The TEA Framework: Time, Energy, Attention

 

The TEA Framework diagnoses which productivity pillar is broken: Time, Energy, or Attention. Most people apply random solutions without knowing their actual bottleneck.

Time equals calendar capacity, hours on right priorities, saying no, delegation. If no time for what matters, energy and attention are irrelevant. Example: calendar wall-to-wall meetings, no space for deep work, time is bottleneck.

Energy equals sleep quality, physical health, mental state, circadian alignment. If time but no energy, you stare at screen accomplishing nothing. Example: blocked three hours for strategy but exhausted on five hours sleep, energy is bottleneck.

Attention equals eliminating interruptions, single-tasking, goal clarity, mindset management. If time and energy but can't focus, waste best hours on shallow work. Example: two hours free, well-rested, can't focus past five minutes, attention is bottleneck.

Quick diagnostic: Can you sit for twenty-five uninterrupted minutes on important task right now? No equals attention problem. Yes but no twenty-five minutes free equals time problem. Yes and have time but too exhausted equals energy problem.

Fix hierarchy: Time first, energy second, attention last. Don't fix attention when time is broken, wasted effort. Implementation: diagnose bottleneck, pick one fix from that pillar, measure for one week, iterate based on data.

Common mistakes: fixing all three at once creates overwhelm, fixing attention when time broken wastes effort, skipping measurement means no idea if interventions work, giving up after one week when most fixes need two to four weeks.

Follow me Dan Murray for more on habits and leadership

8 Public Speaking Secrets

 

75% of people fear public speaking more than death.

Yet it's the No. 1 skill that accelerates careers.

Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking, held me back for years.

I avoided roles where I'd need to speak a lot.

Declined podcast invitations.

Fear was costing me too much.

Then I found Ultraspeaking.

Here are the 8 techniques that transformed how I speak:

📌 Save these for later.

1. The Accordion Method
→ Compress your talk to 60s, then 30s, then 15s
→ Expand back, keeping only what matters
→ Forces you to find your actual point

2. The Bow & Arrow
→ Your Arrow = the ONE thing to remember
→ Your Bow = supporting evidence

3. The Power Pause
→ Stop for 3-5 seconds after key points
→ Gives your audience time to absorb
→ Silence is powerful, not awkward

4. The 2-3 Word Bookmark
→ Create 2-3 word triggers, don't memorize scripts
→ "Customer save" → your problem-solving story

5. Never Break Character
→ Don't apologize for nervousness or mistakes
→ Your anxiety is invisible until you reveal it

6. The Pushback Pivot
→ Pause and acknowledge: "That's an important point"
→ Reframe: "Here's how I see it..."
→ Use challenges to strengthen your message

7. Use Clarity Prompts when Stuck
→ "The most important thing is..."
→ "If you remember one thing..."

8. The Opening Rule
→ Rehearse your opening 3x more than the rest
→ Early confidence will carry you through

These 8 techniques are just the beginning.

Ultraspeaking is different:

It’s live practice, speaking games, and real-time feedback from other leaders and world-class coaches.

https://tinyurl.com/fzx5djhu

15 Soft Skills that Set High Performers Apart

 

Soft skills sound optional.

They are not.

They're what people experience when they work with you.

Not your resume.
Not your title.
Not your output alone.

How you show up.

In conversations.
In pressure.
In small moments that most people overlook.

High performers don't just focus on what they do.

They focus on how they do it.

Soft Skills That Set High Performers Apart

Here are 15 that make the biggest difference:

1. Listen all the way through

• Don't cut people off
• Try this: Wait 2 seconds before you answer
• Example: In a meeting, you let someone finish even if you already know your response
• Example: On a call, you pause after they stop talking instead of jumping in immediately

2. Show up on time

• Being on time tells people, "You matter"
• Try this: Aim to be 5 minutes early
• Example: You join the meeting early and review notes instead of logging in right at start time
• Example: You're already present when others arrive, not apologizing for being late

3. Do what you say you will do

• Small promises matter
• Try this: Write down every promise you make
• Example: You follow up on a quick "I will send that later" without being reminded
• Example: You track action items in your notes and close the loop within the deadline

4. Stay calm under pressure

• Don't make hard moments harder
• Try this: Take one slow breath before you react
• Example: When something breaks, you ask "What is the next step?" instead of reacting emotionally
• Example: You lower your voice and slow your pace when others start to escalate

5. Ask good questions

• Smart people don't act like they know everything
• Try this: Ask "Can you walk me through that?"
• Example: You ask for context before offering a solution
• Example: You clarify assumptions instead of guessing and moving forward incorrectly

6. Take feedback without getting defensive

• Hear the lesson, not just the sting
• Try this: Say "Thanks - that's helpful"
• Example: You take notes while receiving feedback instead of interrupting
• Example: You follow up later with how you applied the feedback

7. Speak clearly

• Make ideas easy to understand
• Try this: Use shorter words and shorter sentences
• Example: You replace long explanations with a simple summary upfront
• Example: You start with "The main point is..." before adding details

8. Notice what others need

• Don't wait to be told every little thing
• Try this: Ask "What is the most helpful thing I can do?"
• Example: You see someone stuck and offer help before they ask
• Example: You anticipate what your manager will need and prepare it ahead of time

9. Bounce back fast

• Bad days happen - reset and keep going
• Try this: Focus on the next step, not the whole mess
• Example: After a mistake, you immediately identify the next action instead of dwelling
• Example: You reset your focus after a tough meeting and move to the next task

10. Own mistakes

• No blaming, no hiding
• Try this: Say "That one's on me - here's how I'll fix it"
• Example: You proactively flag an issue before someone else finds it
• Example: You bring a solution at the same time you acknowledge the mistake

11. Work well with different people

• You don't need everyone to think like you
• Try this: Look for one thing you can learn from each person
• Example: You adjust your communication style based on who you are working with
• Example: You listen for perspectives you disagree with instead of shutting them down

12. Stay curious

• Curious people keep growing
• Try this: Ask "why" one more time than usual
• Example: You ask follow-up questions instead of accepting surface-level answers
• Example: You explore how something works instead of just completing the task

13. Make others feel seen

• A little respect goes a long way
• Try this: Use people's names and thank them often
• Example: You acknowledge someone's effort in a group setting
• Example: You follow up with a quick thank you after someone helps you

14. Adjust when things change

• Don't fall apart when the plan shifts
• Try this: Ask "What is still in my control?"
• Example: You quickly realign priorities when a deadline changes
• Example: You focus on what can move forward instead of what is blocked

15. Bring good energy

• Not fake energy - steady energy
• Try this: Be the person who helps the room feel lighter
• Example: You stay positive and focused even when things get stressful
• Example: You bring calm, grounded energy into tense conversations

Most of these are simple.

Soft skills can sound "soft."

They are not.

They shape trust, teamwork, and growth faster than most people think.

Pick one.

Practice it today.

Then repeat it tomorrow.

That's how they compound.

- George

https://tinyurl.com/57sd3sdm

Atomic Habits for Finance

 

What if the real difference between an average finance team
and a world-class one wasn’t talent… but habits?

Most teams try to “work harder” during closing, forecasting, or budgeting.
But the truth?

Finance improves in the same way individuals do
through tiny, consistent behaviors that compound over time

That’s why I built this cheat sheet: to translate Atomic Habits into Finance habits you can start today

Here’s what’s inside:

1. How Atomic Habits actually work
Identity, systems, and tiny gains matter more than intensity.
A finance team that sees itself as reliable and data-driven behaves differently.

2. The 4 Laws applied to Finance

1: Cue – Make it obvious
– Clear dashboards
– Daily stand-ups
– Simple finance scorecards
– Habit stacking during closures and POs

2: Craving – Make it attractive
– Temptation bundling (variance analysis + coffee)
– Social groups that celebrate clean and on-time data
– “Forecast accuracy leaderboard” for business units
– Motivation rituals in meetings

3: Response – Make it easy
– Smaller, more frequent forecasting cycles
– Pre-built templates for P&L, variance, board packs
– Standard naming conventions
– The 2-minute rule: if it takes <2 minutes, do it now

4: Reward – Make it satisfying
– Show reduced cycle times and error drops
– Visible payoff dashboards
– Track on-time submissions & forecast accuracy trends
– Reward behaviors that stick

1% daily improvement
A finance team improving 1% per day becomes 37× better after one year
Tiny process improvements beat massive transformation projects

How to break bad habits
– Make them invisible (remove distractions)
– Make them unattractive (highlight cost of errors)
– Make them difficult (add friction to bad habits)
– Make them unsatisfying (reinforce consequences)

Finance excellence isn’t built in Q4 but it’s built in the daily routines you repeat all year

💬 Which habit are you implementing first?

https://tinyurl.com/4hz3hjny

3 Easy, Unsexy AI Workflows that Will Save You 7 Hrs per Week

 

If you’re frustrated that you don’t know how to use agentic workflows to automate your work but you want to learn, this is for you.

It’s easy to see the viral Tweets and articles of people exclaiming how awesome their new AI system is and feel restless, stressed and left behind.

We know that this is the future of work, but how do we actually start using this?

Everyone will tell you you’re behind, but I’m here to tell you the opposite.

Claude Cowork has only been in existence for four months.

You’re still early.

And I’m going to give you 3 unsexy agentic workflows you can use to automate your work.

You don’t need to be technical. You just need to be willing to try it out.

Why unsexy automations?

Because usually the most useful AI use cases are unsexy.

Most of our time goes to a myriad of random tasks — writing follow-up emails, compiling reports, pulling numbers from dashboards. These random, unsexy and seemingly inconsequential tasks are our biggest opportunities.

Why listen to me?

I’m the head of product at a startup and 4 weeks ago, I automated 3 tasks that saved me 7 hours of busy work in a week.

I’ve been leading teams and building digital products for about 10 years, and most importantly, I have nothing to sell you.

So, with that out of the way, let’s get into it.

3 easy use cases that will save you 7 hours/week

Think of these as examples and jumping off points for you. Look for your analogous tasks.

Your imagination is most likely the limiting reagent to what’s possible, so let’s feed it some ideas.

1. Use case 1: Last week I left 4 back-to-back meetings and opened Gmail to find 6 draft emails waiting for me — each one based on what was actually discussed in the meeting. They were suspiciously accurate. I reviewed and sent all of them in about 12 minutes. That used to take me over an hour.
2. Use case 2: I used to spend forever writing weekly reports to my team. Before the automation, I had to DM people to remind them to send me their updates so I could compile them into a bigger report. Now I check Slack and see the draft report already written. I adjust a few sentences and hit send.
3. Use case 3: I need to send regular updates on KPIs and metrics. Usually this requires checking multiple analytics dashboards and cobbling together an analysis. Now my automation has created a draft that’s 90% of the way there. I update the remaining 10% and send to my team.

So how do I actually build these out? (OVERVIEW)

Here are the speedy instructions so you can get a sense for the process below, and then I’ll walk through a specific example below.

1. Download Claude desktop and get the $20/mo subscription. I recommend Claude because it can build automations for you, which ChatGPT can’t do. If you want to compare the quality of their outputs, give them both the same prompt and see for yourself.
2. Click the “Cowork” tab. Cowork can create automations for you, while Chat cannot.
3. Describe to Claude Cowork the automation you want to create and ask it the best way to do that.
4. Do what it says and use your brain matter to double check the logic.
5. KEY TIP: for emails, Slacks, or any actual output, clarify you only want a draft and that it shouldn’t send anything out. You should be the final sender.
6. Connect the MCPs (connections to your tools) you need.
7. Test the automation
8. Fix the automation

The instructions here are light because when you hit step #3, you’ll need to follow Claude’s personalized instructions for your situation.

If you get stuck on a step, show Claude where you got stuck and ask it how to get past it.

That’s going to be way more helpful to you than if I give you the step by step of how I created my own automations, because your setup will be different.

Deep dive example: how I created an automation that listens to my calls and drafts any emails I need to write

This is the most valuable automation I’ve created.

I realized that a lot of my work came out of meeting action items, and that if my AI buddy Claude could listen into those meetings, I’d have to provide a lot less context to it manually when I asked it to help me with those action items.

I use Granola to record and transcribe all my calls and my company uses Gmail, so the first thing I did was to connect the Granola and Gmail MCPs (Claude calls them “Connectors”) to Claude so that it could access both.

You can add “Connectors” or MCPs by clicking Customize < Connectors < + button.

Connecting the tools here was sooo easy, it was awesome. And the information and tasks that my automations can now access and execute are tenfold.

Write a prompt of what you want to do

I dug up my old prompt to see what I wrote. Seeing how it’s written, I probably used dictation (highly recommend).

My prompt:

Can you create a daily automation searching for any calls that I have in granola and then find any action items that I need to do and then draft up a summary of my action items and then actually complete them.

If an email needs to be written, then I want you to generate a draft and let me know that I need to review it. If a user story or linear ticket needs to be written, same thing.

Draft it and let me know what the outstanding questions are and let me know so that I can review it.

Use that microphone icon and speak your prompts to your AI rather than typing it all out.

You’ll provide it more context, and it’ll perform better as a result.

Here’s a screenshot of the actual prompt I dictated to claude

This prompt isn’t winning any Pulitzer awards, but I lean towards making the initial prompts simple and giving it context where it asks.

I only spend time on the prompt when it’s a bigger or more complex task. Otherwise, I figure it out as I go.

Claude will ask you for more detail when needed, and you’ll realize where you need to provide more detail as you build it.

(For instance, I initially didn’t specify how often this automation should run. I later realized that I needed the automation to run every 30 minutes to check for any meetings that I just had.)

Be patient setting it up.

I had a lot of back and forth with this automation and I’m going to be honest with you, it had me banging my head against my Mac after the 7th repeat error.

But don’t give up.

We’re early to the tech, and there are pros and cons to that.

Think of it like training a new employee, and don’t give up just because it takes longer to set up than it would take to do it manually the first time.

The first couple times, it takes longer.

And then you never have to do it again.

The moment your automation works is a beauty like no other. Screenshot of the emails and user stories that my automation wrote for me right after a meeting I had.

How to troubleshoot when you’re not technical

The biggest issue I ran into was that the automation didn’t run when it was supposed to. It would just… not trigger.

I told Claude “hey, the automation was supposed to run at 10:30am but it didn’t — what happened and how do we prevent this?”

We ended up making a second automation to monitor the first one and fix it when needed. Automation babysitting another automation.

Welcome to the future.

Another issue: the email drafts were pulling action items from the wrong meeting. I told Claude which email was wrong, what meeting it should have pulled from, and asked it to fix the matching logic. It adjusted the automation and I haven’t had the issue since.

The pattern is always the same: describe what went wrong, what you expected, and ask Claude to fix it and prevent it from happening again.

In the beginning, you need to double check the automation’s work several times. That’s normal. You’re training it.

The more specific your feedback, the faster it gets good.

What does life look like after these 3 automations?

First of all, it’s extremely empowering to create your own personalized automations.

When you create your own automated systems, you are literally multiplying your impact and effectiveness in a way that was never possible before.

You become way more valuable as an employee, way more effective as a business owner, and you’re starting to learn how to coexist in the AI age.

Second of all, as the title suggests, I eliminate at least 7 hours of menial, boring, repetitive tasks a week through these 3 automations.

I don’t have to follow up with teammates about weekly reporting, I’m not writing tactical emails from scratch, and I’m not cobbling together an analysis across multiple dashboards.

I’m simply reviewing and editing content that has already been created for me, which is a lot faster and easier.

These 3 automations save me at least 7 hours of menial, boring, repetitive work a week. That’s almost a full work day I get back to spend on things that actually require my brain.

Now it’s your turn.

Download the Claude desktop app, click the Cowork tab, and try this prompt:

“I want to automate [your repetitive task]. Here’s how I currently do it: [your steps]. How can we automate this?”

Start with whatever task annoys you the most.

That’s your best first automation.

Ally Mexicotte

https://tinyurl.com/3bxunavu

9 skills of the most succesful people

 

Everyone talks about their degree.

Nobody talks about the skills that actually separate winners from everyone else.

Here are the 9 that changed my career: 👇

——

The pattern nobody mentions:

39% of your current skills will be useless in 5 years.

87% of professionals say continuous learning is no longer optional for success.

Your degree got you in the door.
These skills keep you there.

——

1/ 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

By 2030, 85% of jobs will be roles that don't exist today.

Apply what you learn immediately.
Schedule weekly learning time.
Share insights with others.

——

2/ 𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

Practice active listening.
Reflect on your reactions daily.
Manage stress before it manages you.

——

3/ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲

Say no to non-urgent tasks.
Use the Eisenhower Matrix.
Batch similar work together.

——

4/ 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

Build daily routines for mental health.
Keep moving forward despite obstacles.
Reframe setbacks as growth opportunities.

——

5/ 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Listen to understand, not to respond.
Use clear, concise language.
Practice nonverbal cues.

——

6/ 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠

75% of employers rank this as a top skill.
It increases productivity by 25%.

Break problems into smaller parts.
Challenge assumptions actively.
Seek diverse viewpoints.

——

7/ 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲

Stay open to new methods.
Learn from feedback quickly.
Adjust your approach as needed.

——

8/ 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲

Workers at high-trust companies have 50% higher productivity.

Commit to deadlines consistently.
Follow through on every promise.
Communicate proactively about challenges.

——

9/ 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲

Try hobbies outside your routine.
Practice brainstorming techniques.
Connect unrelated ideas regularly.

——

The truth nobody wants to hear:

Technical skills expire.
These skills compound forever.

Your career isn't built on what you know.
It's built on how quickly you can learn
what you don't.

Which skill are you working on this week?

https://tinyurl.com/muh32etw