The Art of the Good Life: 52 Surprising Shortcuts to Happiness, Wealth and Success by Rolf Dobelli (Part 1)

Foreword. Since centuries ago, people have been asking themselves on what it means to live a good life? Is it better to seek happiness or to avoid unhappiness? The world is complicated and there is no simple solution. We need mental tools and models to rely on. This book is based on research as well as knowledge from ancient times. The tips from the book should help you navigate the challenges in life.

Mental Accounting (How to Turn a Loss into a Win). A speed camera on the expressway captured my car speed and I was going too fast. I used to be angry with such instances. However, now I smile when I receive summons. I pay the fines using money which I have set aside for good causes every year. This is known as mental accounting. You are tricking yourself into giving yourself a peace of mind. The fact has happened, but you can choose how to interpret the event. Living a good life has a lot to do with interpreting facts in a constructive way. To take the sting out of payment, you can pay first and consume later. When something has become a little more expensive/cheaper, I don’t think about it. I rather save my energy than money. You will help to retain your inner poise. Mental accounting will teach you to value your time.

The Fine Art of Correction (Why We Overestimate Set-Up). During a flight, the pilot constantly makes readjustments to the flight path. When things don’t go according to plan, we have to navigate. We can’t take our hands off the steering wheel. Our live is exposed to turbulence. Correction is more important than the set-up. The human body works in this way to fight viruses and bacteria too. In every relationship, fine-tuning is crucial too. We don’t like to correct because we feel we were right at the start. The US Constitution has been amended dozens of times already. There is no such thing as ideal training.

As an amateur pilot I’ve learned that it’s not so much the beginning that matters but the art of correction following take-off. – Rolf Dobelli

The Pledge (Inflexibility as a Stratagem). Clayton Christensen, an author, lives his life according to pledges. A pledge means an absolute commitment. This indicates inflexible behavior. However, when it comes to important issues, flexibility is not an advantage but a trap. This is because new decisions require willpower and lead to decision fatigue. Pledging saves your mental energy. Pledging means you are consistent on many topics. Pledges must be very firm and you must not waver.

Chain yourself to your pledges. Uncompromisingly. It’s easier to stick to your pledges 100% of the time rather than 99%. – Rolf Dobelli

Black Box Thinking (Reality Doesn’t Care About Your Feelings; or, Why Every False Step Improves Your Life). The black box in the plane was an indestructible box that can retrieve conversations in the cockpit so that it is easier to determine the cause of a crash. Black box thinking means radical acceptance of the truth and analyzing your actions. Your illness will still be there whether you want to focus on it or not. Self-deception is not compatible with a good life. The fact is that you are poor at something could be indeed true. Radical acceptance of defeats is part of life. Build your own black box. When making a big decision, think of what is going through your mind. Black box thinking can also work on a personal level. Tackle the problem at the source.

The world isn’t remotely interested in what you think of it or how you feel. Banish all such obscurantist tactics from your brain. – Rolf Dobelli

Accepting reality is easy when you like what you see, but you’ve got to accept it even when you don’t – especially when you don’t. – Rolf Dobelli

To put it another way, if you can’t spot where you put a foot wrong, you’re going to fall flat on your face again. Persistence in your analysis will pay off. – Rolf Dobelli

Counterproductivity (Why Timesavers are Often Timewasters). A car improved efficiency by many fold over horse carriages. Although it seemingly saves time, you have to factor in the time needed for maintenance, patrol, time caught in traffic jams. After factoring all these, the car has an average speed of 3.7mph. Technologies that seem good at the start needs to analyzed using a full cost analysis. For instance, powerpoint is great, but isn’t it a waste of time when you can get the message across using something simpler. Therefore, it is important to be on your guard against counterproductivity. Keep only the bare essentials. Technology can actually be a burden. The author is against modern technology, like smart devices.

A basic rule of the good life is as follows: if it doesn’t genuinely contribute something, you can do without it. – Rolf Dobelli

The Negative Art of the Good Life (Do nothing Wrong and the Right Thing Will Happen). Pilots simply want to avoid crashes. In investment, there is upside and downside. As long as you do the checks on the plane, you should be safe and minimize the downside. Like in tennis, you are likely to win if you minimize on your errors and play conservatively. What makes people happy? The literature does not contain much information. However, we can pinpoint what makes people unhappy: alcoholism, drug addiction, chronic stress, noise, long commute etc. Thus, the trick in life is to eliminate the downside as much as possible.

The Ovarian Lottery (Why You Didn’t Earn your Successes). Happiness is something you have. How much of success can be attributable to your own actions? Sometimes, it is because you were simply born in a good place. Where we are born definitely influences our success in a big way. The same also matters for the family you were brought up in. Timing is important. We are also a blend of our parent’s genes. For quite a number of things, you owe it to your genes. You haven’t really earned your achievements. You definitely need on others to be successful. Grateful people are demonstrably happier people.

Six percent of all the people who have been born over the last 300,000 years – since Homo Sapiens populated the world – are alive in the present day. They could just as easily have been born into another era; indeed, the probability of that is 94%. – Rolf Dobelli

The Introspection Illusion (Take Feelings Seriously – Just Not Your Own). Describe the objects in front of you. Describe what you feel about them right now. Our feelings are more nebulous. However, we are unable to express them clearly. You can’t achieve the good life through introspection. You are unlikely to achieve a certain purpose just by analyzing. Examine what are the recurring themes of your past and not analyze your feelings. Learn to read the emotions of others. Learn to treat your emotions less seriously. We need to cultivate a new relationship with our inner voices. Feelings will change over time and one should never be ‘owned’ by them. Repressing your emotions will only lead to them coming harder back at you. The key message is not to trust your emotions.

Take other people’s feelings very seriously, but not your own. Let them flit through you – they’ll come and go anyway, just as they please. – Rolf Dobelli

The Authenticity Trap (Why You need a Secretary of State). We all like to talk to authentic people However, do we want people to be too honest and forthcoming? Authenticity online are all staged. We don’t really know what authentic behavior is. There is simply no need to blurt out for innermost feelings. You can play your second self and keep promises and not blurt out personal feelings too often.

The Five-Second No (Small Favors, Big Pitfalls). How often do you say yes to favors without thinking? Do you reject others? When you keep helping others, you have less time for yourself. Co-operation was common in the animal kingdom because of survival. In game theory, the tit for tat works well. In the animal kingdom, animals believe in reciprocal altruism. Only apes have the ability to do it because they have a good memory. It keeps the economy going. However reciprocity has its dangers. Nowadays I say no to a lot of things which aren’t important to me. This is one of the key points of a good life.

The Focusing Illusion (Why You Wouldn’t be Happier in the Caribbean). When you are experiencing winter, you feel that you will be happier in the tropics on a beach somewhere. The more you focus, the greater the influence of the event. Because we are focusing on the climate only, we think Miami is superior. However, it is important to think about other factors. You assign the weather as overly important. Therefore, it is important not to overemphasize any single factor. The problem with humans is that it is not easy to view things from an ultra-wide lens. The grass usually looks good on the other side. The focusing illusion is bad and you need to be aware when it happens.

Nothing in life is as important as you think it is while you are thinking about it. – Daniel Kahneman

The Things You Buy Leave no Real Trace (Why You Should Buy less and Experience More). How much pleasure do you get from your car? It seems that people do. We tend to overemphasize the impact an object can give us. When you think of the car, you seem happy. However, when you think about using and maintaining it, probably you won’t feel as happy. Expensive objects tend to have higher upkeep and you get used to them after a while. When you experience something, you are fully present. Try to experience more and it is also usually cheaper. We overestimate the impact of purchases on our wellbeing.

While you’re thinking about X, you tend to grossly over-estimate X’s impact on your life. – Rolf Dobelli

Fuck-You Money (Saving Up Freedom). There is a diminishing marginal utility to things you consume, like water even if you are very thirsty. This holds true for money. Think about how much money you need to earn before you feel that additional income will not have any impact on your wellbeing. A decent income is needed for survival, but beyond that, it doesn’t bring you a lot of additional happiness. Rich people have more things to worry about. Life satisfaction for Americans in the 1946 and 1970s were largely the same, according to Easterlin. Wealth is relative, not absolute. Hence, this is the problem that humans face. Fuck-you money are the savings that will allow you to quit your job without you ending up in financial trouble. Don’t think too much about money and worry about slight fluctuations in your portfolio. Don’t compare yourself with the rich or you will feel unhappy. Live modestly even if you are rich as wealth makes people jealous. Genuine success is not financial in nature.

This revelation has been termed the Easterlin paradox: once basic needs have been met, incremental financial gain contributes nothing to happiness. – Rolf Dobelli

Quitter by Jon Acuff (Part 1)

Closing the Gap between Your Day Job and Your Dream Job

Don’t Quit Your Day Job. I hated my day job and the feelings of Monday mornings. I felt that my dreams were crushed. I had 8 jobs in 8 years. Many employees are also looking out for new jobs. The average tenure of a job is only 3.1 years for the younger generation. Now, we converted from stayers to leavers. We hate our jobs and only see work as a means to pay money to fund our lifestyle. We often feel that work is miserable and that it is possible to separate our work from our personality outside of work. Quitting your job is one of the worst things you can do. It sucks when you have a lousy boss and the only person he can manage is you. We always assume things will be rosy once we quit. All your financial responsibilities will creep up on you. Your wife will start arguing with you. You will get scolded if you watch too much TV. Quitting your jobs might throw your relationship into chaos. You can get to your dream job, but that doesn’t involve you leaving your day job immediately. When you don’t have a job, you don’t have a good bargaining tool to get what you want. If you have a day job, you can still reject shitty offers. The cost of raising kids is very high nowadays. I got to earn some cash speaking in front of a crowd. You lose leverage if you quit without a job. At the heart of a dream is change. People do not like change in general. Financial commitments are tight and inflexible. Stay true to your dream and do not quit your day job. People with jobs have more creative freedom than those without jobs. Once I started a diet, I realized that other aspects of my life was improving as well. Discipline begets discipline. Men need to work and need a project/ need progress at all times. Money issues are very sensitive. Humans need to work. We need to learn to be successful at work. Having a day job will stabilize your marriage.

The unfortunate truth is the escaping the land of bad bosses is just a fantasyland. The second you quit your bad boss you get dozens of new bosses. And some are more demanding than the one you just left. – Jon Acuff

You effectively lose that option when you quit. You lose that freedom when you jump without a net. You lose the power of the walkout or the shredded contract. – Jon Acuff

When you keep your day job, all opportunities become surplus propositions rather than deficit remedies. You only have to take the ones that suit your dream best. – Jon Acuff

Discipline begets discipline. When you step up to a challenge before you, your ramped-up resources rub off on other areas of your life. You wouldn’t think eating less ‘fat’ would impact how closely you monitor your family’s financial budget, but it’s all tied together. – Jon Acuff

Quitting a job doesn’t jump-start a dream because dreams take planning, purpose and progress to succeed. That stuff has to happen before you quit your day job. Often it should occur months and even years before. – Jon Acuff

Removing the ‘I’m’ From Your ‘But’. It feels sexy to quit. We usually label quitters as winners. This is the “I’m, but’ generation. This means that ‘We don’t know what we want, but this isn’t it’. People seem to know what they want to do without even trying that thing. There are ways to find out what your dream job is. For instance, one could work on personality tests. The truth is that most of us don’t know what our dream job is. So ask yourself, so what do you want to do? We often think that what we want to do is going to be a revelation. The author believes that it is more a process of recovery. Somehow, you lost it along the way. Everyday distractions are bad and divert us away from our dreams. Being busy is an excuse. Do not simply discount your dream. You will always meet people in your life who dismiss your dreams, who think that you are not good enough. Nothing can’t hurt you. Nothing is comfortable. Nothing is normal. We are embarrassed to share our big dreams. Don’t believe that you have no gifts in life and you have nothing. It is difficult to answer the question what do I want to do with my life because is a discovery question. Learn to look for hinge problems. Mercedes Benz redesigned the SLR range to appeal to the rich. They added a hinge to the ignition. You needed to open the cover and then press the ignition button with your thumb. It was like launching a missile. That made a tremendous difference to the car’s outlook and appeal. The lamination of your text makes it seem like you are a true published author. My dad also sent my book for publishing and that was great. My dad believed in me, that was one of my hinge moments too. However, most hinges are difficult to recover. Ask yourself the following questions to figure out hinge moments. 1) What do I love enough to do for free? 2) What do I do that causes time to feel different? 3) What do I enjoy doing regardless of the opinions of the people? 4) If only your life changed, would that be enough? 5) Are there any patterns in the things you like doing?

If you recognize that, if you admit that there is a chance that you are good, perhaps even great at something, you should feel a little uncomfortable. Because if your gift is not nothing, that means it is something. – Jon Acuff

A hinge moment occurs when you are planning to do something standard and normal, and then seemingly out of nowhere, a small detail usually hinges you in a different direction. – Jon Acuff

What Lies Between a Day Job and a Dream Job. Every dream has risk associated with it. When you stare at risk, you tend to make irrational decisions. We will now examine 3 risks associated with a dream. They are ‘The Magnifying Glass’. We blow things out of proportion. The next is ‘The Kaleidoscope’. Your dream is also connected to every aspect of your life. This is basically overthinking and thinking of all the worst case scenarios. The last fear is ‘The Telescope’. This is the best as you view from a safe distance and see the big picture. Risk is holding us back from pursuing our dream. Perfection is a real problem. This is because it tends to make you procrastinate and not do anything. Get organized and get things in motion. Perfect is not possible. This does not mean you should write half-hearted work. It is still better to pursue your dreams rather than leave it not pursued. Once you decide, just do it. We often like to say I could be so-and-so if I really wanted to. This leads to apathy. We ask ourselves ‘What if I try and I fail and it turns out I’m not really a writer?’ Apathy is about being a fake somebody. The chance of you failing to get your dream job and then rotting away and going to waste are extremely slim. If you do not attempt your dreams, you fail 100% of the time. We often say that we are too busy to pursue our dreams. However, most of us are also busy. However, everyone can set aside time for time management. Instead of time, learn to focus on the amount of tasks at hand. Financial foolishness is different from being committed to your dream. Do not take drastic measures. Money can be a huge obstacle if you are not careful. I hate the words ‘by now’. We say this when it is too late to pursue our dream. What if I did the wrong thing? Your past career can still teach you valuable lessons. Do not keep saying things like ‘It would be easier if …’ For instance, people say ‘It would be easier if I didn’t have a full-time job’. Having a lot of money will not save your life. Do not blame your kids, marriage for not being able to pursue your dreams. This is simply outrageous.

90% perfect and shared with the world always changes more lives than 100% perfect and stuck in your head. – Jon Acuff

Money will become a high-walled border around your dream if you don’t control it. It will limit what you can do and when you can do it, like a barbed-wire fence at a prison. If you can control it though, money can be a strong, stable place to jump from. – Jon Acuff

I know sometimes it’s scary to think that you might do the wrong thing. But let me assure you, nothing you do will be wasted. Every decision you make, every path you take, has the ability to contribute something you need to succeed at your dream. – Jon Acuff

We always assume that more free time will equal more productivity but often that isn’t true. I personally tend to get more done when I am busy. – Jon Acuff

15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management by Kevin Kruse

The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A Students and 239 Entrepreneurs

Managing time is the key. You will be able to accomplish a lot more in life that way. The author interviewed many successful people. Time management is related to happiness. Successful people think about values, priorities and consistent habits.

The Power of 1440. Understand what ‘1440’ is. Paste 1440 in front of you. It will show you the meaning of time and that you should be treasuring and valuing it. There are 1440 minutes in a day. Conduct a ‘dollar per minute’ analysis. The moment you lose time, you will realize that you can’t get it back. Time is the lowest common denominator. Everyone has the same amount each day. How often you are aware that you are losing time and that it is slipping by. Every minute is precious. Having healthy habits is a big bonus. Understand that time is a scarce resource

The power of proper priorities. Work towards your own goals, not other peoples’. Focus on a single task. This is indeed very crucial. Know what your MIT (Most Important Task) is. Work on time alignment. Set SMART goals. Pick focus areas. Place your MIT in your calendar. The first part of the day should be used for something productive, like your MIT. Prepare a to-do list the night before. Focus on what you are doing. If you are an employee, you might focus on what you are going to be appraised on.

Research suggests that most people are most productive and have the highest cognitive functioning in the first two hours after they’re fully awake. – Kevin Kruse

Stop making to-do list – Do This Instead. To-do lists cause stress. People tend to pick those items that are urgent and easy to complete. Unfinished goals can cause intrusive thoughts (Zeigarnik effect). Schedule time for it, not just create a list. Put everything on your schedule if you can. Time-block exercise on your calendar. Important items should be tackled at the start of your day. Don’t cancel them. But you may re-schedule them if necessary. Everything in your calendar should get done. If something clashes, you can re-schedule the urgent appointment instead. Block time for your own objectives.

The Procrastination Cure. Procrastination is the act of putting aside what is tough and doing what is easy first. 20% of men and women are all chronic procrastinators. People procrastinate not because they are lazy, but people they lack motivation. People have a ‘present bias’. The present enjoyments are always within reach. Your future self is going to sabotage you if you don’t do something today. ‘What pain will you feel if you don’t do something?’ Think of the pain when you procrastinate. Keep an accountability partner. This works as people don’t like to break promises to others. Use commitment levels to motivate you. Donate money to others if you do not reach your goal. Use self-talk and affirmation. For instance, say things like ‘I am a jogger’, ‘I am an entrepreneur’. Settle for good, and not perfect. If you feel imperfection is okay, you will at least start on something.

How to Leave the Office at 5:00 – Without Guilt. How do you stay calm and stress free? How did President Bush find so much time to read books? Learn to recharge and build adventure into your schedule. Prioritize your ideas and tasks. If something is important, you will naturally find the time to do it. There will always be more things to do. Understand that you can never do it all.

My day ends when I’m tired and ready to go home, not when I’m done. I am never done. Like a housewife’s, a manager’s work is never done. There is always more to be done, more that should be done, always more than can be done. – Andy Grove

Richard Branson’s Secret Productivity Tool. He always carries a notebook around. When you have an idea, it is important that you jot it down immediately. When some event has passed, always write it down. Keep a journal. Journal writing is crucial and important. Do not use plain pieces of paper as these are easy to misplace. Try to use an actual notebook and not type on a laptop. Hand-writing can enable you to recall better. Just down random stuff in your day. Write down inspiring quotes which you hear along the way. Use punctuation to give clarity.

The act of taking notes by hand involves active listening, cognitive processing, and finally recalling it to record it. People who take notes with a laptop tend to just robotically record spoken words, without doing the mental work to process it. – Kevin Kruse

Master Your Email Inbox with 321Zero. Many people spend too much time on emails and this is unproductive. Step 1 is to unsubscribe from newsletters. Turn off email notifications. Only check it 3 times a day and aim to clear all mail in 21 minutes. Remember to archive your mail. Apply the 4Ds – Do it, delegate it, defer it or delete it. Choose your own work routine. Do not let others dictate it for you. Keep the emails short. If you send less email, you will also receive less email. For those email that were sent more than 48 hours ago, simply chuck them aside. Spend less time on email and use the time on strategic activities.

Meeting Hacks from Google, Apple and Virgin. A lot of productivity is lost through meetings. Usually, meetings start late. Often, the wrong people are invited. The extroverts tend to dominate the meetings. People usually only discuss the simple stuff that they know. Set aside days when no meetings can be held. This will increase productivity in the company. Always remember to state the meeting agenda and the purpose of the meeting. Use a countdown clock to time the meeting. Have stand-up meetings. It is also possible to conduct walking meetings. Some people also hold 10 minute meetings. The use of smartphones is inappropriate. It is important for management to set the daily rhythm. Daily huddles should be in place at the same time every week. Routine can indeed set you free.

Parkinson’s law of triviality. Also, known as the bike-shed effect, this law states that organizations spend the most time on trivial issues and the least time on the most important issues. – Kevin Kruse

It’s very rare that a meeting on a single topic should need to last more than 5 to 10 minutes. – Richard Branson

One Little Word that Multiplies Success. There are endless requests for our time. However, it is important to be vigilant over the use of your time. There are always trade-offs in life. Although your calendar 3 weeks down the road might seem free, however, when the date arrives, you might be swamped with activities. Every yes is a no to something else. Understand about opportunity costs. We grew up learning not to say no to things. You can say ‘no’ in a polite way but explaining at you are busy etc. For instance, you can say ‘Unfortunately, my schedule is packed’. You can also suggest a time for them when you are free. You can refer the person to a colleague of yours. Saying no to friends is okay.

The Powerful Pareto Principle. Understand the 80/20 rule. This helps you identify the tasks that you should be focusing on. It can help you in business decision making. It can even be applied to reading and studying. Do you really need physical possessions to be happy? Just do the most important things exceptionally well. Figure out which 20% of your goals are most important to you. Focus on your most important clients.

The 3 Harvard Questions that Save 8 Hours a Week. Instead of asking ‘How can I do this?’ Ask ‘How can this be done?’ You can outsource some of your work. If you can delegate, you will feel less stressed. Discretionary activities which are non-value adding can be outsourced. Keep thinking of the following key words: 1) Drop; 2) Delegate; 3) Redesign. Outsourcing can increase your free time. For instance, you can hire a domestic worker. You are not good at something and do not like to do stuff, it is possible to outsource them. Some businesses are boggled down with admin work. As a result, they are slowed down tremendously. Some things need not be outsourced if you enjoy doing it and it aids in your recharging process. Learn to audit your time once in a while.

Focus on what you are great at and hire everyone else to do the rest. – Lewis Howes

Why Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey Themes His Days. Focus each day on different aspects of the business. For example, Tuesday is product day. Create days for setting themes. There should be Focus Days, Buffer Days and Free Days (no work at all). You can set time for vacation days. Sandwich vacations with buffer days. Rather than just blocking internal meetings, also block free thinking times.

Don’t Touch (Until You’re Ready). When we process stuff, we often need to look at it multiple times. This is very unproductive. To be efficient, you should only process it once. This is known as ‘touch it once’. If the email is simple and can be replied to immediately, do so. If you can’t ‘touch it once’, calendar it. Or you can even create calendar invites for things. If something can be done in less than 5 minutes, do it immediately.

When we process our email, we might respond to each ‘ding’ by scanning who it’s from and what the subject line is. We then decide whether or not to open it. If we open it and read it, we then decide to leave it in our inbox so we can respond to it later…when we’ll read it all over again. – Kevin Kruse

Change Your Morning, Change Your Life. Imagine if you can find an hour of me-time every day. It is crucial to have an empowering morning routine to start off your day. Start off your day with sweat and exercise. You can incorporate cardio in the mornings too. For instance, you can do yoga as well. Wake up before 6. Drink a lot of water. Each a healthy breakfast and then exercise. Your willpower is at the highest in the mornings. Therefore, you should do your best work in the mornings. Take an inner bath. Exercise can help release endorphins which will make you feel good about yourself. Many famous people have very good morning routines that keep them perked up throughout the day. Believe in the power of morning rituals. SAVERS (Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, Scribing). Invest the first 60 minutes of each day to hone your mind, body and spirit.

Energy is Everything. Everyone has the same 24 hours everyday. Get more stuff done. There will definitely be moments when you suffer from lack of energy. Sacrificing sleep is not a good long term solution. Writing came easily in the morning. Know when do you feel ‘in the moment’ and when you are the most productive. Match your capacities with what needs to be done. If you can increase your energy, productivity will shoot up the roof. Learn to schedule time for yourself. Get your blood pumping. Our body usually feels fatigued after 90 minutes of exertion, for instance. Therefore there is a need for a break every 90 minutes. Learn the Pomodoro technique. It is possible to get any task completed easily. Get enough sleep and exercise and minimize caffeine and alcohol. Power walking counts as a form of exercise. Productivity is about energy and focus, not time.

The E-3C System: Putting it all Together. Maintain a personal operating system. Learn from good habits of successful people. E-3C stands for Energy, Capture, Calendar and Concentrate. You can’t increase the amount of time you have. But you can increase productivity. Capture everything done which must be done in a notebook. This will certainly help you to increase your productivity. The second C is your calendar. Block time for your most important task (MIT). Do only one thing at once and do not multi-task. Do not let technology control your life.

Twenty More Time and Productivity hacks. Use your camera to take phones in order for you to remember things. Shut off your notifications. Drink a healthy protein shake. Do not waste too much time watching TV. Minimize travelling time if possible. Use dual monitors in order to improve efficiency. Have a stop doing list. Remember the end time so that there will be no overruns. Learn to hang out with productive people. Tell people to leave you alone. Pay bills electronically to save time.

Time Secrets of 7 Billionaires. Reserve the mornings for doing real work. Do only one thing at once. Avoid multi-tasking. You can work out during lunch to keep yourself fresh later during the day. A fresh mind holds the key for success for many people.

Time Secrets of 13 Olympic Athletes. Schedule everything in your calendar. The importance of rest is often overlooked. Plot out what a day should be like. It is crucial to write it down. Everyone needs a break once in a while too. Focus is essential. A strong level of discipline is needed as well. Have an agenda and a focus day every week. Rest and recharge is crucial for an athlete to be at optimal condition. It is also important to understand that you can’t do it all.

Time Secrets of 29 Straight-A students. Do only 1 thing at any one time. Make a schedule. Consider using an app called ‘SelfControl’. Remember to schedule some me-time as well. There is no need to study in big groups. Learn to give yourself play rewards once in a while. Learn stuff on Wikipedia. Give yourself goals as well. Set realistic small goals. Learn to say no to friends. Stay organized and manage your time well. Maximize productivity by making full use of idle time. Surround yourself with smart people.

 

Lean and Six Sigma for Beginners by G Harver

A Quickstart Beginner’s Guide to Lean Six Sigma

Learn to involve everyone in the organization’s processes. Six Sigma is one of the best ways to cut cost. The Six Sigma certificate is very valuable indeed. This is about finding confidence in your business and learning how to streamline processes. Six Sigma can also be applied in the government setting. Learn to adopt a six sigma approach. Your business’ performance should improve as a result.

What exactly is Lean Six Sigma? Six Sigma is focused on minimizing waste. It also about reducing poor performance and monitoring processes to know how well you are doing. It is simple and it is about consistent delivery to the customer. Your performance should be measured well. You want to achieve your intended specifications. Your actual results must be as close to your planned ones as possible. Learn to align projects with your strategic objectives and be able to assess them. You want every input to drive revenue creation. There should be no bottlenecks or downtime. It is about clearing everything that slows you down. Look out for 1) downtime. The projects should be clear and every employee’s efforts should be measured so that they fall in line with organization’s objectives. It will keep employees on their toes.

How Lean Six Sigma Works on a Daily Basis. You must aim for 100% quality. We all want as much profit as we can make. Motorola used Six Sigma back in 1986. Both quality, quantity and speed of production are the key. You should avoid any wastage that leads to poor workmanship. Please avoid overproduction. Low consumption is a bad sign. Time is money. Any time that your employees are not working or slacking is a loss to the company. Utilize your talents and make them multi-task even if necessary. There must be no wastage in transportation. Inventory storage cost must be factored in. Just-in-time inventory is the best. The key is that inventory must be processed once it arrives and without any undue delay. Do not over-process as it is time consuming and eats into your profits.

The fact is that you are just wasting time walking here, there and everywhere; in the process, you are adversely influencing other people towards your bandwagon. That is why you need to minimize aimless movements during working time. You need to appreciate that idle movements do not constitute leisure. Scheduled leisure time is helpful but idling about is not. – G Harver

Beneficiaries of Lean Six Sigma. Employees will feel challenged and drive in the same direction as the company. Motivated and healthier employees rarely take leave or absent themselves. Technology can help to improve efficiency and productivity. Time taken to attract customers is reduced. It is an efficient tool throughout the industry. People who are skilled in Six Sigma are employable and can work as consultants in a big company. For example, you could work as a lead manufacturing engineer. You can work as a business process analyst etc. There are many roles in an organization that seeks to improve company performance.

Salaries Associated with Lean Six Sigma. The roles are unique and command good salaries. A Green Belt certification will boost your credentials. Lean Six Sigma trainers earn even more. You can consult for IT companies, F&B companies etc. The master black belts are the best paid. Try to get the company to sponsor you for your training.

Things for CEO to note in readiness to implement Lean Six Sigma. Do not wait till you are making losses before implementing six sigma. Make improvements that will get you to 100% perfection. It is a structured approach. Decisions are based on accurate data. Success is based on a small margin of error. It is highly dependent on accurate data. It is important to have strict discipline when implementing six sigma. Analyzing data and looking at it from the right perspective is the most important thing you can do. Learn to take each project one at a time. Embrace solutions only when there is conclusive evidence that it will work. You need everyone on-board if you want to implement Six Sigma effectively. Senior Management must also be kept in the loop and updated. Empower people to carry out new initiatives even if it means eliminating paperwork. Bring an expert who can conduct training for your staff. Always be receptive to feedback.

Tying Lean to Six Sigma Method for Best Performance. Lean means travelling light. You must deliver your product or services fast. Delivery must be of high quality too. The cycle should be fast. There may be internal problems in your team that affect delivery, such as low morale, work too complex, multi-tasking, correcting of product defects, lack of flexibility, inefficient systems etc. How do you overcome the above? Understand your customers’ demands. Reduce number of tasks people do at the same time. Work towards smaller deliveries rather than a huge one. Develop a routine and expectations with your customer. Take orders only if you have the capacity to fulfil them.

Actual 6 Sigma Gauge. Some form of normal loss in the manufacturing process should be expected and this can be predicted at the start. This is pre-determined. Sigma Level 6 has a success rate of 99.99966%. The more you succeed, the higher you fair on the sigma scale. There are 6 sigma scales and each documents the defect level per 1 million units produced. Your ultimate business goal should be to reach only 3.4 defects in every 1 million units produced. This is known as the 6 sigma level.

Effective application of lean six sigma, including in profession. View your profession as a business. Serving your auditee fast means saving your organization’s time. Learn to offer high quality services. Learn to create projects that are well defined. Every move your organization takes has an impact on the bottom line. Train key personnel. Use DMAIC – Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. Define the problem. Use only individuals who are compatible. Set working parameters. Overhaul your processes if there is fraud present in your organization. Have an effective plan for data collection and system analysis. Analyze the problem. The next step is to improve the situation. Propose a solution and execute a plan. Your solution must have a clear cost-benefit analysis. Present your plan to the stakeholders of the project. Learn to control the situation. Communicate both your goals and achievements to your stakeholders and get their buy-in.

Lean 6 Sigma in Government Operations. Wastage is bad for the government and it can bring the house down. Governments can consider VSM (Value Stream Mapping). To do a VSM, present both alternatives and show both mappings. Show 1 for the current process and the other for the new process. In Kaizen, the changes are incremental in nature. There is a lot of red tape in government and should be addressed through kaizen improvement.

Challenges to Anticipate in Lean Six Sigma Implementation. Identification the correct process owner is the most important thing. However, some of them may not be very enthusiastic. Some of the departments may not be working well with one another. You might encounter barriers in language. You must obtain management buy-in. The trick is to display any small wins quickly so as to show others that the project is working well. Develop rapport with everyone concerned. Learn to resolve issues quickly together. Have charts to indicate progress. Ensure that you have a project implementing team.

Why adopt the Lean 6 Sigma Style? A black belt certification means that you are highly valued. There is even a body called International Association for Six Sigma Certification. Six Sigma is about enhancing efficiency, reducing waste and leading to an increase in revenue.

Lean 6 Sigma for SMEs. Downtime is not good for any organization, even SMEs. Many SMEs are at level 3 or 4 currently. This is eating into their revenues. You want to spend as little time as possible fighting fires. Small organizations are more nimble and can implement 6 sigma more easily.

How to embark on implementing lean six sigma. You need to identify a project champion. You need this person to be involved as soon as possible. Gauge your project against your organization’s strategic objectives. The project champion is concerned with the big picture.

Yellow and Green Belt Certification in Lean Six Sigma Training. There are yellow, green and black belts available. The yellow belt training takes 2 days. It will teach you how to calculate the sigma level, defects per million units of output, yield. The green belt requires takes 8 days.

Black Belt Level of Certification within Lean Six Sigma. The Black Belt training also takes 8 days. You will need green belt before you can take the black belt. This level involves statistical analysis. You will understand how to perform sampling. You will be able to compute metrics and control charts. You will be able to handle regression etc. There is also a master black belt certification which is available for use. The MBB exam is over 2.5 hours long.

How does 6 Sigma Compare to Total Quality Management. TQM improvement is on a gradual basis. It involves more statistics and not so much on behavioural change. Six Sigma is not about ruthless cost cutting.

Details of Waste Eliminated by Lean 6 Sigma. Cutting waste in the transport area is important. Do not store unnecessary inventory as it is heavy. Unnecessary non-value adding work is also a waste of time. Excessive waiting time should be eliminated. Overproduction is bad. Underutilizing skills and defects are also undesirable and are a type of waste.

Lean and 6 Sigma above quality assurance. Quality assurance is good and system is important. Get rid of business steps which are redundant.

Why Companies Are not Taking Advantage of Lean Six Sigma. Six Sigma is one of the best ways to cut costs. The key benefits are 1) improving quality of products/services; 2) improving customer experience; 3) Increasing bottom line. Sometimes, there a lack of information hindering companies from applying 6 sigma. Some people believe it is a fad. There are also costs associated with 6 sigma implementation. Some people feel their business is too small for 6 sigma to be effective. A group of people might feel it is too mathematical.

 

 

Happy Hour is 9 to 5 by Alexander Kjerulf

How to Love Your Job, Love Your Life, and Kick Butt at Work

You can jump out of bed on a Monday and look forward to your upcoming week. You look forward towards making a difference and are proud of what you do. Is it possible to be happy at work? Can you really be energized on Mondays? There are a lot of advantages of being happy that can translate to your own happiness. Later, after leaving my previous job, I started Woohoo Inc. Woohoo Inc was a company that gave employees happiness solutions. There is no greater joy than making others happy. Happiness leads to better productivity in both your personal and work life. Happy employees are also more creative and service-oriented. The book will encourage you to be happy and the benefits of happiness at work. The book will feature some examples of companies which have made it.

What is Happiness at Work? Learn the word ‘Arbejdsglaede’. These are ingrained in the culture of Scandinavians. It literally means ‘Work Happiness’ in English. Some of the things that make you happy are: you enjoy your work; you are proud of your work; work with amazing people; work is important to you; are appreciated; you are learning and making a difference. Learn to feel good. Try to make others feel good along the way as well. Bad jobs can kill people. Happiness is subjective and also depends on people’s preferences. It is unique to the individual. Happiness is contagious because of mirror neurons. Unhappiness is very more contagious than happiness and needs to be watched closely. You can’t force people to be happy. It has to be an invitation. You can’t dictate whether people should be happy or not. Job satisfaction does not equate to happiness. Job satisfaction is a rational process, whereby you rationally think about your job. Happiness is more of what you feel about your job. It is normal to feel unhappy once in a while, but the unhappy days should not outnumber the happy days. The perfect job doesn’t exist for sure. It is possible to be happy at work in most jobs. Decide to be happy, and make choices to be happy. It is up to you.

The more you express your happiness, the stronger it becomes inside you. If you hold your happiness in and never express it, it gradually dissipates. Express it clearly and visibly and it gets stronger and lasts longer. – Alexander Kjerulf

Happiness at work is not limited to those people lucky enough to have found their calling. It’s not only for those whose job is their first career choice. Even if the job itself is fairly generic, it’s possible to love it. – Alexander Kjerulf

Even if the work itself is perfect, that is absolutely no guarantee you’ll be happy at work. If your manager is a terrible person, if the mood at the company is bad, if you’re being bullied or treated unfairly, you will be unhappy at work, no matter how great the job. – Alexander Kjerulf

Even if you have a lot of perks at work, if the atmosphere sucks, you will still be unhappy. It’s what you do with what you have that matters. You must take charge and take control of your life. With these 2 things, you will be happy: Results and Relationships. We want to 1) make a difference; 2) contribute value; 3) know that our work matters; 4) get appreciated; 5) feel needed; 6) do work which we are proud of. Control is very important. Be positive and be yourself. Nice co-workers, a great boss, good communication all matters. Relationships make us happy. Be positive and be yourself. Instead of results, organizations should focus more on relationships. Praise is one of the most effective ways to make someone happy. It has to relevant, timely and personal in order to be effective. Give them a token or a small reward. Learn some professional skills. Have fun at work. Be curious and expand your horizons. Take a course in anything. Create a culture of learning in your organization. Learn something new about your co-worker today. Teach more. Learn about other people’s job scopes. Try new stuff out. Try new approaches to doing things and be prepared to fail sometimes. People always make mistakes and that can’t be avoided. Give employees the autonomy they want.

If we can control our environment, we will be happy. Let employees participate in the decision making process. Better in control of your work patterns will make you happy. Have an open to-do list. Allow employees to sit in during board meetings, make the financial statements transparent etc. There are 3 levels of meaning you can find at work: 1) No meaning, you find no meaning in what you do; 2) Your work has meaning because it pays the bills and supports your family; 3) You are contributing to something great and it is meaningful. Almost every job has meaning. Ask yourself how you are contributing etc. Make your results visible. Keep a to-do list so that you can track your progress and achievements. Do something other than yourself. Care for the environment and go green. Being positive at work is crucial for your success. There are many benefits associated with being happy. It is possible to teach yourself how to be happy. It is wrong to force yourself to be positive all the time. Some of the things you can do are: 1) Keep a happiness log book; 2) Have fun; 3) Be yourself; 4) Say what you think; 5) Show what you feel. Express love. Practise random acts of kindness. Say good morning and goodbye. Conduct the ‘smile’ experiment. Take an interest in other people. Help people out at the workplace. Learn to socialize. Make love the foundation of your work.

No matter how much you enjoy your job today, if you do exactly the same things in exactly the same way for a long time, sooner or later you will stop enjoying it. Human beings are learning machines, learning from everything that goes around us, and loving that feeling of getting better and wiser. – Akexander Kjerulf

Knowing that you have helped others through your work is a tremendous source of meaning. It is direct evidence that you are making the world a better place and helping people out. It’s also immensely satisfying, and a great way to get happy at work. – Alexander Kjerulf

You don’t need to make friends with everybody, but having positive relationships at work is one of the most important factors that ensure happiness at work. Positive relationship can be fostered with co-workers, employees, customers, suppliers, or even competitors. – Alexander Kjerulf

Pursuing money, promotions and job security can lead to unhappiness. When you get a raise, your happiness will increase, but it is just a temporary feeling. However, if you are paid too low, you will feel unhappy. Rewarding people has the effect of reducing motivation. Inner motivation is the way to go. Pay people fairly and at a level where they feel comfortable at. Salaries have no lasting effect on happiness. Too much job security will lead to laziness and lower standards at work. Too much job security might also lead to apathy and cynicism.

Bad boss is one of them. Many people who leave their jobs leave because of their boss. There are several ways to deal with a bad boss. 1) Classify your boss; 2) Let your boss know what they could do better; 3) Assume no bad intentions; 4) Choose the right time to talk; 5) Do it sooner rather than later; 6) Explain the effects on you and the effects on your work; 7) Suggest alternatives; 8) Praise your manager regularly. Another group are difficult co-workers. Do not overwork yourself or celebrate putting in a lot of hours at work. More hours doesn’t translate to better results and higher productivity. Workplace stress is not healthy and can lead to long term health problems. Figure out what makes you stressed at work. Celebrate the work you do. 1) Realise the conflicts are inevitable; 2) Handle conflict sooner rather than later; 3) Ask; 4) Use giraffe language; 5) Get mediation. Bureaucracy sucks. Bullying sucks as well. Negative people in the office can bring you down. You can try to make boring tasks more tolerable by making it fun. Humans have a biological need to be treated fairly and this can be seen even in animals. Unfairness can make you very unhappy. Fear of losing your job can make you unhappy.

You can always find more reasons to work. There will always be one more thing to do. But when people don’t take time out, they stop being productive. They stop being happy, and that affects the morale of everyone around them. – Carisa Bianchi

There are no jobs out there in which every single task is fun and exciting. Any job contains boring moments, routine tasks, unpleasant assignments and contact with annoying people. Of course, if your job mostly consists of tasks you really hate to do, then maybe it’s time to move on to a different job. – Alexander Kjerulf

An unhealthy diet can affect your attitude at work. Learn to keep your body trim. A healthy diet will allow you to focus on work tasks more. Eat granola bars as compared to chocolates that give you a sugar rush etc. Chart your energy levels every day. Modify your routine so as to maximise your energy levels. Sitting is bad and is sedentary. Learn to conduct stand-up meetings etc. Just move! Try to have power naps to replenish energy and boost productivity. Alcohol decreases your physical energy and affects productivity at work. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Have some me-time.

Your happiness level will determine your success in life. In the past, people adopted the Protestant Work Ethic, where people only worked hard. In the past, manual labour was very common and people didn’t complain. We should aim to be happy at work. Work takes up so much time. Work provides us with a sense of identity. It affects our personal life. Work has an impact on your health and well-being. Happiness leads to success.

Some people can have a lousy day at work and then go home and be happy as if nothing has happened. However, most people can’t pull this off and a bad day at work tends to affect the rest of their day. – Alexander Kjerulf

Happiness is Good For Business. Put people first. Happy employees will work harder for you and help you make more money. There are many other benefits associated with it. Happy people vastly outperform unhappy ones. Unhappy employees will cost you. Innovation is sparked from happy people. They are more motivated. They deliver better service. They can handle change better. Therefore, as a business, you should learn to embrace happiness.

You are responsible for your own happiness. Do not expect the manager to light your fire. Make yourself happy at work. The company’s atmosphere is simply to create an environment which is conducive for happiness. Your co-workers should work together with you to create that environment for happiness as well. Things will only change when you choose to act and be proactive about it.

Don’t settle for Meh, settle for Yay! Think back to a situation at work where you felt happy. Write it down and reflect. Dig up real-life experiences. This method is known as Appreciative Inquiry. Visualise your goal. Don’t go for okay, go for happiness! Whether to stay or to go? Whatever your choice, make it a happy one and squeeze as much happiness from it as possible.

It is frighteningly easy to stay in an unhappy work situation simply for the salary and the stability. Many people do this year after year. The worst part is that the longer you put up with an unhappy job, the harder it gets to remember how much fun work can be and the harder it gets to move on and do something about it. – Alexander Kjerulf

Make time for your people. Give people a space to air their views. Thank employees for their good work. Visualize a happy organization. Ask hypothetically questions to see whether you are truly happy. Create the business case for happiness at work. Announce your priorities to your organization and make people happy.

The actions you take must be (1) fast; (2) easy; (3) fun. Learn to involve other people and remember that happiness is contagious. Make others happy in order to feel happy as well. Make time for happy activities in your life. Celebrate goals together. Happiness is one of the greatest forces around.