From time to time, it is worth taking stock of the relationships that matter in our lives.
While it makes sense to focus on the people that matters (family, friends, colleagues, etc.), one area that is worth examining in depth is our relationship with money.
Specifically, how do we feel about it? How are we doing with it? What would we want to do with more? Why?
A healthy relationship with money is as important as any.
The worst kind of delegators spend their time giving folks around them things they would not want to do.
Things get done when you ask people to do something you are (demonstrably) willing to do yourself.
Someone I know told his nephew in jest – “Don’t think. Thinking is dangerous. Just do.”
Of course, the nephew told his teacher this and our uncle was reminded to better moderate his advice.
As with all extreme advice, it isn’t universally applicable. But, the spirit of the idea is applicable in so many situations.
It is easy to get caught mulling if a choice is the right one. Outside of “type 1” /one-way door decisions that are existential and irreversible, it is often helpful to just make a decision and get on with it.
The cost of giving extra or “going the extra mile” in our careers for any period of time inevitably means being a below average partner/parent/friend/child/sibling for that period of time.
Nobody “has it all” or “does it all.” Not without a ton of help, support, patience, and understanding from people that matter in all those other areas of our life anyway.
We just make trade-offs. And they’re best made intentionally because we get to live with the consequences.
Win-win or no deal.
Sometimes, it is just that simple.
I used to have much better habits around disconnecting from work. Of late, I’ve slipped up on them.
It is one of those bad habits that has a collection of negative effects. I’m more effective when I switch on after having switched off. And, being on for long periods of time messes with my quality of engagement both at work and at home.
Time to re-learn how to do this.
Or perhaps learn how to do this. To learn and not to do is not to learn after all.
One of the fascinating things about the way our minds work is that we don’t appreciate progress in absolutes. We only appreciate progress relative to expectations.
It’s all relative.
I find myself paying for careless mistakes from time to time.
A few weeks ago, it was a parking ticket. I was visiting a place with a different system.
More recently, it was something toll related.
These mistakes cost a lot more to fix than to do it right of course. The parking ticket, for example, would have cost all of $4. The fine was $40.
While the goal is not to repeat these kinds of mistakes (it is a worthy goal), these slip ups happen from time to time.
As long as they’re (a) small and (b) happening on occasion vs. often, I just chalk them up to an imaginary careless mistake allowance.
Doing so helps me avoid time spent kicking myself. Pay the fine, learn the lesson, and move on.
Onward.
I am grateful to the folks at Wirecutter.
We needed to buy a washer and dryer combination recently. The decision making involved reading through the Wirecutter page, doing a quick Google search on the one I liked the most, and placing my order. It took about 10 minutes.
This process repeats itself anytime I need to buy something for the home. I appreciate that they do the research and explain everything in simple terms. It is a product built for satisficers like me.
Thank you, Wirecutter!
Every time I’m short of sleep, I’m amazed as to how it deprives me of any sense of possibility. Combined with tiredness/weariness, it is a recipe for making bad decisions.
It makes me wonder as to how many of the poorest decisions made by humans have simply been a result of sleep deprivation.
A Learning a Day 