January 2024

Happy New Year to All! Last year was crazy and this year looks to be the same. I was able to get a rough draft of my book done; now comes the seemingly never ending editing. I got to know more of you personally through this simple blog for friends and customers of Buresh Home Solutions, Inc and now over the next couple of months we will be posting it outside of that community and hopefully engage with more people. I am also going to pick one social media service to engage with for sharing more content. Thanks to all who have been complimentary and those who basically said I suck! I have learned from both messages and just enjoy doing it and sharing things I found cool.
-BB

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A Quote I’m THinking About….

“Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to chose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way”- Psychiatrist and Holocaust Survivor
Viktor Frankl

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Book & Podcast I Recommend

This week I was lucky enough to catch a podcast where Shane Parrish was a guest and the conversation was great. Many lessons can be taken from the 906th episode on the Jordan Harbinger podcast, but what stuck with me is why it’s so stupid and hard for individuals to never admit they are wrong. I preach this in business but we’re still a work in progress. This was one of the key takeaways I got from Shane’s new book Clear Thinking which I really enjoyed.

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Newsletter Recommendation: The Curiosity Chronicles

Sahil Bloom is an entrpreneur, investor, creator and writer. I find each of his bi-weekly newsletters through provoking. Many ideas gleaned from it have been passed on to our team members. I really liked his 1/17 edition with 20 Powerful Paradoxes of Life and this was one of my favorites that I sent to my whole team.

The Productivity Paradox

Work longer, get less done.

Parkinson’s Law says that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion. When you establish fixed hours to your work, you find unproductive ways to fill it.

Work like a lion instead – sprint, rest, repeat.

I never thought I was working like a lion but over the last two years I have developed a routine that has increased my productivity and creativity. The timing may vary from time to time but a round of focused work followed by a round of rest. Similar to the Pomodoro technique which typically calls for 25 minutes focused work and 5 minute breaks. I have found 20 minutes of focus and 10 minutes of something else has worked best for me. I don’t call it a break because many times I do something else on my list to accomplish in between work sessions like laundry, reading, hot tub…whatever takes my mind off the work.

Learn more about the Pomodoro technique here.

Technique to Help With Stress:4-7-8 Breathing
Here’s a link to a breathing exercise I try to do daily or in moments of elevated stress. I specifically remember one day where I knew my blood pressure was high and we tested it and it was very high. I can’t remember the exact number at this moment but I think close to 156 over 90 or something. I told some of my team I’m going to do a breathing exercise and then we’ll test it again. 5 rounds of the breathing technique and the numbers lowered to 123 over 82. To say the least it was shocking. Other things may have been involved but I feel a real difference when done correctly.

I learned of this technique when listening to Dr. Weil on the Tim Ferriss podcast.