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Matt Hogan's Blog Posts

More-Ons

The less I need the better I feel.

I start to need less when I stop listening to those who tell me I need more.

Therefore, the path to feeling better is to get better at avoiding (both literally and virtually) more-ons (the people who turn your mind on to needing more).

Noise [Poem]

It’s quiet up here

Above clouds
Above signals
Above noise

I’m disconnected
And my mind begins to float.

Looking down I imagine

What’s being said
What’s being heard
What’s calling for attention

And I brush at my beard
over what’s not.

Not everything needs noise

To feel seen
To feel heard
To feel connected

But noise isn't the type
To just give in or relent.

The window calls me back

And as I look upon the clouds
And vast sky
And bend of the earth

I feel a deep sense of calm
and—

I glance back at my screen

I clack a few keys
Move around a few lines
And unknowingly wonder how I might

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More In

With exercise: you get out what you put in.

With learning: you get out what you put in.

With relationships: you get out what you put in.

If you don’t feel like you’re getting enough out, try putting more in.

Seeing With First Time Eyes

“Mom we’re flying!”

—said the little girl sitting behind me on her first plane ride ever.

This being the umpteenth time I’ve flown, I opted to try and get extra sleep.

But, with that prompt, I opened my eyes and thought to myself…

Damn. We’re flying.

Mind Seeds

You’re much more likely to grow a tree by planting seeds than you are just waiting for the seeds to plant themselves.

The same is true for growing people.

You’re much more likely to inspire growth in people by planting mind seeds than you are waiting for the seeds to plant themselves.

Digital Age Discipline

The ones who get ahead in the digital age are the ones who know how to discipline themselves with their screens.

These are the people who:

  • Use silent or “Do Not Disturb” mode when sleeping, when spending quality time with people, or when doing deep work.
  • Know how to abstain from constantly checking said phone when it’s on silent/ “Do Not Disturb” mode.
  • Know that eyes communicate priority and know how to look away from screens and into the window of another person’s soul.
  • Understand that turning off any and all unnecessary notifications is key to screen independence and recovering from “ding” addiction.
  • Know how to create restraints on screen time and how to follow them when time is up.

Isn’t it interesting how in the age of information, so many around us still seem to be so lost?

Like how so much of what people are focused on is backwards from what they actually should be focused on?

It all boils down to a priorities imbalance.

What we have to recognize is:

  • A full night of sleep is far superior to a night full of intermittent information gathering.
  • A conversation with undivided attention is exponentially better than a divided one.
  • An uninterrupted block of time for deep work is far more productive than double the time spent juggling deep work with notification checking, call answering, and timeline refreshing.

The urge is to do what’s urgent.

The key to getting ahead is to discipline yourself against that urge and do what’s important instead.

When It’s Time To Leave Work

Remind yourself constantly:

  • My work will never be done.
  • My work will never be done.
  • My work will never be done.
  • My work will never be done.
  • My work will never be done.

And then leave work guilt-free because…

Well, do we need to repeat it again?