Nat Eliason Profile picture
Sep 16, 2020 12 tweets 2 min read Read on X
One common thread among all the really successful and productive people I know is they have a "systems mindset."
As soon as they do the same thing more than a few times, and that thing is not $1,000 per hour work, they start to think about ways to automate or systematize or delegate it so they can focus on something else.
Sometimes this manifests in small ways: I type in my email all the time, so I set up a hotkey in TextExpander to type my email in 3 characters instead of 20.
And it often manifests in big ways: Hiring is the classic example. Assuming you have the revenue to support it, you should hire someone else to do anything they could do 80% as well as you.
One big difference I see in systems mindset awareness is whether or not someone has a salary. Subsisting entirely on a salary puts you in a Fixed Money Mindset. You only get $X per year, so anything that detracts from that which you could do yourself is bad.
People who make money on their own tend to intuitively get the systems mindset better because they know that if they can free up some hours that are going to $10 work, they'll have more time for $100 work.
But if more time doesn't equal more money, there's less incentive to think this way.
That doesn't mean everyone should be an entrepreneur and start a business. But everyone should learn how to make money on their own. That could be freelancing, flipping collectibles on Ebay, doing handiwork, whatever calls you.
Knowing that if you had to, you could scrape out a few grand a month on your own is a massive psychological safety net, and will help you develop the systems mindset.
But how else can you practice the systems mindset? Start by finding one small thing in your life you do on a repeated basis and don't need to do.
If you want any inspiration, check out Zapier's "Automation Inspiration" catalog. They have one of the best tools for automating parts of your life. zapier.com/learn/automate…
And get in the habit of asking yourself if a person or tool could do what you're doing 80% as well as you.

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More from @nateliason

Jan 24, 2023
How do you encourage people to read your whole article or book?

Or watch your whole video? Or listen to your whole podcast?

One way is "the unanswered question."
Atlas Shrugged opens with the question:

"Who is John Galt?"

You don't find out until ~700 pages later, and the character of John Galt encompasses the philosophy of the novel.
American Gods continually reminds you that "a storm is coming," but you have no idea what the storm is.

As details of the novel emerge, the stakes of the "storm" loom larger and larger.
Read 8 tweets
Jan 23, 2023
Going from writing non-fiction blog posts to writing a non-fiction book has been harder than I expected.

Here are 9 things I wish I had known before starting...
1/ Tweets and articles have ruined your internal locus of writing motivation.

When you get a rush of dopamine every day or week as the payoff for your work, it will be excruciating to go for months with none.
One option is to tell yourself to just be proud of your work and not need external validation.

But it's much easier to have a few trusted people who can occasionally look at things and remind you that yes, you know what you're doing, and no, it's not terrible.
Read 12 tweets
Jan 22, 2023
I think making a conscious effort to spend as much of my day outside as possible (even while working) has done more for my day-to-day sense of well-being than almost any other change.

Here are a few ways I've found to sneak it in...

1/ Working outside.

This is the big one. Having a desk outside in the shade I can work at makes it so much easier to get a few additional hours of outdoor time in.

Buying a standing heater + a fan makes it work in almost any temperature, too.

2/ Standing outdoor events.

Scheduling with friends can be hard. Having standing outdoor social events each week guarantees some amount of outside time.

Sports, swimming, walks, whatever works for you.
Read 6 tweets
Jan 21, 2023
I’ve never written a novel before, but I want to this year. 

So I’ve read ~10 books on the fiction writing process in the last couple of months.

Here’s the best guide to outlining an idea for a book I’ve found:

(From Conflict & Suspense by James Scott Bell)
1/ Start with your LOCK:

a LEAD character worth following.
an OBJECTIVE with physical, spiritual, or professional death on the line.
a CONFRONTATION with a stronger opponent (antagonist)
a KNOCKOUT ending that surprises & delights the reader

Write them all down on a notecard.
2/ A Disturbance and a Doorway:

Come up with a DISTURBANCE in your Lead's life that creates their Objective.

Then a DOORWAY OF NO RETURN through which they pass, leading eventually to their major CONFRONTATION.

Also called the CALL TO ADVENTURE and the THRESHOLD
Read 8 tweets
Jan 20, 2023
I spent way too many years focused on just weight lifting and HIIT. 

There’s nothing quite like how your body feels after a very long run or bike.

Not just for hours. Days.
The persistent feeling of hunger is incredible, too.

Like your body is constantly looking for fuel.
It really only seems to come from hour+ workouts, at least for me.

The first few miles always suck. But then as you get into 6, 7, 8 the experience totally changes.

I think a lot of people think they hate cardio because they’re only doing the sucky part.
Read 4 tweets
Jan 19, 2023
My 5:30am morning routine breaks all of the normal rules.

But 9 days out of 10, I'll get 2,000 words of writing or 4,000 words of editing done by 7:30, and I feel fantastic for the rest of the day.

Here's the routine.
1/ Wake up and look at my phone.

Yeah yeah, you shouldn't look at your phone in the morning...

But idk, if you can't focus after looking at your phone for a minute, you have bigger problems.

Plus, I gotta see how many people liked my tweets from yesterday to feel alive.
2/ Go downstairs and make coffee.

Sure, there are probably benefits to delaying caffeine consumption for 1.5 - 2 hours, but have you had coffee?

It's AWESOME. It makes me feel energetic, excited, the words flow easier.

And yeah, that's an addiction, but it's not heroin. Chill.
Read 8 tweets

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