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Opportunities Cost You: Why "Yes" Actually Means "No"

Human experience works out such that inside any “yes” is also a “no.” But investing effort in activities like study lets us engage better with life as a result.

March 17, 2025 Â· 3 min Â· J. David Stark
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You Need to Know What You Want to Accomplish in 2025

What do you want to accomplish in the next year? Intentionally planning with these 5 steps will help you make the most of it.

January 13, 2025 Â· 15 min Â· J. David Stark
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You Need to Know What's Essential

The beginning of the school year is one natural time to take stock of what lies ahead. Demands mount (or are about to). How can we stay afloat?

May 27, 2024 Â· 3 min Â· J. David Stark

Daily Gleanings: Saying No (13 December 2019)

Michael Hyatt suggests five reasons to cultivate the skill of gracefully saying no.

December 13, 2019 Â· 1 min Â· J. David Stark

Daily Gleanings: Missing Out (20 November 2019)

Daily Gleanings about the need to miss out on some things in order engage most fully with what’s most important.

November 20, 2019 Â· 1 min Â· J. David Stark

Daily Gleanings: Knowledge Work (22 August 2019)

Daily Gleanings about the challenges inherent in knowledge work and ways of balancing productive work with healthy engagement in the rest of life.

August 22, 2019 Â· 2 min Â· J. David Stark

Daily Gleanings (11 June 2019)

Michael Thomas discusses the importance of sleep for knowledge work through the lens of a couple key anecdotal narratives. Todoist has published a helpful introduction to “GTD practices and what [they] think is the most intuitive way to implement the[se practices] in Todoist.” The essay comments, in part, that “the key to GTD isn’t the techniques or tools you use to execute tasks but rather the habits you employ on a daily basis to think about and prioritize your work.” ...

June 11, 2019 Â· 1 min Â· J. David Stark

Daily Gleanings (30 April 2019)

Gleanings about focus, distraction, social media, and essentialism.

April 30, 2019 Â· 1 min Â· J. David Stark

Daily Gleanings (17 April 2019)

Gleanings about focus and the Kurzgefasste Liste.

April 17, 2019 Â· 1 min Â· J. David Stark

Are You Free to Focus? (Part 2: Stopping)

This post continues reviewing Michael Hyatt’s book “Free to Focus.” Here we concentrate on Hyatt’s advice about “stopping” to to discern what’s important.

April 15, 2019 Â· 3 min Â· J. David Stark

Daily Gleanings (8 April 2019)

Gleanings about essentialism and Charles Quarles's Matthean theology.

April 8, 2019 Â· 1 min Â· J. David Stark
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All the Best to You for a Merry Christmas 2024!

I’m celebrating Christmas. If you are also, I hope you’ll enjoy those who matter most to you and reflect on the elements of lasting value in the season.

December 27, 2018 Â· 2 min Â· J. David Stark

A Conversation about Essentials

Michele Cushatt, Michael Hyatt, and Greg McKeown discuss “essentialism,” which is about saying “yes” to what matters most.

November 26, 2018 Â· 3 min Â· J. David Stark