Category: Impact

How do I: Do More That Matters

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You have more demands, distractions, and responsibilities on your time than ever before. So how do you actually do more without burning out, spinning your wheels, or wasting time on things that don’t matter?

This isn’t about working longer hours or grinding yourself into the ground. It’s about working smarter, optimizing your efforts for better outcomes, and executing with intention. This is about removing what doesn’t work, automating what can be systemized, and doubling down on the actions that drive results.

Below is a no-nonsense list of habits, principles, and strategies that I have used to maximize effectiveness, impact, and productivity. Pick what works for you, implement, iterate, and keep moving forward.

  1. Be Prepared. We live in a world full of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA). Be ready.
  2. Be Resilient and Adaptable. Principles and core values matter.
  3. Be Persistent. Follow up.
  4. Be Vigilant. Pay attention to what matters. Notice changes. Stay ahead.
  5. Stay Consistent. Build habits, routines, and scalable systems.
  6. Always Be Capturing (ABC). Your memory is unreliable. Document everything by default.
  7. Eliminate. Simplify. Automate. Delegate. Prioritize. Execute. Repeat.
  8. Test Your Systems. Have backups. What works today may break tomorrow. Regularly stress-test your processes, tools, and teams.
  9. Learn to Discern. Not everything deserves your time or attention.
  10. Take Action. Complaining, comparing, and worrying solve nothing. Action eliminates fear and anxiety.
  11. Ask Better Questions. Assumptions are expensive. Better questions get better answers.
  12. Negotiate Everything. Every deal, decision, and opportunity has options, both on and off the table.
  13. Choose, Then Move. When faced with a fork in the road, pick a direction or forge a new path. Avoid analysis paralysis and indecision.
  14. Guard Your Energy, Time, and Money. Use them wisely. Audit each regularly.
  15. Schedule Everything. Don’t make to-do lists. Put tasks directly on your calendar. Assign time blocks to everything. When necessary, move or repeat this time block periodically.
  16. Batch Similar Tasks. Group repetitive work to maintain flow and efficiency. Tasks are opportunities for efficiency and optimization.
  17. Exercise Patience (Strategically). If waiting isn’t worth it, eliminate the task or skip the wait entirely.
  18. Use Constraints to Your Advantage. Constraints force creativity and efficiency.
  19. Step Outside Your Comfort Zone. Growth requires discomfort. Seek controlled challenges.
  20. Be Adaptable Like Bamboo. Stay flexible but strong in any situation.
  21. Be Accountable. Hold people accountable to what they commit to as you do.
  22. Push forward to decisions. It is either a yes or no, not maybe. Remove those gray areas and make them crystal clear.
  23. Speed is a Competitive Advantage. Don’t wait for permission nor consensus. Start. Play the long game too.
  24. Design Your Environment for Success. Your habits are shaped by your surroundings. Optimize your workspace, digital tools, and daily routines for peak performance.
  25. Perfection is a Myth. “Perfect is the enemy of done.” Stop using perfection as a delay tactic or excuse not to ship it.
  26. Follow Through Relentlessly. Execution matters more than ideas.
  27. Hydrate. You’re mostly water. Keep it that way. You will think clearly too.
  28. Eat for Nutrition, Not Stress. Food is fuel, not therapy.
  29. Move Daily. Walk. Stretch. Exercise. Your body and mind depend on it.
  30. Sleep 6 to 8 Hours. Rest is non-negotiable. Schedule sleep like any other priority.
  31. Set a Morning and Evening Routine.
  32. Get Sunlight Every Day. Natural light regulates energy and focus.
  33. Use all your senses. Don’t overburden one.
  34. “Lead, follow or get out of the way.” Pick one based on the situation.
  35. “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Choose your circle wisely.
  36. Contribute to Communities. Seek groups that challenge and support growth. Help those who want to help the group.
  37. Be Present. Add Value. If you’re not contributing, earning, or learning, ask why you’re there.
  38. Time is Non-Refundable. Use it wisely or regret it later.
  39. When in Doubt, Start. Don’t wait for permission or others to join you. Begin, iterate, and adjust as needed. You won’t be 100% ready, and that is okay.
  40. Delegate to AI first. If an AI can do something faster, cheaper, and better than a person, let it. Monitor, refine, iterate, and focus on what only you should do. If an AI can’t do it, delegate it to other people who can.
  41. Be Mistaken for a Machine. Consistency is a compliment, but automate whenever possible to free yourself for higher-value work.
  42. Define Success Clearly. Set measurable goals. Vague ambitions lead to vague results.
  43. People consume content in different ways. Some like to listen. Some like to read. Some like to watch. Some like a combination of content in different formats. Feed your audience value.
  44. Teach to Learn. Explaining something to others forces clarity, getting the basics right, and deeper understanding. If you can’t teach it, you don’t truly know it.
  45. Write to Think Clearly. Make it a daily habit.
  46. Find the gaps. Change perspectives. Try inversion. Seize the opportunity.
  47. Do the Boring Stuff. Success isn’t just about big wins, it’s about showing up and executing daily, even on the unglamorous tasks that move the needle. Do the work no one else wants to do.
  48. Master Asynchronous Communication. Meetings are often a waste of time. Use async tools (email, project management software, video recording, podcasting) to minimize unnecessary back-and-forth.
  49. Be Your Own Case Study. Test strategies, track results, measure differences, and refine based on real-world data. Become the proof of what works.
  50. Ask “Why?” and “What Else?” Regularly. Curiosity drives better decisions. Remain curious and inquisitive.

If you implement even a handful of these principles, you can execute at a higher level, avoid burnout, and get more done in less time. Stop waiting for a sign. Keep taking action on what matters. Day 1 starts today.

Questions?

How Do I: work remotely now and into the future

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Raju Panjwani interviewed Henrik de Gyor about remote work for his show: BOLD CONSCIOUS CONNECTIONS. We talk about some insights about remote work and address some elephants in the room like RTO.

Do you have questions about remote work for your business? Schedule a call

Why I stopped: writing my next book

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I podcast and write about niche topics which I unpack into essential elements to more easily understand them. Sometimes, my books are about what I do professionally as a consultant to solve problems. Occasionally, a book topic reveals an upcoming market before it becomes popular, like Gen AI (in 2022) or Blockchain (in 2017). Sometimes, a book topic reveals M&A activity (in 2017).

I was going to publish my next book by Spring of 2024. And then I stopped.

Why did I stop? The short answer is the topic was not niche enough.

The topic was meaningful and valuable, but better already existed on the topic.

The topic has to be poorly understood by most people so I can provide clear insights and understanding in the form of a book.

The general topic already had 50,000 published books and counting. That is way too popular.

Even though there were plenty of original thoughts on this topic, I don’t do “me too” books.

The topic in question was getting more people to mentor. It will likely be separate blog posts instead of a book.

A popular topic is not good enough for me or my audience.

Process for selecting book topics (corrected)

First, I find a topic that piques my curiosity. These are all non-fiction.

Then, I collect resources: audio, video, text, graphics, and photos. Scholarly, opinionated, or not. I also find both clear and obscure data.

Then I research it. Thoroughly. Sometimes for months.

Then, I talk to the best people in the world about the topic I can find who are willing to speak openly. At the same time, I validate there is an audience for this podcast and book. I often record podcast interviews with those people.

Then, I transcribe those interviews. And some don’t get released.

Did all that. Learned a lot. Repeatedly.

Once I find too little out there about a topic and a group of people in the world are quietly working on that topic, only then do I start writing.

My mistake was I thought I had spotted a niche topic because getting people to mentor is more challenging to see happening today, but it still exists and is not new. Nor is mentoring virtually.

So, I am starting over. Researching my next book topic.

It will take more time. Precisely 10% of my time per week is dedicated to researching everything that piques my curiosity as part of life and learning. Eventually, a niche topic will be worth creating a book.

So, I am just getting started. Again.

How do I: deal with Artificial Intelligence

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Before our time, the world was in a pre-Industrial Revolution phase, and we did not know any better. As we entered the Industrial Revolution, we left the agricultural fields of hand-picking crops for the factories, creating more jobs.

In my lifetime, I can still remember the slow pre-computer Revolution phase. As we entered the computer revolution, we eventually stopped doing some monotonous tasks that could be done faster/better/cheaper with computers. Even more jobs were created.

As I write this, most of the world is still in a mostly pre-artificial intelligence (AI) revolution phase (based on the worldwide adoption of AI). This has started to change in 2023 when we got a taste of useful, relevant AI technologies like:

  • text-to-text (like ChatGPT)
  • text-to-image (like Midjourney)
  • text-to-video (like Synthesia)

AI user adoption

There are AI users and then there is everyone else. You determine your own inclusion.

AI users are creating, iterating, and learning by actually using the latest technologies. Many of these technologies are inexpensive to use and iterate their output if we push the bar higher than we ever could before.

Many people are still in the group of people still fearing, still waiting, still resisting, and still lacking understanding. They lack the understanding of:

  • How does it help
  • How is it relevant to us
  • How is it relevant to what we do
  • What is it
  • What does it do
  • How does it work
  • Safety and Governance
  • Its user-friendliness and intuitiveness

All these things get answered as you learn to use the AI tools.

Should we fear AI?

The same group that fears AI also listens to fear-mongering stories that promote fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) around us. The storytellers promote FUD because it attracts more eyeballs than positive stories; more eyeballs sell more ads, and more ads equal more money for their owners.

Is AI perfect? No. Neither are humans. If AI is too perfect, humans don’t like it because it is less human-like. And the vicious cycle continues.

Does AI need governance? Yes, it exists.

Digital media, as we still know it today, is what we can see and hear. This will evolve to include our other senses, such as touch, scent, and taste. All electronically. Don’t believe me? You already have a mobile device that has haptics, which does basic touch with vibrations.

At the beginning of 2022, I published my 9th book, Synthetic Media: The Next Reality, about machine-generated media. By the end of 2022, we had ChatGPT, which I use daily.

AI first

Ask the AI to do a task first. If AI can not do it within minutes after a few prompts, only then should you rely on people to do tasks that need to be done more slowly and less consistently.

Should we keep waiting?

We could wait to learn how to use AI instead of actually using these technologies now.

We could also choose to not use computers. We could ignore all devices (like some people still do).

We could ignore any motorized transportation.

We could do everything by hand. We could do this by candlelight for full effect.

We could resist change by ignoring it and hope it goes away. Again.

We could wait and devolve faster.

We could become less significant than we already are and continue to be okay with it.

We could ignore AI tools meant to aid us.

We could learn to use AI.

We can choose to wait for no one.

We can choose to not be laggards because we don’t need to wait to move forward with a crowd.

We can choose to embrace change for the better instead of resisting the inevitable.

We can choose to use AI to benefit me and my work.

What are you waiting for?

What do you choose to do with AI?

How do I: deal with uncertainty

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Take the unpopular perspective that when it comes to uncertainty, I would prefer to deal with uncomfortable unknowns than comfortable knowns. Why? It is more challenging. It makes us think and do more. Dealing with uncertainty is more fun to work with than even chess or puzzles because the outcomes and rules are already known for both of those games. Making things that don’t exist yet is far more uncertain and more challenging. Embrace uncertainty and immerse yourself in it like a pool of water. Bring some hypothesized outcomes to test. Learn to swim in a shallow pool of uncertainty before exploring the deep, dark underwater caves of uncertainty. As you explore the depths of uncertainty, be sure to leave proper markers along that new path to get back to reality as we know it. Document your journey as well as your escape.

Avoid drama and ego. Question all fears, not just your own. What partly matters during the journey is that you are being listened to and valued by the few, not because you are right, for your vision of what could be and/or should be. This will evolve over time into something recognizable, useful, and valued. Clarity and conciseness will eventually hit the right chord.

Multiple perspectives matter more, not to reach a consensus, but because we need to understand multiple diverse points of view of how to see, hear, and feel something new, even if it may be partly familiar. While it could be so new and unknown, does it matter, to whom and why?

No matter how much is uncertain, there will be known unknowns and unknown unknowns. We should plow forward toward incremental improvements, iterations, and baby steps because this is how we get through it and make that new path. This path may be taken by a few others who want to do this work, to follow up, and even improve upon. By bringing the dark areas of uncertainty into the light, we may find possibilities and value to more.

Our future audience may want or need this. Having conversations and experiencing this are the only ways we will know if and when those barriers of uncertainty have been broken. How else will we reveal that certain need or certain desire for this that you build?

Keep making new things and create new paths. New uncertainties will follow up.