Work Better
Write down your three most important tasks before starting work (writing the thing I’m going to start working on, with the first small step has been my most productive go to)
Finish one small task you’ve been avoiding.
Turn off notifications on your phone (slowly turning them back on when you need them instead).
Decline one meeting you don’t need to attend.
Shorten one recurring meeting by 15 minutes.
Write an agenda before your next meeting.
End your next meeting with clear owners and next steps.
Spend five minutes planning tomorrow before finishing today.
Automate one repetitive task (you should look into Claude Desktop and Claude Routines if you haven’t).
Create a template for something you write repeatedly.
Remove one unnecessary step from a process.
Ask, “What problem are we actually trying to solve?”
Do your hardest task before checking Slack.
Block 2 hours for uninterrupted work on your calendar 3 days a week.
Close all browser tabs except the one you are working on. There is a Chrome extension called Tab Counter as well.
Move all files on your desktop in a folder called “To Be Deleted”. Delete all files in the folder 30 days later if you have not taken it back out. Do this at your own risk.
Document one thing only you know how to do.
Write down one mistake and do the 5-why analysis.
Fix one recurring annoyance instead of tolerating it.
At the end of the week, identify one thing you should stop doing.
Become Better at Your Job
Read five pages of a useful book.
Read one article outside your normal area of expertise. Follow a random author on Substack.
Learn one keyboard shortcut.
Learn one feature of a tool you use every day.
Spend 15 minutes studying how your company makes money.
Learn one thing about what your customers actually do.
Ask a customer-facing colleague about the problems they hear repeatedly.
Read a document written by someone senior to you and study how they communicate.
Explain something you learned to another person.
Write down one thing you don’t understand about your business.
Ask an expert one specific question.
Spend 20 minutes learning a skill adjacent to yours.
Replace 20 minutes of Youtube with a Ted talk.
Try doing one familiar task in a better way.
Keep a running list called “Things I Learned.”
Grow Your Career
Write down what you want your next role to be.
Find someone who already has that role.
Study the skills that person uses.
Read three job descriptions for the role you eventually want.
Identify one skill those job descriptions repeatedly mention.
Spend 20 minutes practicing that skill.
Ask your manager what separates you from the next level.
Ask for one piece of specific feedback.
Write down one thing you accomplished this week.
Keep a “brag document” of your accomplishments.
Quantify one accomplishment on your résumé.
Update one outdated section of your LinkedIn profile.
Help someone without expecting anything in return.
Introduce two people who would benefit from knowing each other.
Send a thank-you message to someone who helped your career.
Reconnect with one former coworker.
Have coffee with someone outside your immediate team.
Ask someone about how they got where they are.
Volunteer for one problem nobody owns.
Take responsibility for one outcome instead of just completing your assigned task.
Share credit publicly with someone who helped you.
Give someone useful feedback privately.
Teach a junior colleague something you know.
Write down three people you want to learn from.
Make one small contribution that makes your team better.
Communicate Better
Remove half the words from one email before sending it.
Put the most important sentence first.
Replace a vague request with a specific one.
Ask one more question before giving advice. (courtesy of AI, Her Way )
Let someone finish speaking without interrupting.
Summarize what someone said before disagreeing.
Replace “I think” with evidence when evidence exists.
Say “I don’t know” when you don’t know.
Say “I was wrong” without explaining it away.
Ask, “What am I missing?”
Give praise that explains exactly what someone did well.
Have one difficult conversation you’ve been postponing.
Ask for clarification instead of assuming intent.
Wait five minutes before sending an angry message.
Write down your argument before entering an important disagreement (you might decide to not get into the disagreement after writing it down).
Think Better
Write down one decision you’re currently struggling with.
Separate what you know from what you’re assuming.
Ask what would change your mind.
Write down the downside of doing nothing.
Identify one belief you haven’t questioned recently.
Spend ten minutes thinking without your phone.
Write one paragraph about something you’re confused about.
Ask whether a problem will matter a year from now.
Before blaming someone, identify one thing you could have done differently.
Before saying “I can’t,” ask whether you actually mean “I don’t want to.”
Notice one situation where your ego is influencing your decision.
Stop defending one decision that clearly isn’t working.
Run a small experiment instead of debating endlessly.
Change one opinion when the evidence changes.
Write down one lesson from this week.
Live Better
Go to bed 15 minutes earlier.
Drink a glass of water when you wake up.
Take a ten-minute walk without your phone.
Put your phone somewhere you can’t easily reach.
Eat a fruit everyday (a banana or an orange if you are not sure which).
Spend ten uninterrupted minutes with someone you care about.
Put one thing back where it belongs.
Spend 4 hours without the internet on a Sunday (and not when you are sleeping).
Write down one thing that made you feel good or grateful today.
Before going to sleep, ask: “What is one tiny thing I can do better tomorrow?”