Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
Back when I was a freshman at Stanford, one of the greatest challenges we faced was procrastination. Whenever our papers or problem sets were due, there was always a more tempting alternative activity, like a game of volleyball, a late night run to Taco Bell, or simply hanging out with friends. One of the great … Continue reading AI’s Procrastination Problem
People who have adopted agentic AI tools like Claude Code or Cowork run a real risk of becoming addicted to their detriment. I know, because I feel that same emotional tug of AI when I use it. But I think I’ve also figured out how to use AI without losing control. At this point, most … Continue reading Use AI For Productivity, Not For Feeling Productive
We live in a world that obsessed with productivity, technology, and productivity technology. Conduct a Google search, or look in any app store, and you’ll find a seemingly endless supply of productivity tools. Yet despite all this amazing technology, do you feel like you’re more productive today than you were 10 years ago? I’m both … Continue reading Why The Index Card Is My Most Important Productivity Tool
Random Product Idea #1: Inbox100. It’s an email inbox where it has a hard upper limit of 100 messages. Once you hit 100 messages, until you archive or delete some current messages, no new emails come in. This forces you to deal with emails rather than allowing them to pile up. And the instant you … Continue reading Email Product Ideas: Inbox100 and InboxNow
Each night, I wash the dishes for my family. Some nights, the sink is fairly empty, and it’s easy. Other times, the sink is overflowing with dirty dishes, and it’s tough to work up the motivation to get started. But what allows me to get the job done every night is that I know where … Continue reading The Power of Knowing Where To Start
Most of us have a problem with procrastination. I could certainly argue (with real justification) that a majority of Facebook and Twitter’s usage occurs when people are procrastinating. Despite my wide array of productivity techniques, even I find myself procrastinating. Ironically, one of the main reasons I end up procrastinating is because I have trouble … Continue reading Two-Face Productivity
Think back to your last long weekend (perhaps even the one that just concluded). In your mind, you probably had a long list of things you wanted to get accomplished. How many of them did you complete? If you’re like me, most long weekends and holidays end up as a “lost weekend,” where you accomplish … Continue reading Doing more by aiming lower
When I work from home, I sit on the corner of the kitchen table, which means that I’m right in the thick of the action. The living room is about 10 feet to my left, including the main television that the kids use for watching television and playing Wii. They also tend to keep the … Continue reading How To Work From Home With Kids
Life is too damn short, and there is always too much to do. None of us has time to waste (especially entrepreneurs), though we always have to decide how to spend it. The ideal, at which I often fail, is to act decisively and intentionally. Or to put it another way, do or do not. … Continue reading Do Or Do Not
One of the thing that always amazes me when I visit my in-laws is the condition of their household. Everything is always completely clean and tidy. There isn’t even a stack of old mail near the door–somehow, even the products of the direct mail industry are whisked away to some hidden repository. After observing my … Continue reading Lessons from my Mother-In-Law