tHey friend,

Hope you’re having a great weekend so far and that our East Coast friends are staying warm during the Arctic Blast.

This week, I wrote about the finitude of the moments with our loved ones. Sure, waiting for your kid to fall asleep can feel like forever. But what if it’s the last time they’ll want you to wait for them to fall asleep?

Also, it turns out that New Year’s resolutions go down the toilet on January 12th. That’s because you need a system, not a series of hacks to ensure that those important, but not urgent activities don’t fall through the cracks.

David Allen’s iconic productivity classic Getting Things Done is a timeless system that has served me since my 20s. It’s a powerful method—and it works. But it’s also 305 pages long — so instead of slogging through it, master the concepts via our rad training.

When a loved one triggers you, try this

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Parenting is such a trip.

Lisa and I were high-fiving each other after Christmas.

Santa delivered a Nintendo Switch – and suddenly – Instant Childcare!

For 45 minutes each evening, Lisa and I had – gasp – time to watch a TV series.

(Fleishman is in Trouble, godd**n that’s like a RadReads blog series.)

And while we were celebrating, hooting and hollering.

The parenting gods threw us a major curve ball.

Our beloved 5 year added a new step to her bedtime routine.

And boy, it was a gnarly price to pay.

Here are this week's top reads:

// one

Living the deferred life plan

7 minutes | Moontower Meta
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My friend Kris recently surveyed a bunch of very rich investment professionals. The results are staggering. A large percentage suffers from the scarcity mindset of losing it all. Envy consumes them. But most shockingly, only 3% would still do what they’re doing today if they won the lottery — they’re living the deferred life plan. (And you MUST subscribe to Kris’ Moontower Meta newsletter.)

→ Read the post​

// two

How to set achievable goals

9 minutes | Every
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Everyone obsesses about SMART goals, but they often miss the point. What if your goal is to be more generous, patient or kind? Sometimes we’re trying to cultivate character traits - not exactly something you can “project manage” your way into. Enter: SMART-ish goals. They’re not exactly measurable and there’s not always a clear timeline on when you’ll be more “patient” or “generous”. They’re qualitative, and that’s ok; it’s enough that our brain receives dopamine as it notices progress.

→ Read the post​

// three

The decline of the nice-to-have economy

5 minutes | WSJ
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In the last decade, startups gave us instant access to everything. Peloton turned our homes into gyms. We bought used cars online. We no longer had to cook via DoorDash and Blue Apron. Alas, the party is ending — many of these behaviors aren’t sticking. We still want some nice things, but we’re largely cutting “nice to haves.”

→ Read the article​

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// four

The next big thing in 2023 will be...

15 minutes | next big thing
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This past year brought a lot of change - crypto, web3, the end of ZIRP. What are some of the most popular themes when we look ahead to 2023? AI. Decarbonization in the US. More self-driving cars. And the feeling that our focus on the tech industry might need to shift to solving real world problems.

→ Read the post​

// five

Phil Stutz on his string-of-pearls theory of work (and life)

3 minutes | Subtle Maneuvers
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Jonah Hill recently produced a documentary about his relationship with his therapist, Phil Stutz. Stutz has a strategy for coping with uncertainty, the string of pearls theory of work. You think of each pearl as an action — every action has the same value, whether it worked or it didn’t work. Did I do good? Bad? Am I a success? A failure? No; I am the person who puts the next pearl on the string.

→ Read the post​

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Below the Fold
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LAST WEEK'S MOST READ

• ​What’s enough money (RadReads, 422 clicks)
• ​How wanting less leads to satisfaction (The Atlantic, 553 clicks)

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And finally, when a calendar invite shows the cost of the meeting.

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With gratitude,

Khe

PS Supercharge Your Productivity is the only course that connects the pursuit of productivity to life’s larger questions. While the course is closed for enrollment, the DIY edition is available for purchase.

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