The Smartest Decisions You Will Ever Make

We did a roll call of power-players and cherry picked their ‘If you could only do one thing, make it this’ pieces of wisdom. Now, go forth and win at life.

- Rebecca Sloan

1 Introduce the ‘Work in Pulses’ Approach

Brigid Schulte, journalist and author of Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time, says: “The thing that helped my productivity more than anything was when I started working in 90-minute pulses. Our brains are wired for novelty, so when we stick with anything for too long (whether work, study, or even wedding planning), it becomes bored and distracted. You can concentrate a lot better when you know a break is coming—so task on/off is an efficient way to work. I literally set a timer for 90 minutes then take a break. I’ll make a cup of coffee or walk around.” Science also shows that when we take time away from a task, our brains have space to ‘incubate’ ideas. That’s why you are hit with brain waves in the shower!

2 Know Your ‘Shower Limits’ and Don’t Let Them Get ‘Dirty’

Renee Ho, author of The Friendship Effect says: “In friendship terms, a ‘shower limit’ is how many days you can go without taking or seeing your friends, until things start to get dirty. In other words, how long before you start feeling distant. I have a different shower limit for different friends—for some it’s about a month, but with others it’s a week.”

3 Use the ‘Sacrifice Now, Enjoy Later’ Mindset