Hey friends,
Welcome to the 50th edition of the “Level Up Ladder” newsletter.
Instead of the usual format, I want to talk about this journey and my motivation for writing this.
In the end, I have a gift for you: my goal-setting template.
First of all, as some of you know, I have a lot going on, and I try to juggle everything as much as I can. And sometimes it works out okay, and sometimes it doesn’t.
But that’s just life.
And I don’t get to go to bed each day before 11 PM and I don’t always get up at 6:30.
I don’t write a post on LinkedIn every day and days go by without going to the gym.
But one thing I haven’t missed in the past 50 weeks is writing my newsletter.
And the reason for doing this is that I LOVE writing it.
If there’s one thing I look forward to, it’s writing this newsletter. Because I feel connected to you and grateful to you for reading my thoughts.
I am in a place in my life where I want to give back, however strange or cringe-worthy that might sound.
Do I want to make more money from this online thing? Of course.
Am I making any money? Not really.
Will I stop writing if I continue to not make money?
Definitely not.
Because it’s one of my daily small pleasures.
Thinking about subjects that seem interesting to me and sharing them with you in a way that might help you.
A while ago, I told you that I was writing this newsletter for the person I was 10-15 years ago. And I will continue to do that.
Because if one edition helps just one person improve his or her life, it’s worth it.
This brings me to my gift for you, my Notion template on goal-setting.
I use a version of this for my yearly plan, and I do my weekly review and my quarterly review based on that.
Get it here (you'll have to duplicate it in your Notion account).
Notion is free, and you can get it here.
PS: It also includes a video tutorial on how to use it.
If you have any suggestions about it, please let me know.
I plan to have this as a paid product in the future, but I want you to have it for free, as a "Thank you" for your support!
If you find something you particularly like in any of my newsletters, let me know.
It means the world to me to receive replies for me.
Now, for the recommendations part.
1. TickTick
I've recently moved from Todoist to Tick-Tick as my task management tool. It has a lower price point and more flexible views. I am still waiting for Notion to become a better task manager for mobile but it's not there yet. Give the tool a try here.
2. Hemingway App
If you are writing online, this website will give you some tips about how hard it is to read the sentences or the grade level of the text.
I use it when I write long-format texts, like this newsletter.
3. This video of Steve Jobs
You might not be aware of this, but when Steve Jobs came back to Apple, the company was 3 months away from bankruptcy.
He immediately started a change process within the company that would eventually mean slashing dozens of product lines into only 2 products: a personal computer and a laptop.
In this video, he answers a question from an employee disgruntled about the fact that the product he was working on was cut down.
I believe it’s a masterclass on product management and business strategy.
Thank you for reading my 50th newsletter, and here’s to the next 500 editions!
I hope you have a great weekend, friends!
Leo
P.S.: If you want to read my content daily, don’t forget to follow me on Linkedin.
P.S. 2: If you want to take your productivity to the next level, check out my extensive productivity course that can accelerate your career.