Time is $, so how do you prioritize it?
Thread 👇🏽 w/ learnings from @Julian
1/ Identify what system are you dealing with
- Process? economic growth / romantic relationship
- Business? Microsoft / sports team
- Machine? toothbrush / rocket
- State of Being: health / happiness
Thread 👇🏽 w/ learnings from @Julian
1/ Identify what system are you dealing with
- Process? economic growth / romantic relationship
- Business? Microsoft / sports team
- Machine? toothbrush / rocket
- State of Being: health / happiness
https://twitter.com/PaulYacoubian/status/1351168797386940419
2/ Identify if the system is worth optimizing
Ask yourself: is it *Local* or *Global*?
Are you optimizing a cog in a machine instead of the machine itself?
The higher the level you optimize at, the greater your ROI
Optimize the machine. Not the cog that is your job
Ask yourself: is it *Local* or *Global*?
Are you optimizing a cog in a machine instead of the machine itself?
The higher the level you optimize at, the greater your ROI
Optimize the machine. Not the cog that is your job
3/ Discipline is the obstacle
Working hard without asking what are the better things to be working on is a hidden form of laziness
Knowing you should use mental models like Global/Local is the easy part...
The tricky bit is having the discipline to rigorously apply them
Working hard without asking what are the better things to be working on is a hidden form of laziness
Knowing you should use mental models like Global/Local is the easy part...
The tricky bit is having the discipline to rigorously apply them
4/ Use the theory of constraints
At any time, one of a system’s inputs is constraining its other inputs from achieving a greater total output
To increase a system’s output, iteratively identify and address the current constraint
This is *especially* important in business
At any time, one of a system’s inputs is constraining its other inputs from achieving a greater total output
To increase a system’s output, iteratively identify and address the current constraint
This is *especially* important in business
Ask yourself: Is the reason you’re not getting more customers because one of these inputs is under-optimized compared to the others?
- Lead flow 👋
- Sales skill 🤝
- Product quality 🛠
- Pricing 💸
Find the bottleneck
Increase its capacity
Repeat until you get where you want
- Lead flow 👋
- Sales skill 🤝
- Product quality 🛠
- Pricing 💸
Find the bottleneck
Increase its capacity
Repeat until you get where you want
5/ Use first principles
If the theory of constraints doesn’t get a system to your desired level of efficiency, change your approach
Take nothing but the proven, underlying principles as given
Work up from there to create something better
by @elonmusk
If the theory of constraints doesn’t get a system to your desired level of efficiency, change your approach
Take nothing but the proven, underlying principles as given
Work up from there to create something better
by @elonmusk
6/ Make decisions using the right framework
There are two types of decisions we make:
- Prioritizing: Which path should you take first?
- Allocating: How much attention, time, and capital should you spend on this?
To make these decisions, follow a chain of mental models
There are two types of decisions we make:
- Prioritizing: Which path should you take first?
- Allocating: How much attention, time, and capital should you spend on this?
To make these decisions, follow a chain of mental models
REGRET MINIMIZATION: *long-term* decisions
This is how you optimize for long-term happiness
Choose whichever option you’ll most regret not having done when looking back at the end of your life
Watch this 2 min video from @JeffBezos. It's life changing
This is how you optimize for long-term happiness
Choose whichever option you’ll most regret not having done when looking back at the end of your life
Watch this 2 min video from @JeffBezos. It's life changing
PARETO'S PRINCIPLE: *medium-term* decisions
This is how you optimize each year or decade of your life (who to spend time with, skills to hone, businesses to build etc)
80% of output comes from the top 20% of your inputs. To maximize ROI, preferentially invest in the 20%
This is how you optimize each year or decade of your life (who to spend time with, skills to hone, businesses to build etc)
80% of output comes from the top 20% of your inputs. To maximize ROI, preferentially invest in the 20%
ICE: *short-term* decisions
This is how you plan on the timescale of weeks or months
Score each option you are considering on a scale of 1-10. Add the numbers together then / 3 to get the average
Top of your list will have the highest expected value & should be given priority
This is how you plan on the timescale of weeks or months
Score each option you are considering on a scale of 1-10. Add the numbers together then / 3 to get the average
Top of your list will have the highest expected value & should be given priority
EISENHOWER MATRIX: *day-to-day* decisions
This is how you make daily decisions
Bucket your daily tasks into four quadrants and prioritize them in this order:
- 1. Important and Urgent
- 2. Important but Non-urgent
- 3. Unimportant but Urgent
- 4. Unimportant and Non-urgent
This is how you make daily decisions
Bucket your daily tasks into four quadrants and prioritize them in this order:
- 1. Important and Urgent
- 2. Important but Non-urgent
- 3. Unimportant but Urgent
- 4. Unimportant and Non-urgent
7/ How to apply this to your life
The onus is on us to cultivate the discipline to use these mental models
Here is a way to do this: block out 20 min weekly to step back from your life and run all your systems and decisions through the mental models listed above
The onus is on us to cultivate the discipline to use these mental models
Here is a way to do this: block out 20 min weekly to step back from your life and run all your systems and decisions through the mental models listed above
Apply these models to your life as if you’re improving somebody else’s life
Talk to yourself in the 3rd person and act like you’re giving a friend advice:
“Arjun, you are doing X.
Why aren’t you doing Y instead?
What would a mental model suggest is the best path forward?”
Talk to yourself in the 3rd person and act like you’re giving a friend advice:
“Arjun, you are doing X.
Why aren’t you doing Y instead?
What would a mental model suggest is the best path forward?”
At the end of the day:
Your entire life runs on the software—the models—in your head. Why wouldn’t you obsess over optimizing it?
- @waitbutwhy
Be more thoughtful about your life because you only have one and your future self is you
- @Julian
Your entire life runs on the software—the models—in your head. Why wouldn’t you obsess over optimizing it?
- @waitbutwhy
Be more thoughtful about your life because you only have one and your future self is you
- @Julian
Check out the full blog post on mental models here and @Julian, thank you, for writing and sharing this 🙏julian.com/blog/mental-mo…
@Julian Related post that pairs well with this julian.com/blog/life-plan…
"Ask yourself, What would I be doing if I could start all over again?"
(Thank you @aviaryan123 for the share)
"Ask yourself, What would I be doing if I could start all over again?"
(Thank you @aviaryan123 for the share)
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