Blueprints for Life

In the eleventh episode of Blueprints for Life, Nicole Cutler and Peter C. Hayward discuss "Defining Your Sandbox", a framework for making big decisions by starting at the extremes and working your way in, and how to know when it's time to move the walls.
Plus: follow-up on Inside Out Thinking (panel shows, Kevin Smith, and "I breathe oxygen" pitches), Rules Brain Corner (diapers, again), the Overton window, survivorship bias, magnetic phone chargers, and how to protect yourself when joining a collaboration (spoiler: don't. Or at least communicate.).
Chapters0:00 Intro0:34 Follow-up: Inside Out Thinking4:46 Rules Brain Corner6:22 What is a sandbox?8:36 Starting at the extremes: kids, business splits, contracts12:16 Revisiting your sandbox15:33 The Overton window18:22 Sandboxes as a 3D space of decisions22:04 Why extremes help, and relationships26:43 Peter and video games, and survivorship bias32:34 Final thoughts on sandbox thinking33:28 What's on my desk38:27 Question from Abby: joining a collaboration42:31 Outro
LinksWord Salad: a daily puzzle (the app Peter found through TikTok): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6475351623Things in Rings: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Things+in+Rings+board+game&tag=petechaywcom-20Things on Strings: https://store.asmodee.com/products/things-on-stringsRolling Deep: https://www.backerkit.com/projects/bitewinggamesnick/rolling-deep-and-eureka-dice-adventure-roguelike-and-campaignHot Streak by Jon Perry: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Hot+Streak+board+game+Jon+Perry&tag=petechaywcom-20UFO 50: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1147860The Overton window: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_windowMagnetic phone, watch and AirPods charging stand: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=wooden+magnetic+charging+stand+phone+watch+AirPods&tag=petechaywcom-20Foldable travel magnetic charger: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=foldable+travel+magnetic+charger+phone+watch+AirPods&tag=petechaywcom-20Phone stand (no charging): https://www.amazon.com/s?k=phone+stand+desk&tag=petechaywcom-20Phone ring stand: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=phone+ring+stand&tag=petechaywcom-20Fun Problems (Peter's previous podcast): https://funproblems.podbean.com/Peter's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@peterchaywardPeter's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PeterCHayward
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Question for us? Email life@blueprints.fm
Support the show: https://patreon.com/peterchayward
Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/BM3qDHf9FU
Logo by Rozie Pocket: https://www.tiktok.com/@cozyboardgames
Please note that any sales made through the above links will reward us a small commission, at no extra cost for you. So, uh, buy everything we linked to. Multiple times.

In the tenth episode of Blueprints for Life, Nicole Cutler and Peter C. Hayward dig into batching: grouping similar tasks so you pay the cost of starting and stopping once instead of ten times. They cover flow state, why a dishwasher is a batching machine, emailing on Mondays, queueing posts and books so a system does the regular releasing, overstocking the unfun things (clothes, dishes) so laundry can wait, a game-design cruise as a three-day batch, the limits of batching (friendship, sleep, fatigue), and why removing roadblocks between idea and execution makes you more productive. Plus follow-up on what a "giraffe person" is (and isn't), and a Rules Brain Corner about misremembering movie scenes.
 
Chapters
0:00 Intro and follow-up (giraffe people, "name three people you please")
3:47 Rules Brain Corner: the Ted Lasso video essay and false memories
5:36 What is batching, and why we now record two episodes a session
8:00 Flow state: laundry, prototyping, video games and social media
10:10 What we batch: dishes, social media, Patreon writing, scheduled releases
14:32 The Four Hour Work Week and emailing on Mondays
15:42 Short-term memory, Wave bookkeeping and why scale makes things cheaper
18:55 Handymen, assistants and the 32-hour work week
23:00 Overstocking clothes and dishes; "you can, but you won't, so you can't"
24:46 Batching careers, and the game-design cruise
29:47 Waiting mode, errands and consultants
31:09 The shared-car gas tank story
33:01 What doesn't batch: friendship, sleep, burnout
36:20 Meal prep
39:11 What to batch (and what not to) is personal
39:28 What's on our desks: LongPack dice and Heckadeck
41:26 Removing roadblocks: prototyping tools and fast tests
44:58 Obligations vs. working on what excites you
47:00 Quote of the day: Bojack Horseman
 
Links
What is a Giraffe Person? (episode 2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bglnulOTqHA
How to be a Giraffe Person (episode 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uuc5-gdTwk
Rules Brain (earlier episode): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXAuOrC9uhg
Scarcity Mode (earlier episode): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KTtxjGp_nI
Fun Problems (Peter's previous podcast): https://funproblems.podbean.com/
Critter Kitchen: https://cardboardalchemy.com/critter-kitchen/
Heckadeck: https://www.chroniclebooks.com/products/heckadeck
Beasts by Clarence Simpson: https://pandasaurusgames.com/products/beasts
LongPack dice: https://www.longpackdice.com/
The 32-hour workweek proposal: https://takano.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rep-takano-sen-sanders-reintroduce-32-hour-workweek-act
Peter's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@peterchayward
Peter's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PeterCHayward
Peter's Ted Lasso video essay, "Ted Lasso was Perfect. What happened?": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JawSzLhKhgw
The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss: https://tim.blog/books/
TickTick (daily habit list): https://ticktick.com
Monarch (personal finance): https://www.monarchmoney.com
Wave (small-business accounting): https://www.waveapps.com
BoJack Horseman: https://www.netflix.com/title/70300800
 
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Question for us? Email life@blueprints.fm
 
Support the show: https://patreon.com/peterchayward
 
Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/BM3qDHf9FU
 
Logo by Rozie Pocket: https://www.tiktok.com/@cozyboardgames
 
Please note that any sales made through the above links will reward us a small commission, at no extra cost for you. So, uh, buy everything we linked to. Multiple times.
 

In the ninth episode of Blueprints for Life, Nicole Cutler and Peter C. Hayward discuss how learning how you process (externally, internally, a combination thereof) can benefit your thinking and make you better at everything, including kung-fu.
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Question for us? Email life@blueprints.fm
Support the show: https://patreon.com/peterchayward
Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/BM3qDHf9FU
Logo by Rozie Pocket: https://www.tiktok.com/@cozyboardgames
Please note that any sales made through the above links will reward us a small commission, at no extra cost to you. So, uh, buy everything we linked to. Multiple times.

In the eighth episode of Blueprints for Life, Nicole Cutler and Peter C. Hayward discuss how "inside thinking" and "outside thinking" can transform the way you pitch creative media, and help you find success (and jobs) (and LOVE) in various aspects of your life.
Adam in Wales: 
Allplay: https://www.allplay.com/
Joe's podcast, The Bits: https://rb.gy/53dzlf
Rolling Deep: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitewinggamesnick/rolling-deep-and-eureka-dice-adventure-roguelike-and-campaign
Ryan Laukat / Red Raven Games: https://www.redravengames.com/
Unhelpful Advice: https://youtu.be/CpqWAOtR5z4
Do Go On: https://dogoonpod.com/
Do Go On — Burke and Wills: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/5-burke-and-wills-australian-explorers/id1057458646?i=1000357767897
The Cracking the Cryptic podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y6BUidg2eQ&list=PLK-l8O0YikOm_s7DgInHZxYZm8hyrODUJ
Peter's viral TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@peterchayward/video/7627563844382067989
Cortex: https://www.relay.fm/cortex
Jamey Stegmaier's blog (which pushes the Slice much less than I remembered): https://stonemaiergames.com/10-more-indispensable-tools-for-every-kickstarter-creator-and-entrepreneur/
Slice parcel opener: https://amzn.to/4qy2mHg
That Time You Killed Me: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/344258/that-time-you-killed-me
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Question for us? Email life@blueprints.fm
Support the show: https://patreon.com/peterchayward
Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/BM3qDHf9FU
Logo by Rozie Pocket: https://www.tiktok.com/@cozyboardgames
Please note that any sales made through the above links will reward us a small commission, at no extra cost for you. So, uh, buy everything we linked to. Multiple times.

In the seventh episode of Blueprints for Life, Nicole Cutler and Peter C. Hayward discuss the ridiculously helpful discussion concept of "Zooming Out", and how you can use it to improve literally every single relationship in your life.
 
Yes, even THAT one.
 
Make a List TikTok song: https://www.tiktok.com/@thefemalelead/video/7306189367863676192
Question for us? Email life@blueprints.fm
Support the show: https://patreon.com/peterchayward
Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/BM3qDHf9FU
Logo by Rozie Pocket: https://www.tiktok.com/@cozyboardgames
Please note that any sales made through the above links will reward us a small commission, at no extra cost for you. So, uh, buy everything we linked to. Multiple times.

Nicole and Peter talk through Scarcity and Abundance mode: when you can use scarcity thinking to motivate you, and how most great creative work comes from a place of abundance.
Mentioned in this episode:
Space-Biff's review of Scuttle!: https://spacebiff.com/2017/05/18/scuttle/
Peter's hit game Things in Rings: https://amzn.to/4g25yGa
WaitButWhy's blog post about the Instant Gratification Monkey: http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html
Getting Things Done: https://amzn.to/4wibbX6
The Uploaded, by Ferrett Steinmetz: https://amzn.to/4hkcuRq 
Condom Theroy: https://www.theferrett.com/2016/01/14/utilizing-condom-based-logic-surprisingly-useful/ 
Question for us? Email life@blueprints.fm
Support the show: https://patreon.com/peterchayward
Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/BM3qDHf9FU
Logo by Rozie Pocket: https://www.tiktok.com/@cozyboardgames
Please note that any sales made through the above links will reward us a small commission, at no extra cost for you. So, uh, buy everything we linked to. Multiple times.

In the fifth episode of Blueprints for Life, Nicole Cutler and Peter C. Hayward discuss the concept of having a "rules brain".
Monarch (finance app): https://monarch.com/referral/sl1uv058wb
Question for us? Email life@blueprints.fm
Support the show: https://patreon.com/peterchayward
Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/BM3qDHf9FU
Logo by Rozie Pocket: https://www.tiktok.com/@cozyboardgames
Please note that any sales made through the above links will reward us a small commission, at no extra cost for you. So, uh, buy everything we linked to. Multiple times.

In the fourth episode of Blueprints for Life, Nicole Cutler and Peter C. Hayward discuss the red flag rating system: feather, brick, truck.
Original blog post: https://nik.art/feather-brick-truck/
Monster Rehab: https://amzn.to/4eBZLI0
Old Man Pill Organizer: https://amzn.to/3RaHjx8 
Question for us? Email life@blueprints.fm
Support the show: https://patreon.com/peterchayward
Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/BM3qDHf9FU
 
Logo by Rozie Pocket: https://www.tiktok.com/@cozyboardgames
Please note that any sales made through the above links will reward us a small commission, at no extra cost for you. So, uh, buy everything we linked to. Multiple times.

In the third episode of Blueprints for Life, Nicole Cutler and Peter C. Hayward discuss the best ways to become someone that the people in your life can rely on.
Peter met John Cleese: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0oHGT6ChRE The monkey started a business: https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/03/procrastination-matrix.html Colorful bandages: https://amzn.to/4uCYDsi Bacon bandages: https://amzn.to/4xw8q6f Sharpies: https://amzn.to/4ozQDao How long does it actually take: https://www.scarymommy.com/lifestyle/how-long-does-it-actually-take-tiktok 
Question for us? Email life@blueprints.fm
Support the show: https://patreon.com/peterchayward Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/BM3qDHf9FU 
Logo by Rozie Pocket: https://www.tiktok.com/@cozyboardgames 
Please note that any sales made through the above links will reward us a small commission, at no extra cost for you. So, uh, buy everything we linked to. Multiple times.

In the second episode of Blueprints for Life, Nicole Cutler and Peter C. Hayward discuss the concept of a Giraffe Person, a simple way to determine how much you can rely on the people in your life.
 
Podcast where Peter discusses The Intern: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/guilty-treasures-the-intern-with-peter-c-hayward/id1809274829?i=1000760456395
Help! – Peter's old puppet show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GmgIqB3meU
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: https://amzn.to/4vhmLS0
Peter's glass bottles: https://amzn.to/4uPVUwD
Flamecraft: https://amzn.to/3RDuhrY
 
Question for us? Email life@blueprints.fm
Support the show: https://patreon.com/peterchayward
Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/BM3qDHf9FU
 
Logo by Rozie Pocket: https://www.tiktok.com/@cozyboardgames
Please note that any sales made through the above links will reward us a small commission, at no extra cost for you. So, uh, buy everything we linked to. Multiple times.