New hire week 1: one page with everything they need — not "ask so-and-so".

Define where your "good enough" is on a 0-100 ruler, to know when to stop.

Short cycles of 25 minutes work and 5 minutes rest that restore focus in a single session.

Reserve a fixed time box in your calendar for each task, so it finishes on time instead of stretching forever.

Pick three tasks that make today a success regardless of anything else, and finish them before noon.

A 60-minute weekly session that empties every open loop from your mind and resets your compass for next week.

Track your energy every two hours for a week to find your golden hours and schedule hard tasks there.

Reserve a 90-minute deep work block offline and produce quality work that equals an entire ordinary day.

Start your day with the hardest, ugliest task before anything else — nothing scary remains for the rest of the day.

Disable 90% of phone notifications in 15 minutes and reclaim two hours of focus each day.

Each email: reply, archive, delete, or delegate — no "later".

Every email = 3 sentences or less. If can't, call.

Refuse to attend or hold any meeting whose agenda did not arrive 24 hours prior, no exceptions.

Reserve a full weekday for deep work and protect it like an unmissable doctor's appointment.

Before starting each morning, write three tasks that, alone, would make the day a success.

Sort every file you own into just four: Projects, Areas, Resources, Archive.

Pick a task, compute: frequency x duration x doer's wage. If result > 5,000 USD annually, automate it.

Per daily-used tool: learn 5 shortcuts — minutes/day saved = hours/year.

Delete every recurring meeting from the calendar, and re-add only what its owner justifies in writing.

Write a prompt that gives the AI model precise context, role, task, and expected format.

Ask the model to write a numbered plan first and wait for your approval before executing.

Every Sunday, unsubscribe from 5 newsletters you did not read this week.

Every Friday, empty the desktop: each file goes to its folder, archive, or trash.

Use an LLM to draft an email in 30 seconds, then edit by hand for personal tone.

Convert a meeting transcript (60+ min) into decisions and action items in 2 minutes.

Set 20 shortcuts (e.g., ";eml" types your full signature) to save hours weekly.

Block 90 daily min for deep work with no phone, email, or colleagues — with a fixed startup ritual.

At any moment, one tab, one window, one task — multitasking is a neural myth.

Every time a switch-temptation hits during work, jot it on a side sheet to address after the block.

Each morning, write a schedule naming what you'll do each 15-min slot — fewer decisions, 2x output.

Don't know how to ask? Ask: "What's the best prompt to get X?" — it writes a prompt better than any expert.

Rule: per email, one decision: reply in 2 min, delegate, defer, or delete. No "later".

Personal rule: no email longer than 3 sentences. Else = call or meet.

10am and 4pm only. Otherwise: closed. No one dies if your reply takes 2 hours.

First line of email: answer/request/decision. Context after. Cuts read time 70%.

For every new tech, ask: "Do I gain more than I lose?" — most: no.

Break a big task into 4-6 sequential steps, each a separate prompt + human verification.

Never write the same prompt twice. Save every successful prompt in a tagged, searchable file.

Give the model 2-3 complete input-output examples before your ask, instead of explaining the rule verbally.

Before adding a new tool, verify it doesn't duplicate a job an existing tool already does — overlap costs more time and money than it saves.

Like text shortcuts, build a library of full templates (presentation, simple contract, weekly report) instead of starting from scratch every time.

Whenever a prompt works exceptionally well, save it immediately with a simple tagging system instead of relying on memory or digging through old chats.

Design a 3-phase leadership onboarding plan: Learn (30) → Contribute (60) → Own (90) — instead of leaving the new member to "figure it out alone".

For each negative thought, frame 3 counter-statements with evidence.

Log 3 small wins daily — trains brain to see positive.

All worry in one fixed 15-min daily window — only.

Under every negative thought, deeper one. Reveal with "what does this mean?"

If error occurred, 100% your fault? Usually no. Recalibrate share.

Your negative thought — if someone else thought it, would you agree?

"I'm a failure" needs 5 evidence + 5 counter. Write them.

Name feeling (sad, angry) — without "I'm bad" or "this is wrong".

Resisting reality doubles pain. Full acceptance (not approval) frees.

Acceptance isn't one decision — it's a recurring choice you make daily.

In intense crisis, no decisions. Calm first.

In intense emotion, use 5 senses for moment distraction — not suppression.

Log daily which DBT skills you used and which were effective.

One meal/week eaten with all senses — no phone, no talk.

Use a sound (clock tick, AC) as presence anchor.

No need to close eyes — meditation in life as is.

Wish well for self, beloved, neutral, difficult, world.