...A better approach is to reduce the number of tasks we take on in the first place, institute concrete principles for deciding what categories of things you won’t do, and create structures such as instituting a day when no meetings will be held...
...What we really need is a way of deciding the point at which attention stops being beneficial for knowledge, and strays over into distorting things...
...We all face decisions every day that involve balancing risk. The Precautionary Principle is a tool that helps us determine when a particular choice is worth taking a gamble on, or when we need to sit tight and collect more information...
...Setting the triggers for action is best done in advance, and maintained regularly. Waiting for a crisis is expensive and risky...
...Developing a practice of pausing to regulate, resource, and reorient before we respond can counteract the threat response and help us to be more curious and creative in the face of what now? moments, even when we’re not sure what comes next...
...To control the game, one tries to control as much of the board as possible. At the outset, using your pieces to seize the middle of the playing field is a great strategy, because it gives you the widest possible vantage point from which to control the movement of the other pieces...
...it’s about surrounding yourself with a carefully curated group of people who you admire and respect and with whom you share common beliefs and values — people who will set the tone for the foundation of your larger network filled with people who provide value to one another...
...So it isn’t work or activity that Tom opposes, just the intensity and unrelenting tempo of many modern working lives...
...We overestimate the likelihood of unlikely events. And we underestimate the likelihood of likely events...
...top tips to stand out from the crowd and get a phone call, or offer, that much faster...
...So instead of becoming attached to the outcome, you can simply focus on the work...
...The biggest — and perhaps highest stakes — reason we resist change is that it puts at risk our identities and self-views...
...The Sweet Spot of Surprise: Like choosing a good book, curiosity leads us toward information that’s new, but not so new that it’s indecipherable...
...We’re all a little biased. When it comes to our finances, we’ve found that they can do real harm...
...Adding a reservoir to a high-demand system creates slack, resilience and efficiency...
...If you want to make progress in any area, you need to be willing to give up your best ideas from time to time...
...The process of learning a new skill or starting a new company or taking on a new adventure of any sort will often appear to be an ineffective use of time at first. Compared to the other things you already know how to do, the new thing will seem like a waste of time. It will never win the 80/20 analysis...But that doesn’t mean it’s the wrong decision...
...it’s essential for managers to establish norms around digital communication with their teams...
...But if we work at it, we might become indispensable...
...To be a great reader, it is not enough that you read, it’s how you read...
