Thoughts on the 80/20 philosophy, in 300 words or less. Sign up for email updates.
We all have blind spots that make it difficult to practice 80/20 thinking. One source of these overlooked inefficiencies are emotional biases. For example, status quo bias makes us prefer the current state of affairs. We perceive any change, even if meant to improve the situation, as a potential loss. This makes us reluctant to …
What if you could strengthen your 80/20 thinking muscle by de-cluttering your physical environment? In Pre-Suasion, Robert Cialdini shares a story of writing his first book, Influence. He worked in two different environments. The first one was his campus office with a view over academic institutes. In the second environment, his home office, he had …
Dubbed the new “hygge,” niksen is the Dutch word that means doing nothing*. Or more specifically, it means doing something without a purpose. You may stare out the window, look at your houseplants, or sit in silence, phone-less, while waiting for your coffee. You don’t have to meditate or do anything special to niksen “the …
One of my favorite business thinkers (and doers) is Jay Abraham. Through his penchant for simple, but unobvious strategies, he has generated for his clients more than 21.7 billion dollars. Some of his most notable students include Tony Robbins, Daymond John, and Ramit Sethi. In his book The Sticking Point Solution, he shares his simple …
Smart work is the epitome of self-respect. Hard work is the embodiment of self-abuse. In today’s world of leverage, associating effort with a job well done is an absurd notion. Being sore doesn’t mean you had a great workout. In fact, it means you overextended yourself. Working hard doesn’t mean you achieved great results, either. …
If you could have one superpower, what would it be? I’d like to learn everything in an instant. My answer to this question might be boring. But whatever you want to have in life, learning is the starting, the middle, and the end point. Any superpower pales in comparison to this most versatile skill. Learning …
I spent today’s afternoon planting rockspray cotoneaster at my girlfriend’s father’s grave. It’s a flowering plant with small, red berries that attract birds. As a person who spent the entire life in the countryside, attuned to nature, he would have liked it. He suddenly passed away last year when he was 54. I particularly enjoyed …
