Be kind. You should do it simply to be decent, but do it even if you're a ruthless mercenary because you have no idea where people will end up in 10 … - James Clear

It is not necessary to change a person in order to change their behavior.

Just change their environment.

The obvious way to buy back your time is to pay someone to do something for you. Pay the mechanic to change your oil or a dry cleaner to press your suit.

The less obvious way to buy back your time is to say no. Passing on a promotion might “buy” you more time with family. Declining the dinner invite might “pay” for the time you need to exercise. We buy back our time not only with the money we spend, but also with the opportunities we decline.

The more clearly you know how you want to spend your days, the easier it becomes to say no to the requests that steal your hours.

Curiosity can empower you or impede you.

Being curious and focused is a powerful combination. I define this combination as unleashing your curiosity within the domain of a particular task: asking questions about how things work, exploring different lines of attack for solving the problem, reading ideas from outside domains while always looking for ways to transfer the knowledge back to your main task, and so on. Even though you're exploring widely, you're generally moving the ball forward on the main thing. You start something and you keep searching until you find an effective way to finish it.

Meanwhile, when your curiosity sends you off in a dozen different directions and fractures your attention, then it can prevent you from focusing on one thing long enough to see it through to completion. Curious, but unfocused. You're jumping from one topic to the next, they aren't necessarily related, your efforts don't accumulate, you're simply exploring. You start many things and finish few.

How is your curiosity being directed? Is it rocket fuel or a roadblock?