Developer Tea

We don't think about the unexpected as a category of possible outcomes. This leads us to assign overestimated probabilities to things that are front of mind, and discount the likelihood of things we don't expect. This may lead us to prepare for expected events without consideration for what we'll do in the face of the unexpected.

Look closer at the things that don't happen. Evaluate the options you never considered. When you are looking back, don't just judge based on actions and outcomes - look at the quality of decisions through the lens of information, and wonder: was there a better decision? Was there an option that was nearly as good, but this one was better?##

You can't wait for luck to strike, but you also won't always get what you deserve. Both of these are true - so, go make luck happen for you!##

Habits aren't built on their own. They are the result of environments. Reduce friction and create a positive reinforcement loop, and the habits will follow.

What happens in high-stakes environments?Is the learning you do in your low-stakes environment actually helping you when you have skin in the game? ##

Having trouble setting goals? Take a look at a different angle with the guided exercise in today's episode.

Our goals usually take two forms: what we want to accomplish, and who we want to be.When we can align these things, we find cohesion in our goals, giving us more clarity and purpose.

Two guidelines for better goal setting.First, goals don't stand alone.Second, ranges often beat arbitrary points.

Stop and think about how you are spending your time.Time is constantly moving, whether we stop to recognize it or not. How will you spend it? These five powerful questions will help you reconfigure your time today.

A short term mindset will focus on different things than a long term mindset. Neither is right or wrong, but what are you optimizing for?Once you answer this question, you can start to work towards finding a solution that balances both.

Your best tool is your next question.

Diffuse thinking produces options and draws connections. Focused thinking narrows things down to a specific path.Use them both, and watch for when they collide.

Doing nothing seems like it would be easy... But it seems that action is often easier than doing nothing.Sometimes, perhaps often, action is the right choice. However, if there is no reason to believe one action over another would be better, or action over inaction for that matter - why are we taking action at all?If we think about our efforts as spending time and energy, we can more adequately understand that inaction may be a valuable skill, rather than a risk.

You are not the sum of your decisions. Making better decisions often relies on having a long list of mistakes to learn from.

How does the smartest person in the world solve the most complex problems that most mathemeticians can't even understand?The same way you write code and build features at your job. The principles always apply.

Choose one thing. Only one important thing. Do that over and over. That's your way out of overwhelm.

What people ask for is not the same as why they ask for it. What people want isn't as simple as what they say they want.Understanding the why is critical - the interest is just as important as the position.

People often erroneously plan for specific futures. This leads down a pathway to failure most times.This is because the future is rarely what we expect it to be. We can think in terms of multiple possible futures, and prepare for most of them. This leads us towards flexibility and adaptabiity.

Making good decisions is about tuning context. If you can't determine the context that matters, the decision itself is impossible to measure against. All decisions can be framed within a context with other decisions; choosing those decisions in concert is often the best strategy.

Feedback loops shape everything around us. We make a change or adjustment, watch for what happens, and repeat. This happens with people in the most unexpected ways. Tuning in to this adjustment loop can help us use it as a tool, rather than reacting to it.