A brief recap of previous lessons we learned from Thomas Limoncelli:

1. Time Management Principles tells us not to trust our brains for remembering things; our brain power should be conserved for doing things.
2. Keep Focus and Handle Interruptions identifies the archenemy of productivity - interruptions. Fortunately, we can handle them with certain techniques.
3. Radical Automation with Routines let us know that the best way of not thinking is to develop good mantras, routines, habits. The so-called ==radical automation==.
4. Introducing the Cycle System is unveiling his secret sauce to the “perfect-through” by using the cycle system that contains to-do list, schedule, calendar, and life goals.

Today, let us focus on how to operate the cycle system.

To Do Lists and Schedule​

Everyday, repeat the following process.

1. Start a new day with planning.

2. Create a schedule. Fill in with meetings and appointments. So we can estimate the time left for working on tasks.

   1. Schedule one hour per day for interruptions

3. Create to-do list. Remember to count the hours in those tasks because this helps you estimate the workload.

4. Prioritize and Reschedule.

   1. Too often people are too optimistic about the tasks they can finish in one day, so please ==deal with overflow carefully==.
      1. move low priority tasks to the next day
      2. break up a large chunk into small pieces
      3. reduce the task’s scope
      4. delegate
      5. your boss might feel impressed by your to-do list (wow, it's full!), and they will be glad to help you prioritize those tasks. (Let bosses feel in control.)
      6. postpone the meeting if you really have to present yourself
      7. do not work late

5. Work the plan

   1. Work on the tasks in order from high-to-low-priority tasks
   2. Take the momentum to finish tasks one by one.
   3. ==Once in a while, pause to stretch or take a quick walk around the building with your laptop, which makes you look on your way to something important==

6. Finish the day with a review and reschedule

   1. Ensure unfinished tasks receive sufficient attention, which means they are ==managed== and not forgotten.

How to deal with new tasks during the day?

• reshuffle and reschedule accordingly

Calendar Management​

==Never miss a meeting and show up on time. It demonstrates your responsibility reliability. And the secret is to always use your calendar and don’t trust your brain to agree an appointment without checking your calendar==. If you are going to be late or miss an appointment, always call.

The calendar is the place to put events fixed to happen in a certain time range. They can be:

1. Appointments and meetings
2. Milestones
3. Future to do items
4. Repeating tasks

==Adjust yourself according to your personal rhythms and your company's rhythms.== Most important (high-impact) work should be scheduled to peak hours you can focus with the highest energy level.

Balance is important. Work, family life, social life, volunteer work, personal projects, sleep are all important and can be scheduled well with a centralized calendar.

Life Goals​

You will achieve more if you set goals. And setting a goal without working toward it is better than having no goals at all. If you haven’t determined what your goals are, you cannot spot the few opportunities that do cross your path by chance.

The secret lies in writing down your goals. Apply the SMART principles during the goal-setting. (Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Relevant, Time-based). However, stretching the goals and challenging yourself is very important to boost personal growth. Keep those goals in two dimensions:

1. Time. In 1 month, 1 year, or 5 years?
2. Roles. Personal or Professional Goals?

Then develop strategies for those goals -

1. ==Diagnose== the current status and identify the major challenges
2. ==Find guiding policies== that will derive new advantages over time
3. ==Act coherently==. All the actions and resources should be aligned to follow the guiding policies to fulfill the goals.

When working on those goals over time, be sure to keep up with the system. Periodically review them per month, quarter, and year, which includes:

1. Goal review
2. Step review

Finally, use your calendar for this repeated “Goal & Next Step Review.”

In summary...

1. If I am running a new startup and do not want to build my own auth systems, go with auth0.
2. If I am running a company that needs integrations of enterprise services, then go with onelogin for their compliance.
3. Google Firebase is awful and not easy to migrate in the future. Google would better consider acquiring auth0.

	Auth0	Okta	Amazon Cognito	onelogin	Firebase Authentication
Send Welcome Email after Signup	Template provided	❌	❌	❌	event handler provide but need email vendor integration
Customer Type	B2C, B2B, B2E	B2C, B2B, B2E	?	B2E	❌
SSO	✅	✅	✅	✅	?
MFA	Push Notification, SMS	Authenticator, SMS, Voice Call, Security Question	SMS, Authenticator	Push, SMS, Authenticator	SMS
Social Login / Public Identity Providers	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Login Rules Engine / Policy	✅	✅	❌	✅	❌
RBAC / Group-based	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Cross-platform SDK	Web, Mobile, Native	Web(Angular, Node.js, React, PHP, Java, .NET), Mobile(iOS, Android), Native (Java, .NET), Machine-to-machine	✅	raw examples	iOS, Android, Web, C++, Unity,
Industry Standards	SAML, OpenID Connect, JWT, OAuth2.0, OAuth1.0a, WS-Federation, OpenID	SAML identity provider	OAuth2.0, SAML2.0, OpenID Connect	SAML 1.1 and 2.0 WS-Federation 2005 SCIM 1.1 and 2.0 OAuth 1.0 and 2.0 OpenID Connect 1.0 JSON Web Token (JWT) Integrated Windows Authentication (IWA)	❌
Analytics	✅	✅	aws Pinpoint	❌	❌
General SLA	99.95%	99.97%	❌	99.98%	❌
Passwordless	Touch ID, Email Magic Link, SMS	❌	❌	❌	❌
Anomaly Detection	1. Brute-force ProtectionLimit the amount of signups and failed logins from a suspicious IP address.2. Breached-password Detection. Detects login attempts with credentials that have been known to be breached.	Risk-based authentication	❌	Risk-based authentication	❌
Anomaly Detection Reactions	Email notificationBlock IP	❌	❌	❌	❌
Providing User Profile / Directory Store	✅very extensive	✅W/ Management Metrics: Total Users, Authentications, Failed Logins, System Log	✅access configured by Apps	✅	✅very limited fields
Workflows - Email address verification	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅
Workflows - Email address change	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅
Workflows - Forgot password	✅limited page customization	✅email templates	✅email/SMS template	✅no UI customization	✅
Workflows - Lockout Self-Service	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌
AD/LDAP integration	✅	✅	AD	AD	❌
Compliance	SOC 2 Type II, EU-US Privacy Shield Framework, HIPAA, OpenID Connect	HIPAA, EU, and FED compliance	PCI DSS Compliance and is HIPAA Eligible	ASSURANCE PROGRAMS: SOC 2 Type 2 SOC 1 Type 2 ISO 27017:2015 ISO 27018:2014 ISO 27001:2013 SECURITY PROGRAMS: Skyhigh Enterprise-Ready CSA STAR PRIVACY PROGRAMS: TRUSTe Certified Privacy U.S. Privacy Shield GDPR EU Model Contract Clauses VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT: Penetration Tests Network Scans Bug Bounty Program OTHER INITIATIVES: HIPAA FFIEC / GLBA NIST Cybersecurity Framework G-Cloud FERPA	❌
User Devices Management	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌

Deliberate practice is now likely a widely recognized concept. To reach a high level of mastery in a particular field, you need to practice with focus, repetition, volume, and speed, and only practice within your learning zone.

Taking vocabulary memorization as an example, the most efficient way to memorize a vocabulary book is to first memorize the first word in each chapter, then the first two; then the first three; and so on, until you reach the last word N. After that, reverse the order of the chapter and memorize it again using the same method. Additionally, apply the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve to schedule your review sessions. This is akin to Mario jumping through warp pipes, or Xiao Lin discovering the secret sword manual.

Deliberate Practice is Not Surprising​

Deliberate practice is especially important in the software engineering industry because programming is essentially a craft. The question we need to ask today is: can you dominate the industry solely through deliberate practice and your exceptional skills?

The answer is, of course, no. We both know that simply writing good code is far from enough. I often say that there are three factors for promotion: having resources, having people, and having credibility. Resources refer to whether you can handle your work with ease; people refer to whether the decision-makers for your promotion are in your network and willing to advocate for you; credibility refers to whether your achievements and words can convince others. Writing good code, at best, accounts for one-third of the equation. If you fail in the other two-thirds, you risk losing your job!

The book "People Who Won't Be Replaced by Machines" tells a story about Southwest Airlines hiring a highly skilled IT engineer who isolated himself in his office, focusing solely on his work and refusing to engage with others. The boss told him that this approach was not acceptable because the company culture at Southwest Airlines emphasized communication, and he was subsequently fired.

Technology is Not a Moat​

You might say, "Fine, I won't collaborate with others. I don't need a company; the genius code I develop through deliberate practice can serve everyone on my own." Can this lead to global domination?

The answer is likely no—unless your development and learning speed can sustain the entire lifecycle of large-scale internet services all by yourself.

Uber's founder, Travis Kalanick, once said that technology is layered; once a layer of technology matures, it gradually becomes less important, while new layers become more advanced and iterate faster based on the previous ones. Therefore, we can conclude that the skills you painstakingly practice begin to lose their significance from the moment they are formed. I strongly agree with what Ruan Yifeng mentioned:

In software development, technology changes so rapidly that the time you invest in learning technologies and tools can render your knowledge worthless once those technologies are replaced, as most of it consists of implementation details.

It's no wonder Warren Buffett's moat theory also asserts that technology is not a moat because it will ultimately be replicated by others.

Steve Jobs' Answer​

I once pondered deeply: since the internet age is fleeting, how can I ensure that I won't be swept aside? Upon reviewing Steve Jobs' speech at Stanford University, I found the answer. Although he shared three stories and offered one piece of advice, I believe it essentially boils down to two points.

==First, face life's uncertainties with love and death==. Because of your passion, you imbue your work with immense meaning. Life is short; if you don't pursue it, you might as well die. Therefore, even if you are cast out, even if you achieve financial freedom and retire at 30, you will still persist in doing meaningful things you love. Faust's life is filled with suffering, yet the divine grants him ultimate redemption. Don Quixote's life is also fraught with hardship, yet readers are inspired by his spirit.

==Second, be a fool and never be satisfied==. Jobs believed that regardless of whether you achieve great success through the first point, you should never settle for the status quo—strive for your ideals, break conventions, persevere, and always protect the inner child within you.

You may wonder, "These lofty worldviews are indeed fascinating, but what relevance do they have for you and me? Or what guiding significance do they hold for our lives?"—"I understand the principles, yet I still struggle to live well."

I believe that borrowing from the concept of deliberate practice, exploring the unknown in a structured and methodical way is what we call ==deliberate curiosity==. Curiosity is not about hosting banquets, writing articles, or painting; it cannot be that elegant, that composed, that refined, or that humble. Curiosity is a rebellion, a fierce action of an individual exploring a complex world.

Deliberately Explore the World​

This fierce action must be organized and premeditated. You need to manage your reading, chatting, watching, and listening inputs like you manage your financial investments. Your investment portfolio consists of 24 hours a day—what percentage do you allocate to health, work, family, and input? Within that input, what percentage do you dedicate to technology, economics, management, psychology, design, politics, the future, and history? What channels do these pieces of information come from? Are those channels trustworthy?

==The information we input shapes our thoughts, just as the food we eat shapes our bodies. In his book "The Creative Curve," Allen Gannett interviewed numerous creative individuals and summarized this principle: 20%. To create and maintain cultural awareness and understand what resonates with the public, you must spend 20% of your waking time each day absorbing knowledge in your field.==

This is not easy, but at the very least, we can ask ourselves daily: before meeting someone today, did I prepare any interesting questions to ask them? When solving a problem today, did I consider faster, better, or stronger solutions? During a meeting today, did I ask myself what else I could learn from the other person? Hu Shi said, "Talk less about ideologies, ask more questions," which embodies deliberate curiosity.

Final Summary​

Gaze at the stars with deliberate curiosity, and stay grounded with deliberate practice. What worries do we have that our daily endeavors won't come to fruition?

The Greeks uses those persuasive tricks (schemes)​

You are already familiar with many of the tricks:

1. Analogy (my love is like a cherry)
2. Oxymoron (pretty ugly)
3. Rhetorical question (do I have to explain this one?)
4. Hyperbole (the most amazingly great figure of all)
5. Coyness (Dad gifts me a new iWatch ... but I say "oh, you shouldn’t have")
6. Dialogue (teenagers are especially fond of this: Alice said what and then I sad what and then Charlie said what)
7. Speak-round (“He Who Must Not Be Named”)

The secrets lie in figures of speech​

Figures of speech - Making words presented differently by repetition, substitution, sound, and wordplay. Making words sound differently by skipping, swapping, etc.

1. Repeated first word: use a lot of “and” to start the sentence while thinking what to say.

   1. e.g., And God said, let there be light: and there was light. 2., e.g. Political figures substitute “um” or “you know” with “and” when thinking what to say.

2. Multiple yoking

   1. e.g., he gets it past two defenders, shoots … misses… shoots again… goal!

3. Idiom

4. Self-answering question

   1. e.g., “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!”

5. Tropes: swapping

   1. Metaphor
   2. Irony
   3. Synecdoche: White House
   4. Metonymy

Twist a cliche​

Win the intelligent audience by twisting the expression. For example, adding a surprising end. e.g.

• Friend: it’s excellent book for killing time.
• You: sure, if you like it better than dead.

The Yoda technique of switching​

==The mighty ABBA sentences (chiasmus)==, e.g.

1. Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.
2. Let’s not settle for swimming with the sharks. Let’s make the sharks want to swim with us.

Or even more, ==inserting a pun into a chiasmus.== e.g.

• a birthday card for a friend who turns 40. Front: “what kind of party suits bob’s birthday?” Back with a photo of naked two-year-old bob: “the kind where he wears his birthday suit.”

How Churchill Got Rhythm?​

Dialysis: Either... or... e.g., George W Bush: you’re either with us, or you’re with the terrorists.

Antithesis: Not... but... e.g., The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity.

Say yes and no at the same time​

• Edit yourself loud, which makes the narrative sound more fair and accurate. (Correction figure)
• No-yes sentence. (Also dialysis)
  • e.g.
    • friend: he seems like a real straight shooter
    • you: straight, no. shooter, yes.
  • e.g.
    • lover: you seem a little put out with me this morning.
    • you: put out, no. furious, yes.

We are not unamused​

• litotes 緩叙法 *, e.g. OJ Simpson’s appearance at a horror comic book convention: I’m not doing this for my health.
• climax *, e.g. A little neglect may breed great mischief…for want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost.

For fun: Invent new words​

Inventing new words is dangerous in high school or a government agency. However, it is impactful so we would better use it wisely.

examples of inventing

1. Verging. Turn a noun into a verb or vice versa. (e.g., Google it!)
2. *-like figure. (e.g., God-like!)

How can we maximize the creation of a long-term, billion-dollar non-transactional company focused on end users?

Establish sustainable user engagement through three levels:

1. User Growth: Focus on the growth of users completing ==core actions==.

2. User Retention: The longer the product is used, the greater its value, and the greater the loss when users leave.

3. Self-Sustaining: As users engage (or leverage) their participation, they create a ==positive feedback loop== within the product.

   • Pinterest excels in this area
     • Network effects
     • Re-engaging users through new UGC (User-Generated Content)
     • Viral content recommendations
   • Evernote and Tinder, on the other hand, have not performed as well in this regard.

1. People make the mistake of focusing too much on the content of their argument and ==not enough on how they deliver that message==. Certain buzzwords only work for certain executives.
2. Finding the chief decision maker and then tailoring the arguments can vastly improve the chances of success.
3. There are five decision-making categories…
   1. Charismatic: exuberant about a new idea initially but make decisions based on balanced information.
   2. Thinker: may be contradictory and need to be cautiously worked through.
   3. Skeptic: make decisions based on ==gut feeling==.
   4. Follower: make decisions based on their trusted executives or their past similar decisions.
   5. Controller: focus on pure facts and analytics because of their fears and uncertainties.

Style	Target Characteristics	Pursuader's Strategy
Charismatic	easily enthralled but make decisions based on balanced info Emphasize bottom-line results	Focus on results be straight-forward benefits w/ visual aids keyword: proven, actions, easy, clear
Thinker (Xing Wang)	toughest to persuade needs extensive detail	presents market research, surveys, cost/benefit analysis. keyword: quality, numbers, expert, proof
Skeptic	challenge everything and make decisions based on gut feelings	establish credibility with endorsements from someone they trust. keyword: grasp, power, suspect, trust.
Follower	rely on past decisions late adopter	Use testimonials to prove low risks. present innovative but proven solutions. keyword: expertise, similar to, innovate, previous.
Controller	unemotional, analytical only implements own ideas	present highly structured arguments ==make listener own the idea==. avoid aggressive advocacy. keyword: facts, reason, power, just do it.

Working with Achievers

1. When working with them, I need to be diligent; they dislike lazy individuals in the workplace.
2. Only invite them to meetings when I truly need their participation so they can be fully engaged. Otherwise, let them focus on their tasks.
3. They often sleep little and wake up early; they actually enjoy the attention when you ask them, "How late did you stay up to finish the task?" and "What time did you come to work this morning?"

Working with Activators

1. Let them know I believe in their reliability and that I may need their help at critical moments; this will greatly motivate them.
2. Learn from their complaints, present them with innovative new projects, and get started immediately. Don't impose restrictions, and they will act quickly.
3. Ask them what new goals our team needs to achieve or what improvements are necessary, then help them move towards those goals.

Working with Adapters

1. Their flexibility makes them valuable members of any team.
2. Their willingness to "go with the flow" makes collaboration easy.
3. They will excel in short-term and immediately actionable tasks, but prolonged tasks may bore them.

Working with Analyzers

1. Spend some time thinking with them when they are making important decisions. They like to know all the key factors involved.
2. Defend my viewpoint with data. They trust numbers.
3. They prioritize accuracy over speed. Therefore, ensure they have enough time to do things correctly before deadlines approach.

Working with Arrangers

1. They thrive on complex tasks and excel when there are many things to do simultaneously.
2. They are good at positioning team members in project teams because they understand the strengths and characteristics of different members.
3. They are resourceful and confident; when they find something isn't working, they will come up with alternative solutions.

How do you maximize your chances of building an enduring $1B+ non-transactional customer company?

By building enduring engagement, in three levels:

1. Growing engaged users: focus on growing users completing the ==core action==.

2. Retaining users: product should get better the more it’s used. Users have more to lose by leaving the product.

3. Self-perpetuating: As users engage, they create ==virtuous loops== in the product.

   • Pinterest did well with
     • network effect
     • new UGC re-engages users
     • viral referral
   • Evernote and Tinder fall short on this.

Learning from who manages chaos for a living​

Why should we learn time management from a system administrator? Thomas Limoncelli says “I’m a system administrator! I manage chaos for a living!”

==Your customers value your ability to follow through more than they appreciate any other skill you have. Nothing ruins your reputation like agreeing to do something and forgetting to do it.==

What is the key to perfect follow-through?​

The Cycle system. It is called cycle because it repeats every day and the output of one day is the input to the next. It uses these three tools -

1. A day-by-day to-do list and an hour-to-hour schedule
2. A calendar
3. A list of long-term goals

Keep them in one single place and sync across all devices. And don’t trust your brain for remembering and prioritizing and scheduling tasks.

Why other systems fail?​

1. The scattered notes system
   1. No gotta catch 'em all
   2. No prioritizing
   3. No contexts for you to resume previous work
   4. Easy to lose
2. The ever-growing to-do list of doom
   1. No prioritizing
   2. No contexts for you to resume previous work
   3. Easy to ignore old tasks
   4. ==Self-esteem killer: the god damn list never gets completed!==

What is a system that succeeds?​

• Portable & Reliable. The tool should be portable with you everywhere, and reliable to keep all tasks.
• Manageable: It can break up or union tasks, so they become manageable.
• Providing Contexts: A task record can contain contexts that you can easily recover to the working status.
• Prioritizeable & Schedulable. It should be easy to scope to today's work items and schedule, though still keep the ability to arrange tasks more than one day.

Why is routine a good thing? It gives us a way to think once and do many.

Routines, for example, can be

1. Gas up on Sunday
2. Always bring my organizer
3. Regularly meet with my boss
4. The check-in-with-staff walk-around
5. The check-in-with-customers walk-around
6. During outages, communicate to management
7. Use automatic checks while performing specific tasks
8. Always back up a file before you edit
9. Record “To Take” items for trips, (especially when you travel a lot),

Mantras, for example, can be

1. ==If it has to be done every day, do it early in the day. So it won’t let you stay up late.==
2. Sooner is better than later.
3. Trust the process.
4. When in doubt, throw it out. If I ever do need it, I can ask the source for a copy.
5. Write down every request.
6. If you are not sure if an email list is useful, it isn’t.

How to develop routines? Try to find …

1. Repeated events that aren’t scheduled.

2. Maintenance tasks.

3. Relationships and career networking. Relationships require maintenance and are also similar to gardening (they grow if you work diligently, starve if they are ignored, and die if they get too much attention). There are four types of people to maintain relationships

   1. Customers (or SPOC single point of contact for each customer group)
   2. Staff
   3. Peers
   4. Boss(es)

4. When procrastinating takes longer than action.

5. Things you forget often.

6. Inconsequential or low-priority tasks that can be skipped occasionally but shouldn’t be.

7. Developing new skills.

8. Keeping up-to-date by reading.