(image credit: https://emmavtanner.com/2022/01/08/surface-pressure/) Here’s something I’ve been thinking about: you can control the inputs, but not the outputs. This perspective comes into play when you consider the anxiety that comes with taking on something new. The pressure can be overwhelming. The Reality of Effort vs. Results You cannot do magic. Let me give you an example. Think about losing weight. You can wish all you want “I wish this would happen, I wish I could do it, maintain it” but nothing happens without the actual actions you can take. Maybe you need to cut something out of your diet, or start exercising, or work with a personal trainer. These are the specific activities you can control. ...

As I’ve been getting older, one of the core principles I’ve come to live by is this: make time your friend. Anything that isn’t built to last eventually gets crushed. Let me explain this idea across three major realms of life. Software Development First, let’s talk about this from a software development perspective—which is mostly charity work, if we’re being honest. When you’re building any tool, you need to ask yourself: How do I make time my friend? This question should guide every decision. ...

I sometimes think about how, as human beings, we tend to confuse symbols of value with value itself. That’s because value—being something more ephemeral is much harder to see or know. A Historical Example Let me give you an example. When the Spanish conquistadors came to the Americas and conquered the Inca Empire, one thing of great interest to them was gold. They found the Inca Emperor with gold artifacts in his possession items of worship, decorations, and beautiful works of art. ...

One of the things I’ve been thinking about for quite a while in organizational settings is how we actually know where we stand. I was having a conversation with my daughter one day, asking her how everything was going at school. She gave me this fascinating response: “I don’t know. The teacher normally tells you how I’m doing, but they don’t tell me how I’m doing.” That was quite an interesting statement. I could see how she’d think like that—for a long time, I used to think the same way. My strategy was simple: as long as I’m not getting any feedback from someone, that’s good enough. ...

When we talk about achieving anything meaningful, it needs to be grounded in good habits and a strong sense of discipline. It can’t be built on wishful thinking alone—it must be rooted in consistent, deliberate action. There’s been plenty written about habit formation, but I’ve found it helpful to think about it through a simpler lens: the idea of pain. The Initial Pain of Doing Things Right Here’s the reality: when you decide a habit needs to change, there’s going to be pain involved. ...

I’ve found one principle particularly useful in my work and life: whatever you’re doing that’s important or complex enough, plan for 10 attempts before you get it right. Starting with Realistic Expectations For example, I’m thinking about restarting my blog. I’ve been away for a while and gained a lot more experience. How do I synthesize that into something meaningful? There’s no point trying to make the first post perfect. In fact, I find it useful to expect it will be bad and write it anyway. I know that before the first good one comes, it’s going to take 10 attempts. ...

Recently, I had an eye-opening experience with my house that really brought home what London is all about—and just how expensive it can be. A window in my place cracked, and what seemed like a minor issue quickly turned into a lesson about London’s housing market reality. The London Housing Demand Crisis Here’s what I’ve realized about London: getting a house is incredibly difficult, and money isn’t even the main problem. The demand for housing is so intense that when someone leaves a property, landlords are practically guaranteed to find a replacement tenant within days—not months, but days. ...

As someone who supports multiple teams while balancing family, friends, and all the responsibilities that come with adult life, I’ve discovered that almost any idea or point can be evaluated along two critical axes. While this builds on Eisenhower’s classic importance-urgency matrix, I’ve developed my own spin that’s transformed how I handle countless priorities and the reality of being a chronic overthinker. Importance vs. Urgency Here’s how it works: ...

Now, I know myself naturally as what you’d call a “worrier”, I am always thinking about what could go wrong. This actually has practical benefits because when I find myself in a project, I’m always thinking: How could this fail? Then, by use of inversion, I try to find ways of stopping that failure from happening. This is a useful mental model on its own. The Power of Flipping the Script However, once you’ve run that model, the question becomes: What happens when you try a different kind of approach? ...