Today marks the end of my seventieth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week seventy:

• Origins – A close friend reminded me of how I began as an entrepreneur. It was unglamorous and at times dangerous (I was dealing with large cash payments from customers). It’s good to think about where I started and how far I’ve come. I believe I’ll share more of those origin-story details going forward.
• Top of mind – Staying top of mind with people can lead to amazing opportunities. I read a book about this years ago, and this week I experienced the power of staying top of mind.
• July – The month is over, and a little more than half the year is over. Time is flying by.

Week seventy was a great one. It was brisk and keep me on my toes. Looking forward to starting August off on a great note.

Today marks the end of my sixty-ninth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week sixty-nine:

• Systems – I told myself I want to implement systems that help me work on things that are important to me in a healthy and sustainable way. This week I made great progress on one of those systems, and I’m already seeing it pay off. Looking forward to finishing it and regularly leaning into something that’s important in a way that’s sustainable and authentic.
• Time to focus – I blocked out some nice chunks of time this week to focus, which helped me move the needle on some big projects. Things ebb and flow, so I need to be flexible, but I want to be more intentional about taking time to focus.
• Juggling – I have a few competing priorities with similar levels of importance. This week it was harder to juggle them, but I got my arms around them more toward the end of the week.  

Week sixty-nine was a busy one. Not hectic, but a lot going on. Looking forward to closing out the month strong next week.

Today marks the end of my sixty-eighth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week sixty-eight:

• Regional capitals – I spent some time looking at different regions of the country and the cities most people think of as their capitals. There doesn’t appear to be a consensus about the southeast—a few cities were mentioned.  
• Reflection – I’ve had a few conversations this week in which people mentioned reflection and how it leads to insights. I think reflection can accelerate learning.
• Learning – A friend shared an interesting observation: reading, thinking, and writing can help make people smarter. He’s got me thinking about this.

Week sixty-eight was a great, productive one. Looking forward to keeping up the momentum next week.  

Today marks the end of my sixty-seventh week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week sixty-seven:

• Short week – Monday was a holiday, so this was a four-day week. Short weeks are nice. The extra day makes a difference. I’d imagine a lot of people took the entire week off.
• Systems – I want to implement systems that help me work on things that are important to me in a healthy and sustainable way. Looking forward to doing that in the second half of the year.
• Events – In-person events are coming back. I’m starting to see more scheduled for this fall. Many are hybrid—they offer a virtual option. I’m curious to see if attendance will be back to pre-pandemic levels.      

Week sixty-seven was a short one. Next week, the pace will be back to normal.

As a founder, I made tons of mistakes. (I often refer to this as stepping on landmines.) Recently I shared one of my more painful stories with a friend. He asked a few questions about why my decision proved incorrect, which I answered. He felt the flaws in my decision should have been apparent from the start and couldn’t understand why I’d made that decision.

The old saying that hindsight is 20/20 is true. Things are often crystal clear when you look backward. You usually have the benefit of complete information. Being in the middle of a situation is very different: you have imperfect information and, often, time constraints.

I explained to my friend what I had perceived the situation to be as it was unfolding versus what I later learned had actually happened. He then understood.

Making decisions with imperfect information is hard, and I’ve gotten it wrong lots of times. I try to make the best decision I can with the information I have. When I finally have the luxury of hindsight, I try not to focus on the outcome. Instead, I aim to learn. In my experience, regardless of the outcome, there’s always something to be learned when you can see everything more clearly.

Hindsight shouldn’t be used to second-guess or critique past decisions. Founders should be careful not to fall into this mental trap. It’s better used as a tool to help people understand what worked and didn't work so they can improve future decisions.

Today marks the end of my sixty-sixth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week sixty-six:

• Holiday – The Fourth of July is this weekend, and many people are preparing to take time off to celebrate. I enjoy holidays and can’t wait to celebrate this one.
• 2nd half – 2021 is halfway over. A lot changed in the last six months, and the time flew by. I’m looking forward to thinking about how the rest of 2021 is unfolding.  
• Disrupting routines – This week has been a major change to my routine. I’ve enjoyed it. It forced me to figure out how to accomplish what’s important to me in different ways.

Week sixty-six was a light one. I’m looking forward to the holiday weekend.

Today marks the start of the second half of 2021. I didn’t realize that 2021 is halfway over until a friend brought it to my attention today. It caught me off guard and got my wheels turning a bit. I reflected on how different from the beginning of the year—and a year ago—things are today.

I figured things would be different this year, but I didn’t anticipate this pace of change. If someone had told me in January that airlines would be canceling summer flights because they can’t find enough staff to meet the demand, I’m not sure I would have believed it. This is the same industry that, with empty flights, significantly cut capacity and received government assistance last year. But here we are today, and that’s exactly what’s happening.

My big takeaway today is that a lot can happen in a short time, and 2021 is a testament to that. I’m looking forward to what’s in store the second half of the year!

Today marks the end of my sixty-fifth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week sixty-five:

• Travel – It’s summer and lots of people are traveling. They’re making up for lost time and looking for a change of scenery. I’m curious to see how productive this summer is compared to last summer.      
• NBA playoffs – The Atlanta Hawks made the NBA Eastern Conference finals and won their first game. It’s amazing how much a sports team can unite a city (when they’re winning). If the Hawks make it to the finals and win, that could fuel more momentum for Atlanta.
• Nonobvious big markets – I’ve been thinking a lot about markets that are both large (or growing quickly) and not obvious to people outside the space.      

Week sixty-five was a steady and productive week. Looking forward to closing out June next week.

Today marks the end of my sixty-fourth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week sixty-four:

• Intention – I’m working on being more intentional in areas where I’m weak and need to make progress. This week was good because I came up with a plan to execute on this goal.      
• Connection – Connecting with people, especially virtually, can be challenging. I was reminded this week how powerful connecting in person can be.  
• Alignment – When working in groups or teams, alignment is important. Not just at the outset, but always. After a few years of working together, it can slip if you’re not intentional. This week was a good reminder of this.
• Heat – It’s getting hot and humid. I’m not looking forward to the July and August heat.

Week sixty-four was a productive week. Looking forward to continuing the momentum next week.

Today marks the end of my sixty-third week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week sixty-three:

• Start Times – I played with starting my days earlier than normal this week. I noticed that I was more productive as I was able to get more things done earlier in the day.
• Measuring  – What get’s measured gets managed. This is true for myself. I noticed the personal things I’m measuring started to move in the direction I was hoping for this week. The measuring helped me realize I wasn’t making progress and motivated me to experiment until I figured out what moved it in the right direction.  
• Moderation – I thought a lot about this lately. I think avoiding extremes works well for my personality and has led to sustainable results. I have to remind myself that moderation is better than quick results.    

Week sixty-three was a great week. The pace was good for me and the change in routine was nice mentally. Hoping for more of the same next week.

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