Here’s a short list of things I’ve said no to in the last two weeks:

• Joining Toastmasters
• Joining a second developer book club
• Joining a reading competition at the library
• Taking a second class
• Participating in an ongoing lean and agile forum

I’ve come to really enjoy doing things deliberately: focusing on a handful of things I really care about and enjoy.

By contrast, here are some thing I haven’t said no to:

• Spending time with my wife cooking and playing video games
• Spending an extra 20 hours a week on my side project
• Taking an extra 2 hours to practice some problem sets to make sure I really understand the material in the one class that I am taking

Time is finite. Your attention is finite. Spend them both deliberately.