“Getting started is more important than becoming an expert.”

Ramit Sethi is an American personal finance advisor and entrepreneur. He graduated from Stanford and released more than 20 online courses. In 2019, a decade after he published his finance book that was read by millions, he released an updated version of I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

I was skeptical about reading a book with a clickbait headline. The book’s been sitting on my want-to-read shelf for months, and it wasn’t until some November winter blues weekend morning that I flipped through the pages.

Best decision ever.

Okay, maybe not ever — proposing to my boyfriend or starting a podcast was an even better choice — but reading Ramit’s book came close. …

Better navigate through uncertain times.

Do you ever waste precious energy by worrying about the future?

If you ever feel you lost your locus of control, it’s likely because you’re spending the majority of your days worrying about things you can’t influence.

As Mark Twain once wrote:

“I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.

If you spend your days worrying about the wrong things, you’ll likely lack the inspiration, energy, and motivation to focus on the things that matter.

Ryder Caroll, the Bullet journal's inventor, once said, “we burn through a lot of resources obsessing over possible outcomes and forming contingency plans, but in reality, we’re just fueling our anxiety. Trying to think our way out of situations beyond our control may feel productive, but it’s nothing more than a powerful distraction. …

Stop procrastination with these baby steps.

James Clear is the habit guru of our times. For years he’s been experimenting with building better habits as an entrepreneur and writer. When you read through his annual reviews from 2013–2019, you’ll realize he’s walking his talk.

You know a book was worth your time when the application of what you read improved your life.

Clear’s Atomic Habits was such a book for me. The 2-Minute Rule improved how I approach new desired habits. It helped me smooth into a daily yoga and meditation practice. …

Crack the core of education and become a lifelong learner.

No life skill can earn you greater dividends than learning how to learn. Yet, most people don’t know how to master learning.

When asked, “Do you study the way you do because somebody taught you to study that way?” a study by Kornell & Bjork showed about 73% of students answered “no.”

Long after school, we continue to rely on ineffective learning strategies like passive consumption, highlighting, or rereading in the hope new knowledge will magically stick to our brain. Most people ignore that humans don’t absorb information and knowledge by reading sentences.

The mediocre majority will continue struggling through life this way, never experiencing the benefits of effective learning. They don’t care enough about the potential benefits to invest in their growth. …

Make lighting, perspective, gestures, and clothes work for you.

We all know the unpleasant surprise that can come with clicking “join this meeting.” Our face on the screen doesn’t meet our hopes. Instead of a suitable applicant, we look like a sleepy band groupie.

Watching your screen face feels like trying tight jeans in a bad lightened fitting room. But in a virtual job interview, the stakes are higher.

As this analysis shows, our appearance can correlate with perceived competence. The more professional we look, the higher our perceived ability.

Our self-perception plays an even larger role in our confidence. …

The 4-step guide to better organization in your life.

James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, wrote that you don’t rise to the level of your goals but fall to the level of your systems. So the best systems aren’t the most sophisticated ones, but the methods you consistently stick to. Only implemented systems can catch you if you fall.

The Bullet Journal system is almost too easy to implement to be true.

In 2017, lying in my student apartment in Santiago de Chile and staring at the method’s description, I almost closed the tab. …

Make your creativity work for you.

Creativity is like Bertie Bott’s every flavor beans, a risk with every mouthful.

“You want to be careful with those. When they say every flavour, they mean every flavour — you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a bogey flavoured one once.”

— Ron Weasley

With every new creation, you dare to eat another Bertie Bott. Even with a solid idea-to-paper process, your creativity will surprise you. You feel moody, surprised, vulnerable, depressed, and enthusiastic while writing the same paragraph. …

How you can better protect your time.

In 2018, I said yes to almost everything. I was a full-time teacher, ran a startup, organized various group travels, and gave a helping hand to any project in need of one. By the end of each 70-hour week, I felt depleted. I had not yet understood how focus works.

Your focus is one big round yes-cake. On any day, you can decide on the pieces you give away. Say yes to 13 things, and you have 13 small yes wedges. Every recipient gets a tiny fraction of your attention and energy. …