Weeklongs 7 | Meals Are Not A CheckBox

by Scott

This post is part of my Weeklongs Project.

This week was about letting internal signals direct eating instead of external cues.

As an undersized college football player, I ate constantly. My 5’10 frame was not going to stop me from trying to look like Lattimer from The Program. I didn’t stop eating when I was full and didn’t wait until I was hungry to start. I’d end up eating 4-5 meals a day. In retrospect eating seemed almost more like part of a regimen than an act to satiate my hunger.

Despite the fact that I’ve hung the cleats up, I’ve noticed I still behave this way. Between the hours of 12-2 I’ll go eat lunch – not always because I’m  hungry but because you’re …
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My No Thanks List

by Scott

Fact: Any decision that requires self-control drains your energy.

Not buying ice cream I just saw in the deli = -1 energy
Writing this post instead of cruising facebook = -2 energy
Going to the gym instead of drinks = -3 energy | +5 energy tomorrow

 

 

Regardless of  the choice I make, so long as I’m struggling with temptation, I’m exerting energy.

As our energy diminishes, so does our willpower because it requires energy to exercise self-control. Think it’s coincidental that people eat sweets, skip the gym, or overindulge in alcohol at night vs. the morning? It’s partially because a day of decision making causes the tides to fall in our energy reservoir. And when we lack energy, we opt for the path of least …
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Unique Cultural Traditions and Why They’re Important

by Scott

One thing I love hearing about is unique cultural traditions within companies. They provide a window into the actual “company” beyond just the product. This is usually pretty opaque and far more interesting to me. Building a good product is cool, but building a company that people love to work at  is way cooler. Ideally you want both.

It’s easy to lump cultural traditions as a gimmick to make work seem more fun or interesting. But I think they’re so much more than that.

One aspect that separates one company from another are the people and the things that you do together. When you do fun, rewarding things as a company, it’s awesome. And when those things feel unique to your company, I think they’re …
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How to Ask for An Email Introduction

by Scott

There are effective practices when asking for email introduction that respect the time and circumstance of all parties. I’ve really come to appreciate these and wish more people approached introduction requests this way.

 

 

Here’s how I approach asking for an email introduction:

Step 1: Preliminary Request for An Introduction

You’ve identified that someone in your network is connected to the person you’re trying to reach. Send them a brief preliminary intro request to gauge the strength of their relationship and willingness to connect.  An example script:

Hi X,

I was looking to get introduced to Johnny Dealmaker from Project X and saw you were connected to him. Not sure how well you’re connected to him, but if the relationship is strong, I’d really appreciate …
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Weeklong 6 | Do I Really Need This?

by Scott

This post is part of my Weeklongs Project.

The first week of this project I wrote about my experience getting rid of 5 things a day. In the spirit of shedding materialistic tendencies, a reader Brandon Rennels suggested I put a sticker on my wallet that forced me to think about the necessity of my purchases.

I took his advice and ordered some “Do You Really Need This” stickers from Zazzle. Over the past 2 weeks, I’ve had one on my credit card and the inside of my wallet.

I never buy myself “things” like clothes or gadgets. Most of my discretionary income is spent on experiences like going out with friends or skillshare classes. I also make some what I …
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The Elusiveness of Virtual Currency

by Scott

I just booked a flight with points and it reminded me how virtual currency can alter our feelings and decision making. Whether we’re talking about a rewards program or monetary exchange, separating the currency from a dollar value can be a powerful framing tactic.

When multiple units of virtual currency are assigned to a single dollar it can inflate the amount of value we perceive. Getting 100 points for every dollar spent seems better than 10 points even if they possess the same purchasing power. This phenomenon is the crux of why virtual currency alters our spending behavior.

 

Here’s a few behavior changes I’ve noticed when I’m dealing with points instead of dollars:

Allocation

The inflated perception virtual currency inspires can change spending allocation. …
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Blogging: The Best Posts Are Shortcuts

by Scott

My belief is that most (not all) successful consumer web products do an excellent job of feeding your ego, saving you money, or saving you time. I was taking a look at some of my most popular posts and noticed a clear trend that is in alignment with this thesis; at a high level, the most popular blog posts are shortcuts. They save readers time.

Originally I noticed that many popular posts contained a personal anecdote as part of a non-obvious, overarching insight. Posts fashioned in this way are like cliffnotes to writers’ lives.

But even these posts can be encapsulated under the more ubiquitous theme of shortcuts:

Stories or Perscriptions that Contain a Personal Anecdote – a shortcut to wisdom forged over …
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Weeklongs 5 | The Economics of Packing Lunch

by Scott

This post is part of My Weeklongs Project.

People always say its cheaper to pack your lunch. I’ve never doubted this, just always been hesitant because of the perceived time it takes to pack a healthy lunch each day.

This week I wanted to put this theory to the test. I wanted to measure how much time it really takes   as well as how much money I’d save. This framework would help me determine whether consistently packing my lunch is a significantly better move.

So last Sunday I went grocery shopping and prepared 5 lunches for the week.  They were all grilled chicken salads with walnuts and balsamic vinegar. The monotony was fine with me because my paleoesque diet is pretty limiting.

Total …
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