### Business in the Front There are many things I've taken from [Merlin Mann](https://www.merlinmann.com/), but one of them, apart from my [Top Fives](https://matchamakes.net/blogposts/topfive), I've started collating a list of ["lifehacks"](https://matchamakes.net/blogposts/unwritten) and advice from his [Wisdom.md](https://wisdom.limo/) project. Below is a list of item's I've found useful, from Merlin and others, those will be denoted otherwise assume it's from the aforementioned Widsom.md. I [strongly encourage downloading the ebook version](https://github.com/merlinmann/wisdom/tree/master/ebooks) and reading it every so often. ### Merlin Mann List. - If you don't remember what a cable does, you can almost definitely discard it. - First, make a hole. Because before you can properly clean, organize, or even _purge_ a given area, you'll need to know where the stuff that's not currently where you want it to be will go. Yes, especially the trash. - If you're not sure what you want, it's almost definitely more sleep. - Thoughts and feelings are real, but they do not have to define you. Remember that you are the sky—_not the weather_. (Thanks, Pema - Occasionally silently remind yourself, "Remember you said you wanted this." - Learn about Chesterton's Fence. Then, actively resist altering a given situation before you understand the reasons why it's remained unchanged for so long. (Thanks, G. K. C.) - Open your mail over the recycling bin. - If you're not sure who's doing your emotional labor, it's probably everyone you know. - Stop jamming every space so full of stuff. Leave room both for other stuff and for no stuff at all. Areas without stuff represent areas of possibility. - Before you buy a new book, try to get a copy from the library—or just download an ebook sample. If you can't manage to finish reading the Kindle sample, you certainly oughtn't pay to not read the rest. ### My additions - It's important to understand which interactions are transactional, and which are relational. Do not mix the two. Standing in line telling a life story to a clerk who is eyeing down the line behind you is not a way to make anyone happy. - Never ever comment on someones apperance, unless they have made it clear they are looking for input. Additionally, never ever ever do this in the workplace even if requested to. - Sometimes making something IS the point. - "Do not waste a moment, because you have none to spare" interpretation of Marcus Aurelius's _"Memento, homo, quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris_" updated 260505 *Note this is a living document that gets updated on occasion.