Things That Compound

I keep a short list of things I believe compound. The list is short on purpose. Long lists are aspirational; short lists are accountable. I revise it about once a year, usually in January, when the temptation to add things is the strongest and should be resisted the most.

The list, this year

• Writing things down. Not for the audience — for the version of me who shows up next Tuesday and has forgotten.
• Returning calls within the day. This is unfashionable advice and it is also correct.
• Saying "I don't know" early. It costs less than saying it late.
• Reading on paper, sometimes. The medium isn't sentimental. It changes what you remember.
• Sleep. I am still not great at this. The list is honest, not flattering.

Things I removed this year

• Inbox zero. It was a craft that did not survive contact with my actual job. I moved to inbox-deferred and have been happier.
• Goal-setting in calendar quarters. The unit was too short for anything that mattered and too long for anything I could move tomorrow. I now think in months and in years and skip the bit in between.
• Reading more. Too vague. Replaced with "finish what I start, or stop."

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The point of the list is not the list. The point is the act of writing it down once a year, alone, on a Sunday, with the door closed. The list is the receipt.

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— Everett