Hey :) I’ve been thinking about something recently and I don’t have the whole answer yet — but I know there’s something important in it. It’s this idea that goals don’t really do the work. Rules do. And more specifically — a decision does. Last August I decided I wanted to lose some body fat and get leaner. Like most people, I did the ...

Hey :) I had two leadership conversations recently — different people, different roles, different challenges. But both conversations arrived at almost the exact same sentence: “I’m still trying to figure out what kind of leader I want to be.” It’s such a common moment. And it’s usually where people get stuck. Because when you’re steppi...

Hey :) Here are five quotes that have inspired me recently: "The one that keeps saying, "Are my children all right?" or "Everyone must approve of me" is like eyes that can only stand pale colors, or teeth that can only handle mush." - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 10.35 “There’s no one way—there’s too much drivel about this subject. Yo...

Hey :) Last year was a big Richard Koch year for me. I read his books multiple times, and somewhere along the way the 80/20 principle stopped being just an idea and became a first principle for how I think about almost everything — from life at home to how I spend my time at work. One concept in particular really stuck with me: the ide...

Hey :) Something that keeps coming up again and again — both in my own work and in client conversations — is how easy it is to drift into busy work. You start the week with good intentions, then suddenly you’re scrambling, reacting, doing a lot… but not always the right work. I had a call with a client this week and they summed it up p...

Hey :) I want to share something practical with you today. This is my Authority In/Out Card — or as I think about it, the order taker to authority shift for 2026. It’s a simple visual, but it’s built on many years of real work: • Coaching business owners, leaders, sales teams, marketing teams • Coaching other coaches and client-facing ...

Hey :) I’ve been thinking a lot about strategy lately — mostly because I don’t want to be wrestling with the same problems every year. I want to be better each year at working on the right things, at the right time, in the right order. And I’ll be honest: I’ve recently caught myself doing the opposite. There was a problem in our busine...

Hey :) I get asked this a lot - “How do you get so much done?” The truth is… I’m not doing more. I’m just doing the right things. This block in my calendar is what I call my 20% time. It’s not free time. It’s not admin. It’s not catching up on email or Slack. And it’s definitely not “when I get a minute”. 20% time is where I work on th...

Hey :) One of the more frightening realisations I’ve had recently is just how little time most leaders have to think. And not only that — because they have so little time to think, they can’t actually think about anything that’s remotely useful or valuable. What happens instead is this: Because they have no time to think, they just do ...

Hey :) Here are five quotes that have inspired me recently: "What is necessary, after all, is only this: solitude, vast inner solitude. To walk inside yourself and meet no one for hours. That is what you must be able to attain." - Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet “If it catches you sneaking out, boredom will try to talk you ...

Hey :) Recently we celebrated my dad’s 70th. We booked a hotel, spent some time at the spa, and then went down to the restaurant for dinner — just the three of us: my dad, me, and my daughter, Luna-Rose. And something small happened that reminded me how much energy shapes communication. Two things, actually — both happening within minu...

Hey :) I was at a Christmas party recently, chatting to a young lad in his early 20s. Second year into his university degree. We got talking about work, as you do. Then he asked me a very specific question: “How should I think about my future prospects if I want to get a good job?” Not what job. Not what career. Just how to think about...

Hey :) I was speaking to Scott last night and we got onto this idea that I keep bumping into from time to time. The idea goes something like this: “What’s the point in doing anything if there’s no clear, direct link to making money?” And my immediate reaction was to push back on it. Because if that’s the filter…why do anything at all? ...

Hey :) Here’s a link to the books I read in 2025: https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2025/105429634 If you have any questions, hit reply. While I’m here, I thought I’d share a few reading lessons from this past year: 1. I read roughly half of the books I started. That feels like a good lesson in itself — move on quickly if a ...

Hey :) Last year was a big year for me in terms of studying, embracing, and actually implementing the 80/20 principle across my life. It’s one of those ideas I keep coming back to. I reread the books from Richard Koch, think about it constantly, and notice how often it applies in places I hadn’t expected. As I’ve been planning for Janu...

Hey :) There’s something interesting we miss when it comes to problem-solving. In business, when something isn’t working, we get help. We hire people. We buy tools. We bring in outside perspective. In our personal lives, we rarely think that way. We tend to just cope. What fascinates me is how many ideas transfer cleanly between busine...

I’ve gotta get some writing done. I’ve got about 2 hours before people come home from work or school. Fortunately, our cabin in the back garden is now fully functional and I can get out of the house, and be out of sight! There’s something crucial about not being seen, even if you just happen to be in the garden room. Here are the rules...

The kids are away with Cara to a family gathering, and I'm here at home in the garden room - I'm about to start writing an essay for uni. The mission for the next few hours is to write my first shitty draft, and to do it without any distraction or break...just write until I'm done, and it doesn't matter how shit it is or how long or sh...

"Your time is more valuable now than ever" This is what someone in my team said to me a few weeks ago - and my first thought was...my time has always been valuable! But, because I've reduced my working hours by 40%, there is a perception that the value of my time has changed somehow. And it's exactly the perception I want people to hav...

Often times, my motivation to do deep work comes from what's at stake. What I mean is, what am I a) missing out on or b) what could happen if I don't do the work. For example, today I'm at the library and it's the middle of the school holidays (we're off work for a week). Cara and I agreed that I'd go to the library to work on an essay...

I thought I’d write for you a mini-series about the decision to work part time in professional services. It heavily overlaps with the Deep Work topic, so I’m sure you’ll find it interesting. If you have any questions, email me at chrismarr@hey.com. I’m not sure how many parts there will be…perhaps I’ll continue it for 6 months or so as...

I find it hard to discipline myself with iPhone apps like instagram, twitter and even LinkedIn. I go looking for distractions. And I never feel good about it. To break myself out of the unhealthy habit of scrolling endlessly, what works for me is simply deleting the apps from my phone. As a better alternative, I’m working myself into t...

From 3rd April 2023 I will be working part time hours in my job at IMPACT. This was a deliberate decision made by me, and influenced by many factors that I'll go into more detail about in a future note (if you have questions, email me about them...it'll help me explain my decision). What's relevant to this Deep Work blog is that I now ...

My good friend Scott was asking me about Deep Work by Cal Newport the other day, and so I looked out the book to re-read it. I'm about 150 pages into the book and it still feels so incredibly important for the work I do today. There's no question I've slipped with my Deep Work practices, and I want to get back to it. I've got a lot of ...

The last time I sat down to write and research my book was a month ago. I've been here before, but yet there's always a brief initial disbelief - "has it really been a month?" A few thoughts: • Time passes more quickly than I realise • I will always be able to find an excuse not to do the work • Don't rely on 'tomorrow' - there's no gu...

When I feel like I want to go to a cafe to do my writing I know immediately that the whole idea is a distraction (Resistance), and the best thing I can do is sit down at my desk and get on with it. But not today. I just HAD to get out of the house. Our landlord is coming to check our property, and although I know everything will be fin...

I had to rearrange my commitment to this project last week due to last minute child care arrangements. As a result, no time has been clocked for this project since 3rd June. Instead, I spent a lot of time with Spencer and Luna - we went to the local zoo and spent time playing in the park and enjoying the warm weather. There was not a s...

It's 10:30am and I'm ready to get out for a walk and clear my head. I was a little all over the place today. I thought the best place for me to start was by looking through all my writing so far and really think about how to make it relevant to the project. Initially, this started off as a good exercise, but then it took my down some r...

Perfectionism is telling me there’s only one way to do this. There’s only one plan. It’s this way or not at all. It’s all or nothing. There’s no middle ground. I hate how perfectionism shows up for me. It really does hold me back. It’s probably at the root of most bad days I have. I've written about here (2018) and more recently here: ...

As predicted...I kept feeling the need to check my phone or pull away and do something else. In the end, I did better by setting short time frames to focus on work and the reward myself with a small break. So, I guess there will be times when focusing for 3 hours at a time will be easy, and other days when it will be more difficult. On...