Confession time. Over the past 3 years, I came to the conclusion that habit-building as a goal is, for most people, a counter-productive activity. I know… a scandalous opinion in the personal productivity world. It will take some time to lay out all my arguments against habits as goals. But let me start with the …
Being a new mom is hard. Being a first-generation immigrant means you have no family support. Owning a business means you don’t get the traditional maternity leave to solely focus on your baby. The first month was the hardest. Every night, I found myself in deep despair, borderline ready to fall into the victim mentality …
Sturgeon’s Law states that 90% of everything is crap. It applies to books, restaurants, TV shows, movies, tweets, YouTube videos, and everything else humans produce. I spent some time thinking if it was true in my life. And… I tend to agree. When was the last time you encountered something outstanding? Something that was so …
Step off the hamster wheel with Agile and Sturgeon’s Law Read More »
Let’s dust off what’s left of high school math, shall we? Logarithms. Remember such a thing? A logarithm is the power to which a number must be raised in order to get some other number. Source: University of Minnesota Log10 (1) = 0 Log10 (10) = 1 Log10 (100) = 2 Log10 (1000) = 3 etc. …
My friend works with billionaires. He says their net worth can usually be traced down to a few decisions they made over their lifetime. It’s never about hard work and long hours. It’s about making good strategic decisions. Intrigued by my friend’s conclusion, my husband and I discussed our own net worth. Even though we are …
Meet Angela and Laura. They are participating in a baking competition at school. They need to get the most votes on their cookie to win this competition. Goal: bake a damn good cookie Deadline: 1 month Time available to dedicate to this activity: 5 hours a week, 20 hours total Angela decides to embrace the …
Agile for beginners: How to bake a damn good cookie Read More »
If you live in North America, the moment you announce to your friends you are pregnant, they start asking when you are going to host a baby shower. But if you didn’t grow up in North America, the whole idea of a baby shower seems strange. What is the baby shower for? The baby is …
How is your February going? Let me guess. When you go to a gym, it’s less busy. There is less activity on productivity subreddits. Your YouTube feed stopped recommending goal-setting content. Atomic Habits is gone from Amazon’s recommendations list. It’s a clear sign that New Year’s resolutions are dead. Why do New Year’s resolutions die? …
The Secret to Beating the February Slump: An Agile Approach to Personal Productivity Read More »
Saurabh, a subscriber to my mailing list, asked if I can share my thoughts on facing our anxieties and fears. The Lever Theory I have a theory that we all have that mental lever that we get to use multiple times a day. We can either look at something from a long-term or a short-term …
Years ago I read Tao Te Ching for the first time. What a treat! Since then, it became my personal bible. I read it cover to cover at least once a year. And every time I find something new, profound and surprisingly helpful. It helped me to navigate my first people management role. It helped …
The phrase that’s been on my mind for the past 7 years Read More »
Welcome to the final Part 3 of the New Year’s Resolutions series. Today we’ll discuss finalizing your New Year’s goals and resolutions using the remaining Scrum principles. Recap of our progress so far Let’s recap where we are. We’ve gone through Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. So far, we’ve done the review …
Applying Agile to New Year’s Resolutions – Part 3 Read More »
Welcome to Part 2 of Applying Agile to New Year’s Resolutions! Let’s discuss how you can apply agile concepts of sprints, sprint capacity, and backlog review to setting up your goals. Problem #1: A year is too long. You don’t feel a sense of urgency when you set a goal for the year. And without …
Applying Agile to New Year’s Resolutions – Part 2 Read More »
It’s that time of year when a lot of us are thinking about new year’s resolutions. I think it’s a wonderful opportunity to think about next year. But there are some common problems that I see with the traditional way of setting new year’s goals. I decided to dedicate the rest of December to addressing …
Applying Agile to New Year’s Resolutions – Part 1 Read More »
For this sprint, I am working on something hard and time-consuming. I have just one goal for this sprint – to create a free workshop that I will host in the near future. The workshop is about three steps that you can do in order to launch your project in three months or less. I’m …
A lot of my clients are working on launching a creative side project. I had clients launch podcasts, YouTube channels, blogs, etc. And they often ask me for advice on how to consistently come up with creative ideas. Creative ideas require you to stop consuming. Creativity is when you create something. This is the opposite of consuming. …
Let’s talk about external accountability and how it can help in achieving your goals. External accountability is the secret sauce behind so many services. Personal trainer and coaches When you hire a personal trainer, it’s not necessarily their knowledge that gives your results. The main reason why personal trainers can be so effectives is that they …
One of the clients in our October Sprint mentioned that he’s struggling with prioritization. He doesn’t know which goals he should focus on. This is a common problem. Let’s address it. How to prioritize goals? Why can’t we prioritize goals? The story we tell ourselves We think we don’t know the how. We think we …
I finished my master’s degree a few years ago. It was a two-year program. I was able to finish it in 5 semesters instead of six. I later learned that a lot of my classmates had to stay longer than six semesters. That made me think about some of the strategies that helped me finish …
Strategies I used to finish master’s degree early Read More »
When the idea of time blocking is brought to mind, one cannot help but think of time boxes that must be strictly followed. What if we instead used the idea of flexible time blocking? Well, you might raise your eyebrows, but hear me on this one. Strict time blocking for busy seasons of life In my …
A New Way to Look at Time Blocking: Flexible Time Blocking Read More »
In continuation of the topic of agile concepts, I would like to delve deeper into an interesting idea that will be helpful in the workplace and our personal lives: Sprint Capacity. We will go through how it works in agile teams. Also, we will tackle how it can be implemented in our personal productivity. How …
When I was just first learning about Agile and Scrum, I was trying to read as many books as I could on the topic. And one of the books talked about a guy applying Agile to his home renovation project. That was the first time I learned that you can do agile home renovation. As a …
I want to share a mind trick that I use myself when I’m starting new habits. This mind trick helps me to come back and do this activity again, therefore increasing the chances of it actually sticking and becoming a habit. Everything is hard before it is easy A few years ago I heard this …
Mind trick for starting new habits and building consistency Read More »
Happy Path in Software Development As a product manager, I learned about the Happy Path concept from my manager. This is how it works in product management. The Happy Path When building a new product, you first focus on the happy path. The happy path is a journey a user of a product is taking, …
Building a productive habit can sometimes be a struggle. One of my previous clients asked me recently — “How many sprints does it usually take to build a habit?” I usually divide my habits into two groups. The first one involves those habits that you do on a daily basis, and the other group is …
The agile/scrum methodology is now widely gaining momentum not only in tech industries but also in other fields. Over the past 6 months of using it every day in my full-time job as a product manager, I have learned a thing or two about Scrum. Like most endeavors, our inputs will define how successful this method …
What I’ve learned about Scrum from being a Product Manager Read More »
Every once in a while, we encounter things that we never expected to become so useful in our lives. Perhaps most of you have discovered a life hack that you didn’t expect to be cleverly life-changing. Thus, it has become integrated with your lifestyle. Mine is a transformational way of thinking about goals that impacts my …
Let’s talk about winter and how you can use this otherwise miserable time to your advantage. Let’s take a new look at winter – it is the best time to build productive habits. Regardless of where you are in the world, you certainly have a strong opinion of how brutal winter can be. Love it …
This is the method that I use when I’m in a dark time of my life. When there is burnout. When the mood is simply not there. When a regular to-do list doesn’t work me. This tool is great for when you don’t have any motivation. You’re so tired even to be thinking about complicated …
I’ve received a question from one of my podcast listeners, “What is your opinion about motivation? Is it helpful or is it just temporary?” I think it’s definitely helpful. It is temporary but my overall opinion is that the importance of motivation is highly overrated. I think motivation is a trend that is popular right …
Today, I am going to share the story of how I’ve lost the first 10 pounds by applying some of the Scrum principles to weight loss. Initial Sprint Review Before embarking on a big project like weight loss, I like to the initial review: What have I tried already up to this point? What worked? …
Today, we are talking about how I’ve used Scrum principles to find a job and change my career altogether from being a supply chain manager to now being a product manager in a tech startup. This is a question that I got from one of my listeners. You can submit your question here. It took me …
How I used Scrum to find a job and change career Read More »
I want to invite you to listen to the interview I’ve done for the Skyward Spriral podcast. If you’re looking to listen to learn more about Scrum and some of the principles that I teach within the Monthly Method, definitely check out the interview. I had a lot of fun talking to David. And we …
I am going to tell you about the common assumption we all have when setting goals and how your chances for success increase when you flip this assumption around. I’m amazed at how well it works and I can’t wait to share it with you. How we usually set goals Think back to the last …
Stop having this flawed assumption when setting goals Read More »
Let’s talk about combining your full-time job with a side project. It doesn’t have to be a side business. It can be a hobby, a volunteering project, house renovation, etc. Something that requires a substantial amount of time on your end. Something that you wanted to do for the longest time, but just couldn’t find …
Today we are going to talk about another Scrum concept called a Sprint Retrospective. What is it? How does it work in scrum teams? Why is it useful? And how can we apply it to our own personal productivity? What is Sprint Retrospective? A sprint retrospective is a recurring meeting held at the end of …
The daily standup is one of the core meetings in scrum teams. I want to give you some ideas on how you can bring the core principles of the daily standups to your own productivity as an individual. Daily standup in Scrum Teams During the daily standup, a scrum team gets together. Ideally, everyone is …
The productivity world is fixated on building new habits. They have phrases like “You don’t decide your future. You decide your habits and your habits decide your future.” We also have bestselling books like Atomic Habits. The overall consensus is that building new habits is always a good idea. As you probably know, I love …
We are taught to set professional goals. But it’s the non-work goals that have the highest impact on the quality of your daily life. As you probably know, under the Monthly Method you set goals in 3 areas of your life: Career and Growth Health & Key Relationships The Quality of Life I came up …
Last week I had two clients mention to me that they’ve lost interest in YouTube and Netflix. I want to share these stories and my theory on why my clients stop watching Netflix. Don’t worry. It’s not about imposing a strict screen time limit or heavily relying on self-discipline. It’s better than that. Mike & Netflix …
Why my clients stop watching Netflix and YouTube Read More »
When you sign up for the Monthly Method, you go through a three-week sprint. Then you have a week off – a break from productivity. I call it maintenance week. During this week you are not supposed to do anything related to productivity. All your goals are done. Today I want to share why I think …
5 Benefits From Taking Monthly Breaks From Productivity Read More »
Remember the days when you are full of energy? And then we also have days when we are low on energy. Why is that? One way to explain is through the Energy Cycle of Daily Life. Generally speaking, you can divide all your daily tasks into two categories: Need to do (go to work, finish that …
A few weeks ago I talked about the power of time blocking. Today I want to answer the most common questions I receive about time blocking. I am excited to share the tips and tricks I have from doing time blocking on a daily basis for the past 4 years. What’s my ideal unit of …
Welcome to the new edition of the Productivity Tips found on Reddit series. If you want to see more Reddit productivity tips, check out these three posts: February collection March collection April collection Favourite Productivity Tips from Reddit This Month Tip #1: Value your attention as much as Facebook values it. Link to the original post. …
Unconventional Productivity Tips from Reddit [June 2021 edition] Read More »
Yesterday I had four calls with my clients. And I had the same conversation with each of them. We spoke about the power of time blocking. I told them that I think time blocking is the most stress-reducing activity I do on a daily basis. And in today’s episode, I want to explain why I think that, …
I decided to start sharing the main lessons I have learned from working with over a dozen first clients. These people adopted the Monthly Method for at least a month and I’ve learned some major lessons from their experience. One of the main ones is “Dream big but go small.” Three types of goal setters …
A few weeks ago I talked about one question that is very impactful when it comes to avoiding procrastination. This week I want to talk about the question I recently discovered that allows me to do the tasks on my to-do list even when I don’t feel like doing them. The question that recently turned my …
It was time to record my monthly Unconventional Tips Found on Reddit series. I sat down and did my regular routine. I checked all the usual subreddits looking for something useful and unconventional. I spent about an hour researching with no luck. I just couldn’t find anything I haven’t heard before. At first, I felt …
If you listen to my podcast or read my blog you know that I am a big advocate for short-term planning. I even developed a scrum-based personal productivity method called the Monthly Method that allows you to set and achieve your goals three weeks at a time. The question I often get from my readers …
Why long-term planning is not as good as you were taught Read More »
Let me share the question that is changing my life. The question I keep asking myself several times a day. The question that saves me from mindless procrastination. The question that helps me be the best version of myself even when I don’t feel like it. This question is “What’s the alternative? If not this, then …
This is something that came up recently when I was working with one of my clients. He wanted to have the perfect routine for the goal we just started working on. And this is when I told him about normalizing before optimizing. So what does it mean? Normalize This is the process of making an …
How to be consistent. Normalize, then optimize. The Rule of 10. Read More »
Welcome to the new edition of the Productivity Tips found on Reddit series. If you want to see more Reddit productivity tips, check out these two posts: February collection March collection Favourite Productivity Tips from Reddit This Month Tip #1: 5 truths about our desires. Link to the original post. We’re never satisfied with what we …
Unconventional Productivity Tips from Reddit [April 2021 edition] Read More »
I’ve always followed the productivity space closely. I enjoy trying new productivity methodologies and frameworks to explore how I can get more done in less time. I was surprised recently when I came across a concept that I had never encountered before: an accountability buddy. I discovered accountability buddies through the Productivity Reddit Discord group. …
The What, Why, and How of an Accountability Buddy Read More »
Last month was eventful. Our plans had changed several times during the month due to unexpected circumstances. March was full of good news but I can’t say it was very productive. In today’s post, I want to share 5 lessons that I have learned from failing at achieving my monthly goals. Last month we had to …
You’ve probably been in a situation where you want to do something, say something, or even post something online, yet the question of “What will people think?” stops you. We are afraid people would judge us. They would laugh at us. This is the question that worried me for the longest time. I think it …
Welcome to the new edition of the Productivity Tips found on Reddit series. If you want to see my favourite tips from February, you can find them here. Let’s jump straight into it. Favourite Productivity Tips from Reddit This Month Tip #1: The price of creativity is the judgment of others. Link to the original …
Unconventional Productivity Tips from Reddit [March 2021 edition] Read More »
I wanted to share one other concept I’ve adapted from Agile/Scrum product development that can increase the chances of achieving your goals. Let’s talk about the definition of done and how you can use it in your own life. How the Definition of Done is used in agile product development First, let’s see how the definition …
How to Use Definition of Done for Personal Productivity Read More »
Last week I talked about the hustle culture. I listed 10 reasons why it’s not practical to be in a hustle mode. And if you pride yourself on being a hustler, that episode is very helpful. However, I find that people who don’t necessarily associate themselves with the hustle culture still have the idea of misery …
If you visit any bookstore and find a time management or goal setting shelf, it will be filled with books that send the same message: No pain, no gain. Growth is painful. Life is not easy. You have to hustle. You have to white-knuckle your way to success. They are full of war-like examples and …
Welcome to the new series we are planning on doing every single month. We will be collecting our favourite productivity tips we have discovered that month. This month we wanted to focus on the productivity tips we had found on Reddit. Favourite Productivity Tips from Reddit This Month Tip #1: Logarithmic Goal Setting. Link to …
Unconventional Productivity Tips from Reddit [February 2021 edition] Read More »
The concept of a sprint comes from the Agile product development. I first experienced it being used in a startup I worked for years ago. I saw the power of short-term planning and how fruitful it can be if implemented strategically. Back then I decided to find a way to adopt the idea of sprint …
One of my podcast listeners asked how to stop procrastinating. This question has been addressed from many angles by many people. Today I want to offer my opinion, even though it looks slightly unpopular. The solution is simple but very effective. My history with procrastination. Listen, procrastination is not new to me. I definitely …
Last week, I talked about why you don’t need another productivity app. I explained why productivity apps don’t work for most people. Today I want to discuss what you should do instead. How you can start showing up for yourself, for your goals and for your dreams. Learn how to create a schedule and follow it. …
In this world of hustle and bustle, struggle, outrage and never ending hardship, I advocate for calm and decency. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you struggled during your journey or if you achieved your success with ease and a sense of adventure. What matters is that you took the necessary …
Let’s talk about productivity apps and tools. What is the underlying promise of these products? Why don’t they work for most people? And why downloading another productivity app is not the answer. What’s wrong with productivity apps and tools? If you look at all the productivity tools and apps out there, you will quickly find …
Today I want to talk about a product backlog. This is a concept I’ve adopted from Agile methodology. It is used in the SCRUM framework by the most innovative companies of our times. An idea of backlog is, perhaps, the most undervalued concept in personal productivity. I will tell you what a backlog is, how …
How to Use Product Backlog for Personal Productivity Read More »
I want to talk about the one trait all successful people share. It is not self-discipline. It is not their ability to hustle and power through. It is their decision making skills. The Secret Trick I Use Remember the time you were invited to a birthday party or a corporate event and were surrounded by …
If there was one word that could summarize 2020, it is uncertainty. People didn’t know what to expect, how to plan and what to do. Of course, I was no exception. These difficult time allowed me to add the final pieces to my own productivity system that I call the Monthly Method. Following this system …