The Post I Didn’t Want To Write For You . . .

I just deleted a post I was writing for you.It was about something important (not waiting for conditions to be perfect before giving your all), but then I realized that this was more important.

Here we go:

I’m exhausted.I just worked 16 hours on my feet all day after 2 days just like it.I have a sore throat, my sinus is packed, and my head is throbbing.My body aches, it’s hard to focus my vision, and I definitely can’t breathe through my nose

But I’m writing this for you.

I committed!I’m not saying you shouldn’t take care of yourself or ignore your body (I plan on sleeping all day tomorrow).I’m saying that I know how long it usually takes to write a post: as long as I want it to take.And if it truly takes as long as you want it to take, you can make it happen, even when you have great, valid excuses.You are often in control of what “done” means!

2 Minute Action

Whats something you haven’t consistently done but would like to consistently do?What would happen if you committed?What would happen if you HAD to figure it out?You might make the task/scope smaller.You might shorten the deadline.You might increase or decrease the budget.You would hack it together, make sacrifices, and make it happen—because you HAD to!

It’s all up to you.

Take 2 minutes and write down a quick list of excuses about why my you haven’t gotten there.Sort them into valid and invalid ones.Now go through your list and ask yourself, if this excuse never changed, how might you work around it?

Here’s the punchline:

You decide what “done” means.You have more power over yourself than you’re u might think.

Why Messing Up Helps (It’s Not Because You Learn From Failure)

Yes, I make typos.

Yep, I splice commas all over the place.Yeah, I end sentences with prepositions and incorrectly use the semi-colon.I’m not trying to be perfect, because a habit of perfectionism can consume a lot of time.

I’m trying to get the point across quickly.

I’m trying to do what’s essential and then move on.Doing all the extra stuff can be nice but it has to be worth the consequence of time and energy—and that part is up to you.

2 Minute Action

I call this 2 minute action out everyday because by thinking small and consistent, we can build really huge things.Whats taking up 80% of your time or causing 80% of your pain right now?Focus on that first and don’t solve anything else.What we we found out in software development was that when we fixed some part of the software over here, some other part would break over there.By fixing one thing at a time, we didn’t spend too much time fixing stuff that didn’t matter or that wasn’t a priority.So think of your top time waster, soul crusher, or pain maker. Maybe you can’t solve it in 2 minutes but you can take the first step in 2 minutes.Go for it. Schedule the call, set the agenda, but the plane ticket, commit to the work, create the user story, text your father, whatever it is.One at a time.Drip. Drip. Drip.

The Real World Tradeoff Of Internet B.S.

I had always worked 60 hour weeks.But I wanted to do more, so I started working 80 hour weeks. It felt sexy and self-righteous to cut out weekends and social events.I was beating everyone.And that’s when I decided I wanted to push 100 hour weeks.

Let me explain something really important about this.

The difference between 60 and 80 is not the same as the difference between 80 and 100.At 60 hour weeks you’re sacrificing some social stuff, but there’s still time for a relaxing weekend.At 80 hour weeks, your weekends are gone so you’re sacrificing almost if not all of your social activity.

Here’s where it gets crazy.

At 100 hour weeks, you’re now forced to sacrifice really basic needs like exercise and sleep.You’re basically getting 5 hours of sleep each night and immediately beginning work when you get up.There are a lot of internet people who talk about hard work, long hours, and the sexiness of competing for who stayed at the office the longest.I’ve worked all of these styles and I can tell you that there is a huge trade off when you exceed 80 hour work weeks.Sacrificing all social events and interactions means you have no support network or way to vent, verbally process, or feel connected.Sacrificing exercise means your health risks go up and you don’t have recovery hormones making you feel positive and energized all day. Enter; the risk for a coffee, cigarette, or other stimulant addiction.Sacrificing sleep means your body can’t recover as it normally would from mental or physical exertion.All of a sudden, you’re making stupid mistakes that create more work.

But weren’t you working all this time to get ahead?

Now you’ve got a problem. More work and less capacity to finish it.The point is that there’s a tradeoff and you have to find your sweet spot.If you’re serious about living a productive life that helps others and improve our planet, you’re going to have to be responsible for your own sustainability.

This means finding out your limits and working backward to hit your stride.

Stop listening to the internet celebrity B.S. and start listening to (and measuring) yourself.No one else is going to tell you what’s optimal for you. You have to get out there and figure it out.

2 Minute Action

Take 2 minute to reflect on the amount of sleep you’ve gotten for the last week.Set a sleep goal (high or low, it doesn’t matter) for this week.Set a reinder for each morning to notice how you feel with that amount of sleep each day of this week.Reply here and let me know what results you get. There’s no right or wrong with this, I’m just curious what is working for you.