Optimal Agency

We’re talking about the importance of setting boundaries and eliminating interruptions to maximize productivity and time freedom. We discuss the need to prioritize personal well-being, decompression, and creative pursuits, rather than simply filling time with more work. ABOUT THE SHOW Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, a...

We’re discussing the concept of a low, low-quality information diet, emphasizing the need to focus on high-quality, actionable information while filtering out low-quality, distracting noise. We’re also answering a listener question about transitioning out of corporate work, and Patrick talks about the Rules he’s working on these days. About the Show Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so...

This week, we're talking about Wealth Rule #5 (Purchase passive income and appreciating assets with your savings), breaking down the specific strategies and accounts you need to make it happen. Some specific advice we're giving: · Allocate dedicated time for exploring personal interests and curiosity. · Automate contributions to savings and investment accounts. · Set dividends to reinvest...

This week, we're giving advice to 20-year-olds who want to achieve health, wealth, and time freedom. We emphasize the importance of recognizing both present and future selves, making good decisions that benefit future well-being, and acquiring hard and soft skills to maximize earnings. ABOUT THE SHOW Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pur...

We’re exploring the negative impact of spending too much time in front of screens this week, offering strategies for achieving a state of flow in tasks, emphasizing the significance of intrinsic motivation, defining success in one's role, minimizing distractions, and using visual timers. ABOUT THE SHOW Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you can impact the world, pursue work you l...

We’re discussing the importance of having a clear vision and aligning it with health, wealth, and time to achieve the life you want. We’re also talking about the significance of capital and people in achieving success and the importance of asking for what you want. Expect to learn: • The value of having a clear vision and how to bounce it off health, wealth, and time • The importance of recognizin...

We are discussing the concept of volunteerism and how to approach it intentionally, talking about why it’s important to understand our purpose and only say “yes” to opportunities that align with it. Here are the four strategies we discuss to consider when figuring out how to volunteer smarter: · Beware of projects that aren’t yours · Remember that time is zero-sum · Maintain clarity of purpose · S...

In pursuit of closing the gap between our aspirational and our practiced values, we’re talking about reducing starting friction, building a rule-based identity, discarding false values, and more. ========== ABOUT THE SHOW ========== Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscrib...

This week, we're talking about (wait for it) taxes. Specifically, we're breaking down Wealth Rule #4: Pay as Few Taxes as possible. Topics include strategies for paying less, who the tax code is designed to benefit, entrepreneurship, and why hiring a tax professional is almost always worth the money. ABOUT THE SHOW Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you can impact the world,...

What do you do when everything feels important? That’s the question this week as we pull from a conversation that Jon and Patrick had recently on the Chasing Excellence podcast. ========== ABOUT THE SHOW ========== Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the sh...

The link between overall health and strong relationships is well-known, but it remains a challenge for many to prioritize friendships. We’re talking about why that is and what we can do about it this week. ========== EXPECT TO LEARN: ========= 📍 Why friendship and connection are at odds with productivity 📍 How the pursuit of agency and autonomy can go too far 📍 The stats around loneliness and s...

We have 18 Rules across Health, Wealth, and Time. This week, we’re doing a speed round through each one with an eye toward whether we should consider them offense or defense in this game of Agency we’re playing. ========== EXPECT TO LEARN: ========== 📍 Why we include Health as a key ingredient of Agency 📍 Why spending less is more fun to think of as offense than defense 📍 How compounding transc...

Returning to our Rules of Time this week, we’re discussing the importance of keeping slack in our calendars. We’re talking about where our fears and resistance to “free time” comes from, how to start creating it, and much more. ========== EXPECT TO LEARN ========== 📍 What unstructured time is, and why we need it 📍 Why we devalue unstructured time in modern society 📍 How to practically increase...

Parkinson’s Law states that work will expand to the time and space it’s given. This week we’re looking at how we can use Parkinson’s Law to our advantage and talking about the 80/20 Rule, why voluntary deprivation isn’t a bad thing, and much more. ========== EXPECT TO LEARN ========== 📍 Why you understand Parkinson’s Law if you’ve ever been to a buffet 📍 Why setting aside time to make a plan is...

We’re talking about another one of our Wealth Rules this week, discussing savings rates, how to stack rank where to try to spend less, how savings is related to your serenity, and more. ========== EXPECT TO LEARN: ========== 📍 Why our goal should be to save…a lot 📍 How to determine your “savings rate,” and why you should 📍 The difference between making money with time and with money 📍 How your...

We recently joined Jonathan Fletcher of Digital Barbell for a wide-ranging conversation about the Rules and Behaviors of Time, as well as why we started Optimal Agency, how to know what the “most important” element of Agency is, and much more. ========== EXPECT TO LEARN: ========== 📍 Why “no” can often be the beginning of the conversation, not the end 📍 The value of letting thoughts, ideas, &amp...

It’s not that money can’t buy happiness, it’s that we don’t know HOW to use money to buy happiness. That’s the argument the authors of “ If Money Doesn't Make You Happy Then You Probably Aren't Spending It Right ” argue. ========== EXPECT TO LEARN: ========== 📍 The 8 principles of using money to buy happiness 📍 What “hedonic adaptation” is and why it’s a useful concept to understand 📍 W...

The only two foods that our Rules push back against are alcohol and sugar. We talk about why that is in this episode, touching on the similarities between the two substances, the cost of both across our Health, Wealth, and Time, and they’re hard to say no to - but only to a point. ========== EXPECT TO LEARN: ========== 📍 Why this Rule is particularly personal to Jon 📍 The similarities between bo...

Do you need a new car, or do you want freedom? Do you need more money, or do you want security? So often, we don’t do the hard work of recognizing the abundance we have, living with gratitude, and examining why we want the things we want - often times to the detriment of our Agency. ========== EXPECT TO LEARN: ========== 📍 Why you probably don’t want a new sports car because you need a new sports...

We know what it’s like to have a calendar filled with recurring meetings. But even outside the office, our Agency can be limited by time given away to things that don’t line up with our priorities. We’re talking this week about some of the ways to fight back against recurring commitments. ========== EXPECT TO LEARN: ========== 📍 The questions to ask to begin limiting recurring commitments at work...

We’re talking about the second Rule of Wealth this week, breaking down the primary strategies for how you can begin making more money soon (and some of the ways to avoid trying). We’re also talking about skills, networking, and work diversification. ========== EXPECT TO LEARN: ========== 📍 How the Rules of Wealth act like a powerful flywheel 📍 Why this Rule doesn’t say: “Work as much as you’re a...

Why isn’t this project called “Maximum Agency”? That’s the question this week, and to answer we’re talking about defining “enough”, why aiming for “maximal” gets us into trouble, and much more. ========== EXPECT TO LEARN: ========== 📍 Why we called this project what we do 📍 The difference between “maximal” and “optimal” agency 📍 Why defining “enough” is a worthwhile exercise 📍 The detriment of...

Eating unprocessed foods and cooking our own meals is a powerful, simple way to ensure we are getting the nutrients we need, all while avoiding the problems that cheap and convenient foods often create. ========== EXPECT TO LEARN: ========== 📍 What unprocessed foods are and why we care about them 📍 What the “filter of complication” is 📍 Whether you should follow this rule completely and all the...

In order to make things better, we’ve got to first be willing to see things as they are. That’s what confronting the dragon is all about - whether we’re talking about our health, wealth, or free time. ========== EXPECT TO LEARN: ========== 📍 Why it’s always better to know than not know 📍 Why shame is such a dangerous feeling (and how to get beyond it) 📍 The counterintuitive strategy to avoid hi...

We’re continuing our exploration of the Rules this week, diving into the first rule of Time: defaulting to “no.” We talk about why it’s so easy to default to “yes,” how you can use HWT as a filter for making better decisions, and much more. =========== EXPECT TO LEARN: =========== 📍 How to think about time in debts and credits 📍 The proxy questions you can ask in pursuit of agency 📍 Why it’s im...