If you’re having an annoying morning, ask yourself:
If the answer is yes to any of these questions, maybe the annoying morning is just an annoying you.
Take your time.
Enjoy the process.
You’ll get there, wherever it is, soon enough.
Note: This is a new blog post type on ULB. We’ll call them Kickstarters. Except these are not projects I’d like to actually execute. They’re ideas I’d like to see executed by someone who executes projects like these. At worst, these are interesting posts because I’m excited about them. At best, we get thousands of people saying “YES!”, and then someone actually makes this happen. Either way, #takemymoney.
So you’ve started using a standing desk. You love it.
You’re energized. You’re more productive. You are a righteous motherfucker.
But now, sitting for work doesn’t work. Any more than a few minutes starts to hurt.
What do you do when you’re on-the-road? In hotels? At a client’s office? At your parents house? (Yes, I’m 30 and regularly visit and stay at my parent’s house.)
You gotta stand, right?
Introducing a take-anywhere, folding, standing desk.
Think: three camera tripods with a small, folding table top. All of this would fold up and fit into a computer bag.
(I tried to draw this for ten minutes but failed miserably.)
So the big question is: Would you buy this?
I would in a heartbeat. It’s worth $200 to me, no doubt. I paid $60 for a Logitech “posture station” and carried it with me. Why wouldn’t I use this?
#takemymoney
(photo from Life is NOYOKE)
If you’re stopping and at a gas station, why not get gas?
Holds true to quitting, being in an elevator, and teaching the basics.
Company meetings are not for getting things done.
They’re not for learning.
They’re not for strategizing.
They’re scheduled to appear like that’s the goal.
But the only real benefit, lasting benefit, is the memories you’ll make.
Go have a blast.
Creating categories on your blow is tough.
It took me three years, but it’s now clear.
Think of categories as book topics.
If you were to write a book, what would it be about?
If it wouldn’t work as a book, it won’t work as a blog category.
Your client cares about one thing.
Sure, she cares about the deliverable. And the budget. And all the little nitpicky things.
But the one thing she REALLY cares about?
Her job.
And generally, that means keeping her boss happy.
So find your client’s boss, and figure out what they want (or, often, more importantly, what they DON’T want).
Then, and only then, will you have a happy client.
A couple of times recently, I’ve come across people saying that it’s important to repeat yourself if you expect to get real action.
What I’m now telling myself:
You might get tired of hearing it over and over.
But isn’t that better than hearing the status quo over and over?
***
Related, here are two articles echoing two of the “Life is NOYOKE” things I get tired of saying over and over, but, per the above, shouldn’t:
Thing 1: “Don’t count calories.” This: Calories are broken
Thing 2: “The FDA and those Big Food groups who influence it are the enemy.” This: The Food Pyramid Scheme: The feds’ dietary guide is based on dubious science—and now Congress wants an impartial review.
Your most clever stuff?
Test it.
You might think it’s so true. So irresistible. So perfect.
But if it doesn’t get the reaction you expect, toss it.
Two or three tries is plenty.
At first, it’s gonna be tough to feel productive.
If the goal is to write a book or lose weight or build a business, those things could take months. Years, even.
So schedule a task every single day.
And do it.
Even if it has nothing to do with the big goal.