evaluating, upgrading, and maintaining various software tools. Are you getting a good payoff for your investment when you consider the total time you’ve had to invest?

Now add the additional time you may have lost from digital distractions when you use software tools, especially on an Internet connected device. How often did you break away from using a genuine productivity tool to check email or social media or to look something up online?

Please remember:

We’re always in control of the two most important determinants in our lives:

a.) How we spend our time.

and…

b.) Where we direct our focus.

(Via Wally Bock)

I always published under my real name, but the concept of pseudonyms interests me

Over time, doing things under your real name on the internet will be a bit like putting your social security number out there. It won’t commonly be done. Instead, people will earn and speak under different pseudonyms.

The list is your assistant

Curiosamente, en la era en la que más información tenemos, menos sabemos manejarla.

How about if we replace mission statements with invitation statements instead? Invitations are much more agreeable. Invite people to participate in your vision to create a better future, but don’t push your vision on the whole world because people will fight you on that. If you force your mission onto people without consent, so much of your otherwise creative energy will be wasted on defending yourselves eventually, and you’ll deserve that kind of response.

What a great idea to make businesses more humane.

Modern educational institutions care a lot about content: what theories we teach, what ideas students are exposed to, what skills they come away knowing. But we rarely address the more general question of how one transforms their mind into a tool well-honed for elite-level cognitive work.

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All human evil comes from this: our inability to sit still in a chair for half an hour.

When it comes to personal effectiveness, the tools are never the issue.

I say all this to suggest that, perhaps, email is not “broken” but the way we are using it is. Perhaps there is a solution that could make things better for you that doesn’t involve a new app or service. Perhaps, if you hate it, in changing the way you approach it you’ll find a way to love it again.

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Intuition is a poor guide but a great guard. 

How to plan for life hitting you in the face?

The short answer is, you don’t. There are too many variables to control for.

💬 Wise words found on a trail in Costa Rica:

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The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.

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When you support free, you support billionaires. When you pay, you support sane businesses and real creators.