The Best Minute: Quality work, courage, and making a decision
1 IDEA FROM ME
If you want to feel less busy, increase your quality and decrease your quantity.
Cal Newport (author of Deep Work) defines quality work as time spent x intensity of focus. Most people struggle not with time spent, but with the intensity of focus.
Every time you check your email, you lower your intensity. Every time you pull out your phone, you lower your intensity. Every time you talk to someone, you lower your intensity.
It’s not that taking breaks is bad, but they should be done intentionally (typically meaning pre-planned), not when it’s been a few minutes and you want to do something that feels easier.
Often, if you pre-plan your focused work, when you’ll do things like check email, you can actually reduce the amount of overall time your bigger work takes to finish. Because remember, time spent x intensity of focus = quality work.
2 QUOTES FROM OTHERS
I. Cus D’amato, boxing trainer of Mike Tyson and others, on courage:
“I tell my kids, what is the difference between a hero and a coward? What is the difference between being [cowardly] and being brave? No difference. Only what you do. They both feel the same. They both fear dying and getting hurt. The man who is [cowardly] refuses to face up to what he’s got to face. The hero is more disciplined and he fights those feelings off and he does what he has to do. But they both feel the same, the hero and the coward. People who watch you judge you on what you do, not how you feel.”
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II. Soren Kierkegaard with advice if you are feeling stuck on making a decision:
“I see it all perfectly; there are two possible situations — one can either do this or that. My honest opinion and my friendly advice is this: do it or do not do it — you will regret both.”
1 INTERESTING FACT
Kleenex tissues were originally intended for gas masks.
When there was a cotton shortage during World War I, Kimberly-Clark developed a thin, flat cotton substitute that the army tried to use as a filter in gas masks. The war ended before scientists perfected the material, so the company redeveloped it to be smoother and softer, then marketed Kleenex as facial tissue instead.
Source: RD
1 QUESTION TO LEAVE YOU WITH
If I am not getting the results I want, should I change my expectations or my habits?
P.S. We are friends now.
