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October 1 - October 3, 2020
Third, choose two hobbies from your list.
By combining your hobbies with your goals, you’ll increase your results without increasing the time you spend pursuing them.
Why not leverage your use of these resources by turning one of your hobbies into a business?
The point is to leverage your time. Take an activity you enjoy doing, and would likely do for free, and charge money for your expertise.
Second, brainstorm products and services you can deliver while pursuing these hobbies (e.g. handmade jewelry, baked goods, family portraits, etc.).
Third, when you find a novelist you enjoy, stick with him or
The key is to cut through the chaff and zero in on the 20% of books that are likely to deliver most of your reading enjoyment. Of course, you should experiment with unfamiliar authors and explore unfamiliar genres. But for most of your reading, stick to what works for you.
First, as with novels, don’t feel as if you must finish a book.
Second, scan the table of contents before you begin to read the book. Look for items that are immediately relevant to you. Again, don’t feel like you have to read the entire book. It’s okay to skip to the relevant sections. The table of contents will also provide a roadmap. You’ll be able to see where the author is starting, his or her destination, and how he or she intends to get there.
Third, highlight important passages. If you’re reading a print book, use a yellow highlighter. If you’re reading the book on a Kindle or phone, use the highlighting feature. Come back to these passages later for reminders or to glean new insights from them.
You read non-fiction ...
This highlight has been truncated due to consecutive passage length restrictions.
This might include taking classes that cater to your interests, spending time with your loved ones, and improving yourself by learning new skills.
The bonds we share with our friends and loved ones make us feel valued. They give us a sense of security and comfort.
Most of us could benefit from devoting more attention to our social lives. Feeling happy and content isn’t the result of having a lot of relationships. It stems from cultivating and nurturing the right relationships.
The continued presence of our spouses and children give us a perception of permanence. They’re always there, and we assume they’ll always be so.
If you suspect the bonds you share with your loved ones have frayed, now’s the time to strengthen them.
Perhaps you’ve heard friends complain that they feel as if their spouses have become like roommates and their children like tenants. That’s what happens when we fail to give our loved ones the purposeful attention they deserve.
Second, be purposeful when you communicate with your family. It’s easy to give short, glib answers to questions asked by your loved ones. For example, when asked “how was your day,” you reply “fine.” Instead, take the time to answer thoughtfully with details. And when you ask your loved ones about their days, listen attentively. The better your communication, the deeper the connection.
Third, plan activities that you and your loved ones will enjoy together.
Or stay home and play board games together.
Rather than allowing these interactions to happen haphazardly, be purposeful. It takes time and effort, but pays dividends that make the investment worthwhile.
The odds of receiving a truly urgent message that warrants interrupting this time are infinitesimal. Play the odds. Third, ask your family to do the same. Encourage them to think of the times you spend together as “no-phone zones.”
Often, the reasons have little to do with the person whose actions annoy us. Much of our irritation stems from our immediate circumstances. For example, if you’ve just spent 90 minutes in bumper-to-bumper traffic, you’re more likely to be annoyed than if you had been relaxing at home with an engaging novel and glass of your favorite wine. If you’re already on edge, think twice before blaming the person at whom you’re annoyed.
Second, recognize that 80% of the things that annoy us are inconsequential. They’re small things that matter little. Treat them as such. For example, rather than becoming annoyed at the sight of unwashed dishes in the sink, spend 60 seconds washing them. Forgive and move on.
we usually become annoyed in the heat of the moment. Something happens that we dislike, and we immediately get upset. This is an emotional response, not one born of rational thought. When you tell yourself “this too shall pass,” you recognize the temporary nature of whatever is irking you. Most of the things that irk us are trivial, short-lived, and therefore not worth our irritation.
Third, identify good friends who are receiving significantly less time from you than friends who offer less value
The final step is to create an “A” list of friends. This list will include the folks you trust with your secrets. They’re the friends you know will look out for your interests and support you in times of need. They’re the ones who will help you through the bad times, and root you on and celebrate your triumphs. If you’re like most people, you can count the number of such friends on one hand. That’s good news since your time is limited. The problem is, unless you’ve taken the time to identify them, you may not know who they are. Here’s how to fix that problem. First, write down all of the
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Second, review your abridged list of friends from above. This is your top 100 list sans the relationships you consider to be expendable. Third, appraise each person on the list. Consider how many of your favored characteristics he or she possesses. Assign each friend a score from one to ten on this basis.
When our friendships align with our values, needs, experiences, and expectations, we feel more satisfied. Yet, many of us have a tendency to focus our time and attention on situational friendships - those stemming from circumstance.
The older we get, the more importance we place on our values and convictions. The odds of strangers’ values and convictions dovetailing with our own are small, and grow slimmer as we age.
Third, always remain approachable. Even though most new relationships quickly fizzle, you might meet someone that eventually becomes a great friend. I experienced this a few years ago. I met a fellow at a coffeeshop, and discovered we shared the same values, experiences, and goals. Today, he’s a big part of my social life. It’s rare, but it happens.
You can get into shape and stay fit with compound exercises. These are movements that target multiple joints and muscles.
First, identify your top priority. Are you trying to gain muscle mass? Lose fat? Get toned? Or are you mostly interested in increased stamina? Second, pick compound exercises that support your top priority.
Third, create a short workout routine based on these compound exercises.
There are many types of fitness goals. For example, you might want to gain muscle mass, lose weight, reduce your BMI, increase your endurance, or build your strength. While all of these may sound appealing, it’s helpful to focus on the one or two that are most important to you. Pursuing these top-priority goals will inevitably yield improvements across the board.
If you’re carrying a few extra pounds, losing weight might be your current priority, and thus rate higher than building muscle mass. Two months from now, after you’ve dropped the extra pounds, you can revisit your goals and rerank them.
Second, turn your top-priority goal into a S.M.A.R.T. goal.
Third, obtain a daily calendar that displays the next eight weeks. Use it to monitor your workout activity. Each day, after you finish your exercises, cross the day off on your calendar. Use a red pen. When you see an unbroken string of red X’s, you’ll be disinclined to break your streak.
Time is one of our most precious resources simply because it’s so limited. And once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
you don’t need to do more exercises. You just need to do the right ones.
you’ll find that investing can be simple, easy, and require very little time while adding to your wealth.
First, note the stock’s P/E ratio. Compare it to the P/E ratios of its competitors. Lower is better.
Third, calculate the company’s price/earnings growth (PEG) ratio. Again, this sounds complicated, but it’s easy. All you have to do is divide the P/E ratio by the company’s earnings growth rate (EPS).
Over the last 30+ years, I’ve discovered that mutual funds, when chosen properly, can produce an annual return that rivals that from picking stocks.
I pick several index funds and compare them side by side. I focus on their respective expense ratios, portfolios (I prefer domestic stocks and bonds), and the growth of $10,000 placed into the funds 10 years prior. This latter detail is displayed in helpful graphs on the Vanguard website.
buy shares in real estate investment trusts, or REITs. Doing so delegates the hassles associated with buying and flipping or being a landlord.
focusing on the few important details and ignoring everything else. If you do so, you can build a promising portfolio while spending minimal time.
If you study without taking breaks, your focus and retention will inevitably erode.
For example, rather than checking Facebook, take a walk outside, fix a healthy snack, or phone a friend for a brief chat. These activities will give your brain the time it needs to replenish its attentional resources.
Third, create a study plan. Rather than approaching new material haphazardly, set a schedule that details what you’ll focus on during each time chunk.
