I decided not to write an intro to this week’s newsletter.
Because your time is better spent watching this video.
Now, on to this week’s ideas…
1. WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU START TODAY
“Nobody ever says, ‘I wish I would have procrastinated longer.’”
We’ve all got things we need/want to start, but haven’t quite gotten around to yet for a variety of reasons.
With that in mind, I wrote this post to explain what will happen if you start today.
I hope it motivates you to start your thing and that you’ll share it with other people you know who are struggling to start the projects you know they’re meant to do.
RELATED: People who start things know this is true.
2. HOW TO MULTIPLY YOUR TIME BY ASKING YOURSELF FOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR TO DO LIST
“Rather than asking ‘What’s the most important thing I can today?’, time multipliers ask ‘What’s the most important thing I can do today that would make tomorrow better?’”
What if everything we learned about time management is wrong?
Rory Vaden suggests rather than looking to manage your time you learn how to multiply it.
To do that he recommends you ask yourself four questions about the tasks on your to do list including if you can automate, delegate, or eliminate each task.
RELATED: Why everyone should have a “stop doing” list.
3. HOW TO GET 100 NEW INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS IN 22 DAYS
“I thought of my profile as the product and comments and likes as advertisements.”
This post is NOT about buying fake followers. It’s about how to grow an authentic following on Instagram.
Lucero Cantu set out to do that by studying what other people have done on the platform and explains how she got 100 new Instagram followers in 22 days.
Her process included to optimize her profile, space out her content, and devote time to building an audience.
(By the way, for more social media advice check out my “secret” social media tips daily emails.)
RELATED: I did what every Instagram expert says is stupid and it’s working great.
4. HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE MARGINAL UTILITY OF MONEY
“Marginal utility of money is the amount of value (happiness) gained from an increase amount of money available to you. This value changes depending on how much you already have stache’d away.”
We tend to focus so much on getting money that we overlook the reality that the more money we have, the less valuable it becomes.
The Mr. Money Mustache blog breaks down how to understand the marginal utility of money including tips about how to define your personal value of an additional dollar and recognize the diminishing return in earning more money.
RELATED: 13 simple money management tips to try today.
5. HOW TO TEACH KIDS CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
“Teaching skepticism is good. It helps kids understand the world in which they live and the motivations of others.”
In order to make good decisions, we first have to learn how to think critically.
Lizzy Francis explains how to teach kids critical thinking skills including to ask lots of questions when making decisions in front of kids, explain the decisions you make to them, and interrogate them about their own decisions.
RELATED: How to nurture creativity in your kids.
6. HOW TO BE PROLIFIC
“Knowledge is a fixed cost. If you want to increase your output, without increasing costs, work on investing in the fixed-costs to making stuff.”
If you’ve ever wondered how some people are able to create a huge volume of work while maintaining high quality, this may be the answer.
Scott H. Young breaks down how to be prolific including to create a vocabulary for your work, make failure cost less, and master the atomic skills of producing stuff.
RELATED: How to organize your schedule for a productive week.
7. HOW TO CREATE AWESOME JOB ADS
“A job ad is communication. Like all other communication, you as a company should strive to do it well.”
If you’re looking to hire somebody, this post might make the difference between attracting somebody great and somebody who’s, well…not great.
Eva H. explores how to create awesome job ads and points out companies that don’t put creativity and thought into their job listings are unlikely to attract talented people who have those things to offer.
RELATED: How to hire the right person.
8. SEVEN WAYS TO BECOME WELL-CONNECTED
“The best way to be highly influential is to be human to everyone you meet.”
It’s one thing to network with people, but it’s another connect with them in a way they’ll remember.
Chris Fralic suggests seven ways to become well-connected including to convey genuine appreciation, offer unvarnished honesty, and end every meeting or conversation with the feeling and optimism you’d like to have at the start of your next encounter.
RELATED: How to master networking in four emails a year.
9. HOW TO WALK 100,000 STEPS IN A DAY
“Fear is a great deterrent to anything. Long ago, I learned to look at worries as challenges.”
This is the story of a 66-year-old man who decided he wanted to walk 100,000 steps in a day…and did it.
David Paul Kirkpatrick shares the inspiring story of how he walked 100,000 steps in a day, but it’s about much more than that — it’s also about how to use focus and intentional dreaming to accomplish something others may think is impossible.
RELATED: How to use smart exercise to stay younger longer.
10. THE THREE MINUTES IT TAKES TO READ THIS WILL SIMPLIFY YOUR WORK FOREVER
“The truth is usually simple. It’s our embellishments and excuses that complicate things.”
No matter what kind of work you do, this post can help you focus and simplify how you do it.
I suggest five things you can do to simplify your work including to set clear goals, create constraints, and stop lying to yourself and others.
RELATED: How Einstein learned to simplify the complex.
WANT ME TO SEND YOU MY SOCIAL MEDIA SECRETS?
I’ve been sending “secret” daily emails featuring social media tips that aren’t featured in this newsletter. Sign up here if you’d like me to send them to you.
WHERE I FOUND THIS STUFF
I got some of this week’s ideas from Khe Hy, Kyle Westaway, Thomas Oppong, Trevor McKendrick and Greg Roth — they’re awesome and worth checking out.
Image via Craig Whitehead.