Everything Everywhere All the Time.

That's how our lives are! We are doing everything everywhere all the time... Work, connecting with friends, entertaining ourselves, eating, and whatnot! And, of course, we hardly get anything done at any time. What if, instead, we did one thing at one place at one time?

What no one is waiting for.

Someone is always waiting for something. And most of the time, we are busy getting it for them. But what about the thing no one is waiting for? The thing that only you know about. That only you care about. When are you going to make time for it? Because

Hot or cold?

Martha Beck teaches that the way of integrity is similar to the hot and cold game we played as children. When we are aligned with the things that are right for us, our body gives us the "hot" sign. Lightness, joy, enthusiasm. And when things aren't,

A tension masterclass.

Olivia Wilde is magic. She has always been magical with her acting. But now, with The Invite, she created magic as the director. The movie is a masterclass in tension. And how it keeps us engaged. What a brilliant masterpiece!

Done for the week (DFW)

What's your done for the week list? Not what all you want to do, but the minimum that needs doing. The ones if done, won't stress you over the weekend. How many items are there on the list? Which are still optional? If we get the

Worth stressing.

“Perhaps the best way to begin is by making a mental list of the sorts of things we find stressful. No doubt you would immediately come up with some obvious examples—traffic, deadlines, family relationships, money worries. But what if I said, “You’re thinking like a speciocentric human. Think

"I did it myself."

That was a thing to brag about. Not so much now. Delegation used to be only for those who can pay for it. What stops us now is our willingness to do it. And to learn it. Some people are really good at it. Steve Jobs was. He never did

Where's the engine?

It doesn't matter how much effort you put into building a train if it doesn't have an engine. It's not going to go anywhere. Every system that works relies on an engine that primes it. Before you get bogged down fixing the bogies, get

2000 blogs!

All of them here. Drip by drip. Day by day. The blog has given me much, much more than I could have imagined. What a journey! Six years and counting... Let's keep going. Thank you for reading. Subscribe here if you haven't already. It's

Brain fasting.

Intermittent fasting is designed to give your digestive system a rest. When you do a 16-hour, 20-hour or even a 36-hour fast, the system reaches its baseline and stays there. Without it, the system is always reacting, never really finding and staying in the base. We live

"Give it some time!"

Most stuck situations stay stuck if we just rely on giving them time. The assumption is that something else or someone else might fix it. But no one does. What if, instead of saying, "Give it some time!" we said, "Give it some attention!"

Messy / shippable?

Do you need to figure it all out before you send that reply? What does the reply actually need? What if you do the figuring out after sending it? Most of our work is getting deep into the mess and figuring things out. But it helps to have nothing pending

The new desktop.

We had the physical files and folders, a relic of the 70s, which we still see in some universities and government offices. Before things moved digital. A big shift then that most people resisted. How can I trust files I can't touch? What if this breaks down? We

Intern CEO.

No matter how good an intern is, no matter how capable and fast he is, you don't make him CEO. You learn how to work with him - Where is he good? Where does he make mistakes? What is a system that can help him do what he does

Not drowning.

Swimming is effortless. Trying not to drown is not. More often than not, we focus on the "not drowning" part of our work. What if we learned to swim instead? If you know how to swim, you don't have to worry about drowning.

Sex, money & food.

Three things that affect all of us. And three things we usually don't know where to start. Here are three books to start with: Sex: Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel Money: This is Strategy by Seth Godin Food: The Hunger Code by Dr. Jason Fung Start Here.

A little poison...

...is still poison.

Be a hypocrite.

When I am writing, I hesitate. Do I understand this well enough to write on it? What if I stop following this in a few days? What if I slip? It's better to hold back. It's better to wait until I am sure I am living

The Swiss Train Secret.

Trains in Switzerland run on time. Rather, almost everything there runs on time. This is weird to visualise, coming from India, where everything runs late all the time. I saw this video on YouTube that shows the system that makes the impossible possible in Switzerland. We might think it'

The trade-offs.

I recently restarted learning swimming. The class happens at 7 am in the morning, and it's a 30-minute drive. Which meant I had to wake up around 5.30 am. And sleep accordingly. Which also meant that I had to go through jet-lag-like symptoms for

A lighter backpack

Over time, my backpack tends to get heavier. I keep putting things in it and forget about them. Finally, the day comes, like today, when I get everything out on the table. And ask, for each item, does it belong? Does it help me get where I seek to go?

Inside Out.

The outside world is tough to understand. Seth Godin, though, helps us see the map and compass brilliantly. "This is Strategy" teaches us how systems, games, empathy and time engage with each other to make things happen. And "This is Marketing" teaches how empathy, tension, status

With a broken toe.

You can't climb Mt. Everest with a broken toe. The first task is to fix the toe. Then train to climb your Everest. Not the other way around.

Vague promises...

...are not promises. By keeping it vague, we feel that we are off the hook if we break it. We can always say, "I never said that." But why then make the promise in the first place? Becoming someone who keeps his/her promises is the best gift

Simple rules.

When sleepy, sleep. When hungry, eat. When tired, rest. When energetic, create. Start listening to the body. And the body will listen to you.