iv.

✦ Learnings — a course log

Things I'm learning.

Recent learnings from my reading and listening.

  1. Time

    Five tips for taking back your week

    • Tip #1

      The 2-minute rule. If a task takes less than two minutes, don't schedule it or write it down. Just do it now.

    • Tip #2

      Daily highlights. Each morning, before anything else, choose one or two meaningful tasks to finish that day: one for work, one for your personal life. Write them down so they anchor your focus.

    • Tip #3

      Auto-schedule. Block time for yourself on your own calendar. If it's not scheduled, it won't happen.

    • Tip #4

      Parkinson's Law. Work expands to fill the time you give it. Allot eight hours and it'll take eight; give it two and you'll likely still finish. Set tighter deadlines on purpose.

    • Tip #5

      Batch your tasks. Group similar work together to avoid the cost of constant context switching. Every switch taxes your attention, so protect your focus and buy back your time.

  2. Mind

    Mind OS — installed programs

    • Your mind runs three programs in the background, whether you notice them or not.

      • Perception filter (RAS). It decides what you notice and what you ignore. You don't see reality — you see what it lets through.
      • Reaction patterns. Pre-wired responses you never chose: the automatic flinch, the default excuse.
      • Identity. Beliefs running without your permission — "money is hard to earn," "I'm not the kind of person who achieves things like that" — quietly set your ceiling.

    • Catch them. Ask: what belief was I operating from today, without choosing it?

    • The takeaway: you don't change by changing what you do — that fades in a week. You change by changing who you believe you are. Goals and habits sit on the surface; identity is the level where change becomes permanent. Stop trying to do differently and start being the person who already does it.

  3. Time

    Design your week

    • Reacting is the most expensive way to live. Design your week, or the world designs it for you. Cost: 30 minutes every Sunday night.

    • Know what your hour is worth. Calculate your Buyback Rate. Anything cheaper that isn't your genius work — delegate it.

    • Every task falls in one of four boxes:

      • Drains energy + little money → delegate now.
      • Drains energy + lots of money → train your replacement.
      • Gives energy + little money → protect it.
      • Gives energy + lots of money → your genius zone; live here.

    • Three thieves steal your week: dead time between meetings, meetings that run long, and urgent always beating important.

    • Build your Perfect Week on three pillars: optimize for energy not time, batch similar tasks, block important before urgent.

    • N.E.T. Time (No Extra Time): turn dead time into learning. Podcast while you drive or train. Queue it first, or the feed wins.

    • 1-3-1 (if you lead a team): one problem, three researched options, one recommendation. Stop being the bottleneck.