Life, Time, and Business Design
Evaluating the ROI of time and designing for simplicity and freedom.
I am increasingly aware, given the year we’ve just come out of and what we’ve already experienced in 2021, that life is so very precious. We are reminded daily of this. And yet, we rarely take action to course correct and stake claim to more of that life.
We give our lives away to jobs that don’t appreciate us, technologies that exploit us, and communities that don’t serve us. Huge chunks of life, gone. If time, the currency of life, were treated more like precious metals, maybe we’d care more about the ROI. But, maybe not. Humans have a tough time with the concept of time.
I lose a lot of my time to research. I have not figured out how to calculate the return on that time investment. I know some of my colleagues are less than thrilled when I share something new I want them to try, as it invades their time and contributes to distraction. Some of my clients and other colleagues are very happy that I spend all the time researching so they don’t have to, and I can recommend a tool for them. I even tried to name this as a service while ideating with Sarah a few months ago. We landed on “technology scout,” but I never implemented it. I like it better than Virtual CTO, but still think there’s a better name out there. What do you think?
Anyhow, this newsletter is about keeping things small and simple. You can go big when you launch a new business or product, and maybe you need to to gain market share. But maybe you can start small and lean and be intentional about your growth. In doing so, you keep some control over your reserves of time, your most valuable asset. If you’ve never seen the Wait, But Why “Your Life in Weeks” post, please read it now. I think it will change your perspective. If it doesn’t, I want to know why. Reply to this email and let me know. My hope is that the resources I share and the consulting I provide clears up more time blocks for you each day.
This month, I’m coaching a few friends through the launches of their businesses. I was recently reminded that Techstars has an excellent set of free resources for startups at https://toolkit.techstars.com. My coaching model includes activities to identify ideal clients and create a lean business model canvas. The Techstars Toolkit has some excellent guided worksheets if you want a DIY process. To accompany this, you might find some web-based tools helpful in your process. Currently, I’m using Notion and Whimsical to collaborate with clients and create mindmaps and workflow diagrams. Schedule some time with me if you’d like me to review your progress and help you get to the next level.
The chaos of the last few months has taken a toll on most, if not all, of us, mentally and physically. I am thankful for decent winter weather here in Texas, so I can take daily walks to clear my head or listen to podcasts like Startup and Good Makers. I also like the Insight Timer app for meditations of all kinds. It’s helped me get to sleep faster at night and reset when I need it during the day. Pay attention to your mental health. Take a walk. Find a forest if you can. Take care of yourselves.
This Week in Browsing:
Do You Compute Book
A gorgeous website and timeline.The Great Buccatini Shortage
Superb writing and a wild mystery.
Currently:
📺 Everyone Around You Has a Story the World Needs to Hear
This is the kind of show I want to start - likely as a podcast. Just you and me, telling your stories of success, failure, and learning. Just a chat over coffee or beer and a framing of time and positive imbalance. Interested? Reply to this email.
(Re: the site you recommended with timeline) Viewing on mobile - my first impression was the kerning in the header. Too tight. Not a fan. However, I agree that the timeline is really clean. I liked that format a lot.