Living paycheck to paycheck is an apt way to describe the financial state of many young professionals.

When I started at my first job, it took me only a few months to accumulate $5,000 in credit card debt.

It took me a couple of years to repay the amount. After that, I was stuck in this cycle of living paycheck to paycheck with no end in sight.

It went on for a few years until I adopted a set of money rules to turn things around. …

Having a full-time job while making side hustles work is not easy.

Working at a 9 to 5 is already exhausting for many out there. Even with higher-than-average willpower and grit, going beyond the regular hours to build a second income stream or pursue a dream can get stressful.

Time Blocking: Promise vs. Reality

I stumbled upon the idea of time blocking at the beginning of 2021.

It got my attention because I was looking for ways to plan my side hustle tasks with the hours I have before and after the working hours at my full-time job.

I wanted to integrate my job, side…

I am always looking for novel ways to help me become a better writer.

This constant pursuit of growth and trying to become better is healthy until I started using what I don’t have as excuses for not publishing my work.

• “Why haven’t you written a single word today?”
• “What’s stopping you from forming a daily writing habit?”
• “Why did you stop writing?”

These are the questions that bubble up after my initial spurt of motivation to write fizzles out.

Let’s look at the answers I usually give to the questions above:

• “Oh, I need to learn how to promote…

Saving money wasn’t easy when I was at my first job.

Even after the first two years of working full time at an audit firm, my savings account was still hovering around the minimum balance of 20 Malaysian Ringgits (about USD5) required to keep it open.

I was a college dropout, so the job wasn’t paying me a lot. But even after a few rounds of above-average raises, I still find it very difficult to save money.

I was young, and I had no financial commitments. Besides, we only live once, so there’s no point waiting until we are 60…

There are almost 20,000 searches each month for the phrase “morning routine”.

Do a search for the keyword.

In the results, you’ll find many blog posts and videos offering recommendations for habits you should include in your morning routine.

The interest in the subject is not surprising because a bulletproof morning routine makes sure we are closer to our goals.

Your only path to success is through a continuum of mundane, unsexy, unexciting, and sometimes difficult daily disciplines compounded over time. ~Darren Hardy

The Number One Morning Routine Mistake

Since you are reading an article about morning routines, I guess you’ve also searched for the morning…

I am an introvert. It’s rare for me to speak up.

As a kid, I was taught to always let others speak because they probably know more than me.

I get very awkward if you put me into a conversation with people I’m not familiar with or people I’ve never met. You might see this for yourself if we are lucky (or unlucky) enough to bump into each other.

Yet, I’ve done okay in my career. It’s been a little over a decade now since I started working. I’ve had four jobs in total.

Not only did I never get…

“To get ahead, have as little sleep as possible to work more hours than everybody else.”

That was the mantra for most parts of my 20s. The idea of productivity equals putting in more hours was stuck with me.

I didn’t know the effects of not having enough sleep. Looking back now, it is obvious.

Aside from having a messed up energy pattern throughout my days, I was experiencing mood swings, over-snacking, and relying on five to six cups of coffee a day.

Not sleeping enough led to more cups of coffee throughout the day. The heavy dose of caffeine…

Every day, we get bombarded by information.

Rows after rows of notifications on our phone greet us in the morning.

Throughout the day, we consume more information.

News apps keep us on our toes with what’s happening. Social media platforms dish out a variety of bite-sized content to stop our thumbs. And we have online courses, books, articles, and podcasts sitting somewhere on a physical shelf or a browser tab, yearning for our attention.

A system in place to turn the information we consume into knowledge is essential. Else, we’ll fall into the trap of mindless consumption. …