🌟You all are the best 🌟

1. December’s not as bad as January — so consider yourself fortunate to not be in the area after the start of the new year. 
2. Get the right shoes and the right hat — It’s not about vanity, it’s about making sure you’ve bought items you’ll actually wear and that won’t leave your feet wet and cold. (I have a fuzzy bomber hat and L.L. Bean duck boots)

What's worth reading this week (and last week) 🗞️

1. I’ve been taking Coursera classes on Strategic Leadership and Management, and I’m loving it. Here’s one of the articles they asked me to read on how to outsmart your own biases (paywall) and I thought it was definitely worth sharing. Speaking of biases, the bias towards thinking that employers should be the main providers of health car is a bit bonkers. Can Atul Gawande get us to a better, brighter health-care future? Let’s hope so. Also, did you know attention isn’t a resource, but a way to be alive in the world? Neither did I. Also, there’s a weird allergy to meat spreading around, here’s the story. 
2. Heh…so, remember how I said I would write a book? Well, I haven’t yet, but the year’s not done! In the meantime, here’s a great NYT piece on how to (finally) write your nonfiction book. And here’s how to network (yes, there’s a difference between the intro and the vouch). Also, small habits make a big difference, here’s why.
3. This is how a world order ends — not with a bang but with a whimper so soft even world leaders can’t hear it until it’s too late. Don’t freak out or anything. Also, here’s the Wall Street Journal’s great piece on how GE “burnt out” (when I got to it, it was out from behind the paywall). Also, there’s this wonderful send-up to rejection, and here’s how to make a career on your own terms. Also, are you in a marriage right now and wondering how long-term marriages get happier? Wonder no more. Oh, and here’s how seniors can have a heart that looks 30 years younger.
4. Frequent readers know RadRead’s Khe Hy is one my many writer heroes. He has an open Q&A doc from his subscribers that’s well worth reading. One day I will be this productive. Also, he has a great take on how to use happiness to filter new business ideas, and here’s why you’ll start things you’ll never finish.
5. This is a great piece on the new memetic tribes and the Culture War 2.0, and another on what to do with your money in 2019. Also, don’t just tell your organization changes are coming, explain why. It’s also so much easier to make decisions for someone else. Speaking of decisions for other people, here’s how to prioritize your work when your manager doesn’t.

The essay: How to keep your focus 👀

1. Start. You can’t get anything done if you don’t get started. So, get started on the thing you need to do. Don’t wait. Don’t pick up something else and talk yourself into thinking that it’s more important. It’s probably easier, but that doesn’t make it more important. 
2. Use fear. Often we deviate from doing the hard work because we believe it will hurt more to do the work now than it will hurt us in the future. The fact is, it will only hurt more because you’ll both have regret for the lost time and the pain of having to do the work itself. You make also have guilt for the 
3. Identify and solve the first order problem … first. How often have you had three or four things to do been unsure of where to start? It happens to the best of us. One thing I find helps is to focus on the first-order problem first. Is there a problem that will fundamentally affect the most basic of your needs — food, shelter, love, and care from others? If so, solve for that problem first. For example, if you know you need to pay your bills, go food shopping and do the laundry. The bills likely keep basic services going, and you need to budget for them first. So, pay the bills first. See what you have left to buy groceries, and then attend to the laundry. Or, get the laundry started before you leave to get the groceries. 
4. If you need to buy something to get started, you’re probably doing it wrong. I love to productivity purchase. “Ooh! I need to get organized? Time to get a new notebook to write all of my fabulous notes in!”. The fact is, I rarely need to buy something to get started on the work I need to do. I may need resources after I get started, but it’s best to get started and then see if you really need to buy anything. 
5. Make your space conducive to work. I have a desk and a couch, and a bed, a couple of bookshelves, some sparse patio furniture and two chests of drawers. That’s it. There’s no television (though I want to invest in one), and my sofa is just comfortable enough for me to sit up and get some work done. So, anything I want to do in my house is likely to be work oriented. There’s really nothing else fun to do. I could watch a movie, but when I open my laptop, my Coursera class is there waiting for me. 
6. When you relax, RELAX. Don’t do half work and half play. That’s wasted time. Watching a movie while you do your homework isn’t a thing. I know a lot of people swear by it, but it makes real, powerful focus very elusive. I do listen to soft music when I write. The white noise helps my brain, but if I really need to dive into classwork or reading, everything gets turned off. But when it’s time to relax, the music is up, the podcasts come on, or I watch a few YouTube videos. 
7. Don’t look back. Don’t think about the time you spent not doing your work, it will only keep your mood down when you most need it to be up. Don’t regret how you spent your time in the past. Focus on how you are spending your time now. 
8. Get excited! Be excited about the work ahead of you. Optimism (which Is struggle with) is a powerful force for good … and for focus. So, stay upbeat and excited to dive into the important work you have to do. You’re moving yourself and your life forward. You’re clearing a new path for yourself, and may even be on the path to making some really groundbreaking. So, get excited about your work. 

🤝 Your support matters. Period. 🤝

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