Author Archives: Konrad

I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time walking around a hospital in the past few weeks and was struck by the low quality of health of people that were released from the hospital. You have obese people who just barely recovered from surgery and are sent back out into the world knowing that they…More

1. They pollute the air. 2. They’re ugly and take up prime real estate. 3. They promote a sedentary lifestyle. The key in the future will be to create living spaces that promote the habits that make humans happy, healthy and successful. People will look back on our exhaust blackened cities the same way we…More

Its tempting to pick 5 habit to build at once. Resist that temptation. It will be much easier to follow through on one habit. Once you’ve got the hang of 1 habit, usually a few weeks in, pick another one. And so on. Before you know it you’ll have dozens of new habits. But start…More

A few years ago I realized that tasks and comitments were falling through the gaps. I would commit to doing something, often in email, and never get to it. The main problem was that it was increasingly difficult to keep track of the # of emails coming into my inbox. So, I created a system.…More

They’re constantly beeping, showing us shiny objects and telling us how many “important” notifications we’ve missed. Its the ultimate device to get your attention and monetize it in some way. They can be super helpful, if you use them correctly. Too many of us just go with the default settings. Use them mindlessly and we’re…More

Its much easier to chain habits end to end. So, you may have a first habit that triggers a second and a third and so on. This is great because it means that if you can build a good habit chain it will be easier to get more things done in a given amount of…More

Sleeping 7.5 hours a night has become such an ingrained habit that when I break my bedtime, I change my wakeup time. I have never regretted it. I do regret every time I try to sleep 6 hours and snooze for 9. Or every time that I actually do sleep only 6 hours and am…More

Being aware of my habits has changed the way I experience my life. It makes me realize what I’m actually doing on a daily basis. It gives me a baseline to see what my life would be like if I didn’t change anything. I then can make changes to that baseline. Add 1 small new…More

The first “small wins” of habits like exercise and good diet are quickly noticeable. You’ll feel more energy. You’ll be slightly happier. But, the other benefits will take longer. The increased productivity. The increased recognition at work and in your personal life. These can take years. Don’t give up. Don’t think “None of this even…More

There are many contradicting theories out there on how long it takes to build a habit. Some say 3 weeks. Some say 30 days. Some say 90 days. The unfortunate truth is that habits are developed when they are done being developed. This means that you can’t just set a specific amount of time to…More