A few days of downtime in Taiwan gave me space to read—and notice a pattern: Most of the leaders I admire live by their own set of rules. That got me thinking—what are mine? Here’s what I came up with, and why defining your own “operating system” might just change how you work and live.
I'm currently on assignment in Taiwan with my company. In an interesting twist of fate, two Taiwanese holidays this year landed in the same week on a Monday and a Friday—creating a rare stretch of downtime to catch up on some reading.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a big fan of Readwise and note-taking apps. They help me organize my highlights and, more importantly, see the connections between ideas that I might otherwise miss. One such connection jumped out at me today: many of the thinkers and leaders I admire and tend to follow on social media operate by a set of defined and publicly published rules:
- Tom Bilyeu:
Sleep early; plan your work; always learn; do the important tasks first; minimize context switching; act now; embrace responsibility. - Ray Dalio:
Face reality; pursue goals with a five-step process; practice radical openness; embrace differences; value truth; diversify. - John Wooden:
Be true to yourself; help others; make each day your masterpiece; value friendship; read; prepare; pray and give thanks. - Simon Sinek:
Start with why; serve others; build trust; lead by example; share your vision; create safety. - Pete Carroll:
Protect the team; avoid negative talk; be early; build confidence; embrace adversity. - Tim Ferriss:
Prioritize impact; batch tasks; make meetings agenda-driven; eliminate busyness; say no to distractions; structure breaks; protect your time. - Mark Moss:
Seek mentors; own assets; favor hard assets like Bitcoin; leverage volatility; minimize inflation risk; build wealth through control and compounding. - Andrew Huberman:
Use stress for growth; focus deeply; know yourself; turn weakness into strength; play; anchor routines; set goals; face fear. - Jocko Willink:
Discipline is freedom; wake up early; take responsibility; avoid excuses; train daily; face discomfort; know when to rest.
And so I started to notice this pattern—and it led to a simple question: Do I have a set of rules, and if so what are they?
I’ve always had strong opinions about how I work and live, and a few routines I’ve practiced for years. So I wrote them down.
I didn't realize it, but I have optimization rules
This might sound a little pretentious, but after some reflection, I realized I also have a fairly well-developed set of life optimization rules I live by.
Before jumping into it.. here is a little bit of background. My company focuses on consulting and problem solving in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing space. My partners and I work on high-stakes problems with huge technical, regulatory, and schedule complexity. Depending on the project, I can pack up, move to a new city or country, and join a leadership team to help guide strategy and execution.
I love the work—but over the last couple of years I’ve learned that to succeed in high stakes environments like this, you must have structure. You need your own operating system. The bottom line, when I follow these rules things go well. When I don't, I have to work a little harder and things aren't as smooth.
So, with that context in mind, here are my rules. As I said in the side note above, rules are tactics... they are driven by a fundamental philosophy or strategy.
Feel free to steal any that resonate with you:
Philosophy (Strategy) | Insight | Rule/Action (Tactic) |
|---|---|---|
Neglect erodes inner resilience. Discipline rebuilds it daily. | Small acts of physical and spiritual neglect compound into fragility. Recovery is not a fix—it’s a daily habit. | Sweat and pray every day. |
Truth creates speed and alignment. | Avoiding hard truths causes delays, misalignment, poor decisions, and trust erosion. | Practice radical truth and transparency in communication. |
Energy is the true driver of execution. | Poor energy management leads to burnout and inconsistency. | Manage your energy, not your time. |
Resilience is built through disciplined recovery. | Operating on low energy leads to poor decisions and shallow work. | Go to sleep at 9 PM like it’s a religion. |
Momentum comes from preparation and continuity. | Starting cold burns energy and creates resistance. | Hemingway bridge into Friday evening. |
Frameworks reduce cognitive load. | Thinking from scratch slows you down and wastes mental energy. | Leverage frameworks to think faster. |
Rigid models fail in a changing world. Thinking must evolve with evidence. | Clinging to old assumptions creates blind spots and flawed decisions. | New data always changes the model. |
A little further reading from prior posts: Manage your energy and not your time, How to use the Hemingway Bridge, Leverage Frameworks to think faster, New data always changes the model,
It's not about constraints, it's about optimization
I’ve realized that writing these down wasn’t about control—it was about awareness. The rules don’t make life rigid; they make it intentional.
When I live by them, I am able to move with purpose. When I don’t, I tend to drift. I'm playing defense rather than offense. Maybe that’s the real point of having rules: not to constrain you, but to remind you who you are and what you value when things get noisy.
If this resonated with you, I’d love to hear your take—what are your rules? Tag me on Twitter of LinkedIn. I’m always curious how others solve problems and design systems for work and life.
~Barlow out...
