Procrastinating in a Positive Way

Procrastinating in a Positive Way

Whether we're putting off a hard assignment, delaying the workout that we often dread, or leaving the chores for "just another day", we've all had some sort of personal experience with procrastination. According to Psychology Today, about 20 percent of the population are habitual procrastinators! When we think of procrastinating, the first thought is likely using our cell phones to scroll social media, text or call our friends, or surf the web instead of doing the task at hand. However, that's not always the case, as any time we aren't setting priorities, we tend to procrastinate. Here is a simple…
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Sam Altman’s Take on “How to be Successful”

Sam Altman’s Take on “How to be Successful”

Photo Credit: Vox Sam Altman is a computer programmer, entrepreneur, and the current CEO of OpenAI. He was previously the CEO of the incubator Y Combinator and founder (at the age of 19) of a social network mobile app, Loopt. I recently came across a blog post Altman shared in 2019 titled, “How to be Successful,” where Altman shares 13 thoughts on how to achieve outlier success. I am going to read and comment on the 13 thoughts in his post and share my take with the Personal Kaizen community. Will some of Altman’s 13 thoughts be worth adding to…
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Meditating on Your Mortality

Meditating on Your Mortality

Meditating on your mortality can be scary, but it can also help you focus on maximizing each day. What would you change about your life if a doctor told you that you have cancer? Would you stop wasting your life and prioritize your limited time remaining? We are here to tell you that you are going to die. All of us have a terminal diagnosis. Most of us don’t know how or when, but it is going to happen. Near Death Experiences Many people describe a renewed clarity and focus on the future after having a brush with death. Sixteenth-century…
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Increase Your Productivity: How to Use Measurement and Accountability

Increase Your Productivity: How to Use Measurement and Accountability

We are sharing tips that will help you and other members of the Personal Kaizen community increase your productivity. Today’s post covers measurement and accountability – areas that are often overlooked – or avoided – by individuals. The most effective people practice personal kaizen – continual progress (every day) that compounds over time into massive achievement. Measure What Matters Legendary venture capitalist John Doerr wrote the New York Times bestseller Measure What Matters and suggests you: Focus and commit to priorities: What are your 3-4 most important goals? A short list of goals is easier to track and commit to getting done.Align…
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Increase Your Productivity: A Simple Process for Planning the Week

Increase Your Productivity: A Simple Process for Planning the Week

Recent posts have shared how to increase your productivity by prioritizing the big rocks, defining your values and goals, and prioritizing and planning based on your key roles. We also shared a simple tool to improve your work/life balance. This post will share a simple process for planning the week to ensure you increase your productivity on the important goals in each of the key roles in your life. A Simple Process for Planning the Week Here is the simple process I’ve been using to plan my week for at least the past ten years. Begin with a review of…
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A Simple Tool to Improve Your Work/Life Balance

A Simple Tool to Improve Your Work/Life Balance

Our last post shared how to prioritize and plan based on your key roles. Focusing on all your roles – as a parent, partner, relative, friend, employee, volunteer, etc. – is one way to help you improve your work/life balance. Despite some recent articles and memes about “quiet quitting,” improving your work/life balance is NOT the same thing as quiet quitting. We’ll describe the idea of “quiet quitting” that has recently become mainstream and share a simple tool you can use to prioritize your life and also improve your work/life balance. The Quiet Quitting Meme “Quiet Quitting” refers to doing…
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On the Shortness of Life by Seneca

On the Shortness of Life by Seneca

We have recently studied works of Stoic philosophy that we believe can be inspiring to our followers. We have shared 5 Ways Stoic Philosophy Improves your Mood and Attitude, and some simple Meditations from Marcus Aurelius. This week we highlight Stoic teachings from a letter by the Roman Seneca titled, On the Shortness of Life. Seneca the Younger Photo Credit: wikipedia.com Lucius Seneca (often referred to as Seneca the Younger) was raised in Rome 2,000 years ago. His father (Seneca the Elder) was a Senator and had Seneca the Younger trained in philosophy. Seneca became a powerful man when the…
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Perfection of Character: Live Without Frenzy

Perfection of Character: Live Without Frenzy

Check out our Personal Kaizen Motivational Monday quote! Please enjoy this quote from Marcus Aurelius about the perfection of character. Aurelius was a philosopher and emperor of Rome (A.D. 161–180). He was also the last of the rulers later referred to as the Five Good Emperors. "Perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretense."marcus aurelius Our Personal Kaizen topic this week will be on the Lean East site. We will share the main quotes that were particularly inspiring and align with some of the Personal Kaizen 10 Rules for Life from the book Meditations…
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Five Easy Low-Cost Investment Strategies for FIRE

Five Easy Low-Cost Investment Strategies for FIRE

We recently suggested strategies for Putting Lazy Money to Work for You, a topic related to Rule 7 of the Personal Kaizen 10 Rules for Life. We shared that “cash is trash” and showed how inflation destroys the spending power of your money. The best strategy is to make your money work for you by investing it. Here are 5 low-cost investment strategies that will help you retire comfortably or even achieve FIRE – financial independence to retire early! Note that I am not a financial advisor – these are all just personal opinions. Also, note that I am not…
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Travel for Free With These Simple Tips

Travel for Free With These Simple Tips

The Personal Kaizen posts over the past several weeks have been focused on smart money habits related to Rule 7 of the Personal Kaizen 10 Rules for Life. We began by encouraging you to Stop Wasting Your Money with These 8 Simple Tips and gave advice on How to Improve Your Credit Score and Save Thousands and last week ways to Use Credit Card Bonus Points and Cashback. This post will provide step-by-step instructions that will allow you to travel the world for free. Want to Travel for Free? I booked hotel rooms and bought plane tickets for a vacation…
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