The Rundown

• Stop Focusing on ROI

• What really motivates us is not what you think

• Should automation help us work slower?

• Prompt Engineering is Dead, Long Live AI Engineering

• OpenAI unveils experimental ‘Swarm’ framework, igniting debate on AI-driven automation

• Add this book to your reading list

Do 8 Hours of Work in 4: Double Your Productivity in 1 Week

In this event which takes minutes per day you will:

• Get YOUR Scientific Number of Hours

• Discover the Time Vampires to Vanquish

• Watch the Free Time Pile Up

Worried you don’t have time? Then YOU are who this is made for!

🔥Quote/Prompt

Use the quote as a writing or thinking prompt to finish your week strong.

A bit from mine:

(posted in our Doer Entrepreneurs Free Community — off social media)

Did someone forward this to you?

📈 Performance

Stop Focusing on ROI

I talk a lot about “ROTI” (return on time investment) but I love this take as well!

What's Your Return on Energy (ROE)?

If ROI is the lifeblood of business, ROE is the fuel for your life. Think about it—just as businesses track profits to ensure they're thriving, we need to track our energy investments to ensure we're thriving. It's not just about dollars and cents; it's about mental and emotional wealth. You give, give, give. But what's coming back your way?

Unlike ROI, ROE isn't a number you can plug into a spreadsheet. It's subjective, much harder to measure—but just as crucial. When ROE drops at work, it can result in burnout, decreased productivity, and emotional exhaustion. In life, a low ROE might lead to anxiety, resentment, or even depression.

The good news? You can fix it. Start by asking yourself a few key questions to get your ROE back in balance.

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⚙️ Optimization

What really motivates us is not what you think

This is why just making money isn’t a good enough reason to do much of anything including starting or running a business and why that motivation wears off so quickly! Excerpt below:

Understanding motivation

These findings were pivotal in shifting the understanding of motivation. Previously, motivation was largely understood in terms of biological needs (such as hunger or thirst) and external rewards or punishments. Harlow’s experiment, however, indicated that neither biological needs nor external rewards were the primary drivers of the monkeys’ behavior. This led Harlow to propose a new theory of human behavior centered on intrinsic reward.

He suggested that the motivation for problem-solving was organically derived from an inherent interest in the task itself, independent of biological needs or external incentives. In many ways, this can simply be understood and observed by watching any toddler play and learn. We all have a natural motivation fueled by the activity that we’re interested in. Understanding this reframes the challenge. It’s not about becoming motivated; it’s about avoiding becoming demotivated.

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⏲️ Time Management

Should automation help us work slower? 

YES! That is exactly what it should do. It should create the space for us to actually be creative, let ideas flow, and so on. Love this article! Excerpt below:

Automating your busywork requires carefully mapping out your typical day—every step of every task, including each contingency and dependency. In the process, you’ll realize that most tasks and projects involve multiple steps that lead to a certain result—or as I call them, workflows. You’ll be able to more accurately plan your day. But more importantly for this exercise, you can identify any flaws in your processes as well as the tasks that can be fully or partially automated.

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💻 Tools & Technology

Prompt Engineering is Dead, Long Live AI Engineering

Are those of you who are using AI seeing these changes? I’m not sure I 100% agree but interesting perspective and a worthwhile read. To be fair, if we aren’t already at this stage, we should certainly be there soon! I have chosen the conclusion as the excerpt but I love the author’s breakdowns from different viewpoints (AI Researcher, Software Engineer, BUsiness Strategist, Cognitive Scientist). Excerpt below:

In conclusion, while prompt engineering isn’t entirely dead, its role is changing. The spotlight is now on AI engineering—building strong systems that can understand and execute our intentions with minimal fuss. It’s about integrating our thinking and problem-solving processes into the AI’s design. This leads to more robust and effective AI applications, whether through agents, networks, or other system models.

For simple tasks, keeping prompts straightforward is enough. Overcomplicating them offers little benefit. The key is to understand what the AI can do and design systems that leverage these strengths to achieve your goals.

So, let's move beyond getting stuck on crafting the perfect prompt. Instead, let's focus on building systems that make the most of AI's capabilities. After all, the goal is to solve problems and create innovative solutions, not just to talk to machines.

🤖 AI

OpenAI unveils experimental ‘Swarm’ framework, igniting debate on AI-driven automation

We have been covering the emergence of the “AI Agent” and tracking the emergence of this technology since it’s going to be really revolutionary once it gets going. Definitely read this article and keep an eye out! Excerpt below:

The next frontier in enterprise AI: Multi-agent systems and their potential impact

The framework’s potential business applications are extensive. A company using Swarm-inspired technology could theoretically create a network of specialized AI agents for different departments. These agents might work together to analyze market trends, adjust marketing strategies, identify sales leads, and provide customer support—all with minimal human intervention.

This level of automation could fundamentally alter business operations. AI agents might handle tasks currently requiring human oversight, potentially boosting efficiency and freeing employees to focus on strategic initiatives. However, this shift prompts important questions about the evolving nature of work and the role of human decision-making in increasingly automated environments.

👀 Read, Watch, Listen

This week’s awesome books, YouTube videos, newsletters, etc. to add to your list!

The Inner Game of Stress: Outsmart Life's Challenges and Fulfill Your Potential (Book)

"The Inner Game of Stress" by W. Timothy Gallwey and two physicians applies sports psychology principles to stress management. It teaches readers to access inner resources for stability and success amidst various stressors. The book argues that negative self-talk and perceived external pressures contribute to stress, but we can combat this by embracing learning, proper rest, and trusting our judgment. It offers practical tools like the STOP technique, attitude adjustment, intuition development, empathy exercises, and redefining success. The goal is to help readers maintain perspective and peak performance in all aspects of life.

🎉 Celebration Corner

Every week Doers Inner Circle members do a weekly review & get help when they need it — check out the progress they made this week!

• I kept my CEO Friday, went to the gym 4x, was pretty good w/ SM.

• I did fine with the MIG ("only 3 days", but more than MVP in 2 of them)

• I had tons of billable work, but did it all and delivered on time

• Really managed to "push hard" on the financial forecasts part + wrote a list of my MVP outputs needed to achieve my MIG

• I managed to get some billable done and am starting to get some structure back.

• Updated my getting started routine. Overall, managed to get satisfactory sleep

• Started working on the Strategy & Mission course to prepare myself for developing processes.

• I got through all the steps of my morning routine.

• I wrote before checking my work email. Switching off my computer every night helped.

• I picked up my journal and wrote a few things in the morning. And I installed ChatGPT on my phone and had a daily conversation in the morning to get me motivated.

• I didn't open my e-mail until 9.30 every day

• I made a good small start to reaching my MIG. I forced myself not to open the email first thing in the morning and do something for my business or just journaling.

What did you do this week? We feature non-member successes too. Just post them here!

🔒Inner Circle: Events & Announcements

• New! Book Club is Posted RSVP here

• New! Do 8 Hours of Work in 4: Double Your Productivity in 1 Week Action Booster Sprint! RSVP here

• Monday: {EU Time} Work ON Business. Theme: 2️⃣ Process & Productivity RSVP here

• Tuesday: Work ON Business. Theme: 2️⃣ Process & Productivity RSVP here

• Monday/Friday: Goal Setting + Plan Your Week Party

• Accelerators: October 25 is your Goal Setting Workshop RSVP here

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I hope you found this valuable!

Wishing you much productivity!

- Jenae :)