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Publish once before making it perfect the second time
In American football, teams score when they reach the end zone and make a touchdown. It’s rare for a team to go straight for the touchdown right away, because the decision is risky; instead, the team approaches the touchdown through running and passing short distances. With each next checkpoint they make, they buy more regulation…
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Two lessons I learned writing something heavy
I discovered that, as I was writing yesterday’s post, two main imaginary barriers kept me from wanting to publish it in the first place: First, I didn’t get to say everything I wanted to say. Some pertinent details include my working full time at Lifehacker, being honest about the shame I experienced working as a…
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The power of proof assets
Every so often, you send an important professional document to someone. The most universal experience is applying to a job, which you do by sending HR your resume. Your resume is a proof asset; it describes your experiences, accomplishments, and expertise. If you lead a business, you send many documents like this. For example, you…
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When you delay a task, your mind makes it more intimidating
Delay has a way of making a simple, ordinary, task seem more intimidating. Your mind rationalizes: you must think the task is hard, that’s why it’s taking so long. That’s why you’re hesitating. The more time you give your mind, the more intimidating the story sounds. Maybe you’re even procrastinating, because it must be scary. …
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Good things happen when you can be flexible with timing
A company holds its holiday party in March. The venues are cheaper. Holiday party fatigue is over. The team looks forward to it, especially if January and February were thrashy. If you want to save money on travel, your best bet is to be flexible either with where you want to go, or when you…
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New year, New Material
My friend Hamza and I do a podcast called New Material. We just published our latest episode: Hamza was about to start his practice of writing every day at his new blog, so that was the topic of discussion. He published his first post shortly before we published the episode. His first few posts have…