Josh's Blog

Category: Habits

  • A Typing Tip

    Random fact I wish I knew before: I went back to typing.com to practice typing numbers and actually watched the video I normally skip. If you want to know what finger to use to type a number, just count your fingers starting with your pinky finger on your left hand. Your pointer fingers count for…

  • “What’s The Most Important Thing I Need To Do Today?

    What’s Most Important? I love Essentialism by Greg McKeown. He asks lots of great questions in the book that help to determine what really matters. Here’s one: “What’s the most important thing I need to do today?” The answer is ONE thing that if done would make a satisfactory day. A Story About This Important…

  • Writing, Living, and Resting

    Writing, Living, and Resting

    I used to write about life a lot more than I really invested in living it. I have some catch-up work to do in living by the principles I’ve preached. That catch-up work may occupy my attention to the point that I may not write here as much. You may have already noticed this in…

  • Motivation Doesn’t Matter Without Implementation

    Motivation Doesn’t Matter Without Implementation

    Being Specific “How?” is a universal and often neglected question. What follows is my opinion that I consider fact. Students don’t need to hear ” behave yourself”, or “do your best”. They need to hear “sit quietly and don’t poke anyone”, and “work through sections 1 through 4. If you don’t understand anything, ask me…

  • Do What Works, Even if It’s Not Hard

    Do What Works, Even if It’s Not Hard

    Do What Works, Even if It’s Not Hard I think there’s a tendency to feel like if we don’t do something the hard way, we’re cheating. While that is true sometimes, most problems are best solved through easy solutions even if they might be harder to find. Example: My time to write is often on…

  • Simplifying the Complex: Post-Appointment Tasks

    Simplifying the Complex: Post-Appointment Tasks

    “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu When facing a complicated problem, it is easier to avoid the problem then it is to figure out how to solve it. The key is to break it down into a series of single steps. A hundred hour project with a…

  • Batch Tasks to Increase Performance and Conserve Energy

    Batch Tasks to Increase Performance and Conserve Energy

    I was recently watching a Thomas Frank video where he was talking about batching tasks to save time and energy. The concept is simple: You take tasks that are similar and do them all at once. He uses the example of how he batches his high energy tasks earlier in the day when he has…

  • Learning Skills Quickly: One Habit at a Time

    Learning Skills Quickly: One Habit at a Time

    One Thing at a Time Learning skills quickly is the process of mastering new habits. In my last year of speech competition, I decided to focus on developing my speaking skills. I grabbed a few of my friends who were exceptional speakers and had them listen to my speech. When I was done, they gave…

  • Reading With Purpose

    The difference between reading and studying a book is not always obvious. We can learn a lot of good information while reading a book only to forget it a few days later. Studying allows us to both read and apply what we learn. I recently listened to a lesson from a writing program I’m in…

  • Which rocks do you put in first?

    Picture this: You have a mix of big and small rocks you’re trying to put in a jar.  Which ones do you put in first? If you put the small rocks in first, the big ones won’t fit. If you put the big rocks in first, the small rocks fit neatly into the cracks. This…