What I learned last week (#185): going part-time

Illustration of a cross-roads with one path marked "keep going" leading off a cliff and another path marked "change" leading into the forest.

A weekly selection of what I was reading, drawing, writing, and doing.


Last week was kind of a big one as it was the first full week of us living back in our house and the last week of full-time work for me for a while. I’m excited to be off the grid for a bit now taking a much needed respite from my normal routine. Here are a few things that I learned or came across last week.

I learned that all feedback is not equal and that the approach that benefits humans is a combination of appreciation and coaching, not evaluation.

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I was prompted this week at work to describe what factors contribute to my best days.

I published my much-anticipated favorite albums for the month of July.

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I read a great short book on doing hard things called How to Fight a Hydra. Recommended!

A few other things I found this week:

  • Don’t walk around with empty hands – the lesson here about never being a job site with empty hands made me think a lot about how it can also apply to other types of work
  • WHO SAYS I HAVE TO DO IT THAT WAY? – might be because I’m working with trade people all the time now, but I liked this. “The surveyor said “Don’t tell me, I’ve been doing it for twenty years.” The builder said “Well maybe you’ve been doing it wrong for twenty years.” I love that answer.“
  • Giving a Shit as A Service – “find yourself work you can give a shit about. And work with people who give a shit.”
  • Dall-E 2 Explained

Last but not least, check out what I’m up to now.

2 responses

  1. Alvaro Gómez Avatar
    Alvaro Gómez

    I love the concept of “Giving a shit as a service” 🙂

  2. “Giving a shit as a service” — This is awesome. And I happen to experience it once a couple of weeks ago.

    I was in a sport store (Decathlon), eyeing an exercise bike. The bike is simple and non-fussy, so the price itself is not super expensive (not pro gym-standard quality.)

    I asked the staff about the bike, and he mentioned: “Hm. Can I suggest you this series instead? The price is exactly the same, but this series better suited for you as you are quite tall.”

    I asked him how he knows about it. He mentioned that he tried the bike (the one I initially wanted to buy) and he told me how his knees keep bumping to the monitor area. “You and I are on the same height, so I feel you are going to have the same problem like I do had you bought this bike.” I tried, and sure enough, he’s right.

    It was not a super huge problem; only knees-bumping issue. But it will be a big problem if it happens all the time.

    And I am now with a better exercise bike, completely satisfied and happy, because a store staff Gives A Shit.

Comments welcome!

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