“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela
It’s great to get things done.
But not all “things” are created equal.
Make sure the things you’re working on align with the thing you’re working toward.
Now, on to this week’s ideas…
1. YOU DON’T HAVE A TIME MANAGEMENT PROBLEM — YOU JUST THINK YOU DO
“Your time management goal shouldn’t be to figure out how to do more, but instead to figure out how to want less.”
I’ve shared a lot of ideas about time management in this newsletter, but there are three particular concepts which have the potential to completely change the way you think about it and help you overcome the overwhelm.
In this post I share three ways to reframe how you approach time management including to recognize the more effort you put into optimizing your productivity, the less productive you’ll feel; that the problem isn’t a lack of time, it’s that you have too much you want to do; and that time management problems are actually emotional problems.
2. WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE 97-YEARS-OLD
“I am in many ways a puzzle to myself.”
Herbert Finagrette was a philosopher and accomplished professor of philosophy who spent his lifetime contemplating issues of life and death.
He passed away in 2018, but prior to that he was the subject of an 18-minute documentary about what it’s like to be 97-years-old.
It’s a powerful look at how an aging philosopher’s thoughts about the meaning of life evolved as he got closer to death.
RELATED: 19 great truths from a 90-year-old grandmother.
3. WHY YOU SHOULD MASTER A MICRO SKILL
“A micromastery isn’t about spending 10,000 hours becoming an expert at something. It typically requires a much smaller commitment (though can vary based on the skill). A micromastery can be learning to fold fitted sheets, for example.”
Most things you read about learning are focused on how to learn big skills, but there’s just as much value in learning tiny ones.
Kelsey Osgood explains why you should try micromastery and suggests the learning of minor skills like how to dance the tango or change a flat tire can have significant benefits including to increase your ability to focus, reduce your anxiety, and improve your brain health.
Side Note: Next week I’m sending a great article about how to encourage learning among the people you work with to FTI All Access members. Sign up here if you’d like me to send it to you.
RELATED: How to master a skill.
4. FIVE WAYS TO GROW YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE
“When you receive comments that are longer form comments, you reach more people.”
LinkedIn is booming these days and if you’d like to improve your presence there, you’ve come to the right place.
In this 11-minute video, Dan Knowlton breaks down five ways to grow your LinkedIn profile including to ask questions, create grenade posts where you speak about something your audience has a strong divided opinion about, and schedule proactive engagement time.
RELATED: 22 ways to enhance your LinkedIn profile.
5. HOW TO SURVIVE YOUR FORTIES
“At 40, we’re no longer preparing for an imagined future life. Our real lives are, indisputably, happening right now.”
No matter whether you’re currently in your 40s, want to reminisce about what they used to be like for you, or want a preview of what’s to come in your future, this will give you a lot to think about.
Pamela Druckerman explores how to survive your 40s and points out it’s a unique and confusing decade in which you’re simultaneously more easily distracted, more skilled at explaining why things happen, and more aware that you’re now the grown-up in the room.
RELATED: Career advice for a 40-year-old from a 60-year-old.
NEW MUSIC FOR THE INTERESTED
I added six songs to the For The Interested playlist this week including the funkiest song you’ll ever hear about a wrestler, a Fitz and The Tantrums song from before they became pop stars, a song from a woman whose voice is (almost) as beautiful as Adele’s, and a track from FTI reader Jared Lindbloom (aka Pink Honey Moan).
Got a song to recommend for the playlist? Send it to me.
COMING NEXT WEEK TO ALL ACCESS MEMBERS…
Here’s a sneak peek at some ideas All Access members will get in next week’s newsletter:
• How to encourage learning in your company
• A template to sell anything
• How to maximize the benefits of walking
• How to grow an audience and make money from your podcast
• How to grow your brand
If you’d like me to send you these ideas, sign up here to become an ALL ACCESS member before next Sunday.
This newsletter is 100% reader supporter (no ads!), so it’s your support that keeps the ideas coming.
Thanks!
WHERE I FOUND THIS STUFF
I got some of this week’s ideas from Tina Roth Eisenberg, Om Malik, Kyle Westaway, Ann Handley, and Patrick Tanguay — they’re awesome and worth checking out.
Image via Marie-Sophie Tekian.
If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time and would like to get future editions, you can subscribe here.