6 principles.
🔁 Around every 6-12 months I review the direction of my life; if it is according to my core values and aspirational goals.
🏆 Many of my most rewarding choices came from rejecting the familiar, safe path. Yet saying 'no' remains challenging. Not in general, but within my areas of interest.
⚖️ Achieving a harmony in decisions is critical: prematurely abandoning a path might skip potential successes, but staying too long without reassessment can be a waste of time.
As career projects branch up progressively (which is great!), setting constraints is key for a healthy career and life - time-related, personal, geographical, financial, field of expertise, etc.
These are 6 principles I’ve been consciously applying to guide my“nos”:
1️⃣ Be clear of what is essential ⛰️ → hierarchize
- find 1-2 must-haves in the main areas of your life and dedicate; they can be cyclical but need time
2️⃣ “Look for single decisions which remove hundreds or thousands of other decisions” 🌀→ eliminate
- this one is massive, a switch on button for clarity and freedom
3️⃣ Don’t overestimate the productivity of your time ⏰ → be time-realistic
- the net productivity of your planned time is not 100%, plan accordingly; more tasks more, wasted time scraps
4️⃣ Do not work more to fix overwhelm 🥇→ prioritize
- “If you don’t prioritize, everything seems urgent and important. (…) The answer to overwhelm is not spinning more plates (…) it’s defining the few things that can really fundamentally change your business and life.”
5️⃣ Don’t fall for the Endownment Effect 🍃→ detach rationally
- we tend to value objects and opportunities more if we own them versus if we don’t.
- A helpful approach is “If I did not own this today, how hard would I be willing to work to get it?”
6️⃣ Be clear of the Opportunity Cost 🏳️ → evaluate trade-offs
- “What am I giving up if I accept this?”
- saying “no” is not about avoiding conflict or friction, it is about having clear what you are giving up when saying “yes”.
Suggested reading:
- Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown - https://www.amazon.com/Essentialism-Disciplined-Pursuit-Less/dp/0804137382/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20
- Anything you want by Derek Sivers - https://www.amazon.com/Anything-You-Want-Lessons-Entrepreneur/dp/1511366079
- Effortless by Greg McKeown -https://www.amazon.com/Effortless-Make-Easier-What-Matters/dp/0593135644
- Not-to-do-list by Tim Ferriss - https://www.amazon.com/Effortless-Make-Easier-What-Matters/dp/0593135644
- Fear-Setting Exercise by Tim Ferriss - https://tim.blog/2017/05/15/fear-setting/