📆 2FA for your calendar
Hello! Adam Thornhill here. ‘The Podcast Guy’ saving you 10 hours a week.
Enjoy the 86th Podup with the best bits from The Knowledge Project.
Your future self seems like a superhero. You expect them to accomplish much more than your present self. But this disconnect can lead to stress. Naval Ravikant says there’s a more mindful approach to time management - 2FA for your calendar. This helps curb your tendency to overcommit.
Don't overcommit
There's two-factor authentication when you log into a website. If your password gets stolen, the hacker doesn't have your phone so they can't login. I wish there was a two-factor code on my calendar because present me makes promises for future me.
I see future me as this dynamic, high-energy individual who shows up to every meeting. I want to get a lot of things done so I say yes to all these commitments in the future. But when future me arrives, it’s actually present me. I’m lazy, hungry, and tired.
I want to factor against myself. For every commitment, I should write it down and then check back in 48 hours. I can then ask myself if I want to commit to doing this, or even better, ask if this is something I want to commit to doing right now.
Naval Ravikant
Why it matters
We’ve all experienced burnout from taking on too much. This stems from how we perceive and treat our future self. The 2FA calendar concept can help foster balance in our lives and ensure we spend our time on the things that truly matter.
But is this just another productivity hack you'll ignore? Probably. The reality of running a business means we have less time to make decisions. Waiting 48 hours isn’t feasible. Instead, you can adopt the Derek Sivers mantra of 'If you're not saying hell yes right now then you should be saying no.' It's simpler and a lot easier to implement.
Next steps
Thinking of adding a two-step verification to your calendar? Here's a more realistic version:
Write down your commitments. Capture every meeting or task you're considering adding to your calendar.
Wait and reassess. Take 10 minutes at the end of every day to accept or reject each commitment based on how they align with your priorities.
Prioritize present you. Is this something you want to do tomorrow? If the answer is no, it probably doesn’t belong on your calendar.
Plan your day. You can also use this time to clarify the one big thing you want to achieve tomorrow.
Your thoughts?
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Quotes were pulled at different points of the episode. Sentences were left out to make the narrative more concise. Podup is not associated or affiliated with any podcast.