Hey Reader,

Last year I worked with about 500 people in my program on building projects with AI and Python.

To my surprise, the biggest challenge of all wasn't technical.

It was: lack of TIME. ⏳

As much as I don't want to become a productivity self-help guru...

(because I'm not qualified to give anyone advice on this 😅)

...I feel like I need to write about it anyway.

Because "I don't have time to learn this" might be the single biggest thing standing between you and whatever you're actually trying to get to: a career switch, your first freelance client, a promotion, a portfolio that finally gets you noticed.

Here's the problem:

You're trying to learn Python, or AI, or agents, whatever it is, while having a lot going on:

• a full-time job
• a family
• side projects
• another academic program
• (or all of the above)

And it doesn't help that every other post on your feed tries to shove another "you're already behind" model release in your face.

Now, there are things you can control, and things you can't.

My last 6 months with a small baby include multiple occasions of:

• forgetting to feed myself and then at 4pm wondering why I got dizzy
• losing some short-term memory from broken sleep (no idea what I did yesterday, or if I already brushed my teeth)

Not exactly ideal conditions for making progress on anything...

And yet, some of my clearest progress happened in that window, in far less time than I used to think I "needed."

So this email is my personal spin on: how to actually find the hours to learn something and move closer to the bigger thing you're after (e.g. a new job, a client, or a project portfolio).

Let me walk you through 3 mindset shifts that I've had, and 3 tactics I've found useful.

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Mindset shift #1: "I don't have time" is usually "I don't have a clear goal"

You've probably heard some version of this: not having time is just a nicer way of saying "it's not my priority."

And the reason it's not your priority is sometimes just this: you never got specific about what you're actually working towards.

A lot of people learn Python or AI purely because of FOMO, with no goal attached beyond "I should probably know this."

I get it, I've done it too (who hasn't?).

But FOMO doesn't survive a busy week. A real goal does.

So ask yourself: Why are you actually learning this?

• A career change into data or AI?
• Landing your first freelance client?
• A promotion at your current job?
• A portfolio you can point to in an interview?
• Automating the one part of your job you dread?

And by when do you want it? This summer? This year?

A specific goal makes it much easier to plan your learning. It also makes it much easier to say "No" to the 15 "must-learn" framework someone on LinkedIn swears is the future. Because you can just ask:

Is this actually relevant to my goal?

I'd argue that this clarity is the first thing you need to make progress.

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Mindset shift #2: One priority at a time

I find it useful to identify:

• ONE priority for the week, tied to the actual goal
• ONE for the day, the thing I absolutely want to complete, tied to the priority of the week
• ONE for any given hour, tied to the priority of the day
• ONE for any given minute, if I'm being extreme about it

Of course, you may work on many things in a day or week, but you need to keep the main thing the main thing.

In any single moment, only one thing gets to be the priority. You finish it, then you move on.

In this minute, I'm writing this newsletter to you. My hands are dancing on the keyboard, I'm in the flow.

I have to say no to every other thing I could be doing right now. Well... unless my kid needs me. Otherwise, protecting that focus is on me.

Do I always succeed at this? Of course not. But this is my intention.

Maybe in this hour you're wrestling with a data API, or writing up on your portfolio project on LinkedIn. You might have 5 other things looming. But right now, that one thing is enough.

Wow... did I just accidentally rediscover the idea of "focus on the now," which Buddhism figured out 2,000 years ago?

Groundbreaking stuff from me, truly. 🙃

Now, here's one thing that took me a longer time to realize:

Even with one clear priority, the minutes you spend on it don't all feel the same, which leads me to the next point...

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Mindset shift #3: Learn in a way that expands your time and energy, not one that drains it

I don't buy into grinding through your to-do list all day just because it feels noble.

Your energy is limited. Your focus is limited.

What I've found is: there are ways of spending time that drain your energy, and ways of spending time that actually expand it.

Some tasks take an hour and leave you depleted.

Others take an hour and you barely notice it passed - you actually feel even more energized afterwards.

When I feel overly busy and overwhelmed, it's usually a sign I'm doing too much of the first kind, and not enough of the second.

While building my Python for AI training, I had a lesson on the history of Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Generative AI.

At first I thought I'd make a simple narrative, stating dry facts like any boring lecture does.

Then halfway through the script, I stopped and thought... wait, why am I making this miserable for myself too?

So I turned it into a fun skit. Two friends chatting in a cafe - one of them clueless, the other explaining things.

I got a bunch of messages from learners saying they actually enjoyed it. And honestly? I enjoyed every second of making it.

So that's something I try to stay mindful of now:

Is it really the lack of time, or do I just not enjoy the way I'm currently doing it?

That said, not everything that feels enjoyable at the start stays enjoyable as you go on. Things do tend to get more complex and challenging.

That's why I have to rely on some tactics.

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Tactic #1: Work to completion

I don't remember where I picked up this idea, so I can't credit the source.

But the idea is: leaving something unfinished leaves a residue in your brain. And as a result, it takes you longer to move on to the next thing (because part of your brain still thinks "this other thing is still not resolved".

An unfinished email. A half-built project. A client pitch you never sent. Even the smallest loose end.

Over time, it causes you stress and dissastisfaction.

You never get that little hit of "done," and you never get the proof-of-work you can actually show someone.

I've touched on this before in the context of building projects: better to finish a small project than leave a huge one half-built forever.

So I try, wherever I can, to work things to completion before moving on.

It doesn't always happen. But this tactic has definitely helped me a lot whenever my monkey mind urges me to abandon what I'm working on to go do something else.

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Tactic #2: Set constraints

Sometimes, giving yourself constraints, whether it's how much time you're allowed to work, or which tools you get to use, can actually make you accomplish more and better.

I took this idea from David Epstein's book "Inside the box" (highly recommend, here's the video that pretty much summarizes it).

In terms of time constraint, this morning I had exactly two hours before the baby wakes up and the day officially goes to chaos. I use that window and I try my best, but I don't aim for perfect.

The "don't aim for perfect" took me a very long time to accept, being someone who often obsessed with details.

But you know what's worse than something being imperfect?...

The thing not existing at all.

The project that stays a draft, the pitch that never gets sent, the "someday I'll switch careers" that never turns into an actual application.

Setting a hard deadline is genuinely what gets me past my own perfectionism, whether I'm building something or trying to finally hit send.

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Tactic #3: Keep the momentum going

Here's a simple fact: Once something heavy is moving, it's hard to stop. But once it goes still, it's a lot harder to get moving again.

Same with a career switch, a freelance business, a project portfolio, or any long, unglamorous goal. Whatever it is, keep it moving.

Once you've built a bit of a streak, protect it with the smallest possible actions:

• improve one small thing in your project
• send one outreach message
• watch one short lesson on a relevant topic
• jot down what you learned last week
• ...

Easier said than done. But worth being aware of so you don't accidentally stale your progress.

If you really need to take a break due to circumstances, it's fine too. But it should be something you consciously decide on.

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So here's my question this week:

What's the bigger goal you're actually working towards right now?

Are there any tips you want to share with me?

Hit reply and tell me, looking forward to hearing it!

Chào,

Thu

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