The Decision-Making Hack That Makes Life 10x Easier

Welcome to the Inner Edge, where I explore insights on wealth, fulfillment, growth, and mastery.

Most people try to carry everything at once (money, fitness, family, success) thinking if they just push hard enough, they’ll move forward.

But they don’t.

They stay mostly stuck and maybe make tiny progress in every direction.

I know because I was like that.

In high school, I didn’t think deeply about decisions.

I did what seemed right in the moment—sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.

But the times it did, I found an interesting pattern.

The biggest jumps in my life didn’t come from effort alone.

They came from finding the right leverage points - the spikes that made everything else easier.

These spikes changed everything for me.

Let me explain how you can use spikes to change your life too.

There are a few main things we all really value:

• Health

• Finances

• Work

• Relationships

• Peace

• Freedom

• Energy

• among other things

But what happens when you neglect some of these things?

Well, they start to decline.

What you don't work on fades away.

If you stop working out, you lose your muscles.

No matter how Sam Sulek-looking you may be.

So, how do you have a "balanced" life?

That’s going to be the focus of today’s essay.

How you can balance all areas of life that matter to you without losing any of it.

Most people think it’s impossible.

They believe you have to choose between wealth and relationships, health and career, discipline and fun.

But the truth is, you don’t have to drop anything.

You just have to find a spike.

You can think of a spike as the leverage point that gives you the biggest returns for the smallest effort.

To find your spike, it’s helpful to follow this 4 step process.

It starts with your end-goal. You need to have some goal in mind. This can be anything. Maybe it’s your goal for your relationships, or your goal for your body or maybe for your finances. Doesn’t matter. But get clear on the goal.

Then you write out the paths to getting to that goal. Doesn’t matter how hard or easy, just write all of them.

Next, you lock in the “spike”. The one path with minimal input and maximal output.

Finally, you apply the “spike” in your life.

Now, let’s break it down further.

Step 1: Get Crystal Clear on Your End-Goal

You can't afford to skip this part. 

If you don't know what you're going for, you're not going to get there.

So spend the time to get crystal clear on what it is you want.

Do you want to improve your body?
Do you want to get closer to your kids?
Do you want to make more money?

Remember, the goal here is to make room for what you're currently neglecting—the things you want to improve but feel like you don’t have the time or energy for.

If you already have the capacity to focus on everything, this exercise can still help—but its real power lies in helping you fit in what actually matters without burning out.

Step 2: Write Out the Paths

List out the possible paths to getting to that goal.

This can be anything and everything.

For example if your goal is to get more fit then some paths could be eating better, lifting more weight, playing more sports etc.

Ideally, you want to list as many paths as possible.

Pro tip: if you’re stuck, talk to people or use the internet/gpt if you can

Step 3: Identify the Spike

Now that you’ve listed all the paths, your task is to identify the one path with the least input/most output.

That is what is known as the spike.

Again - it’s going to be your call to select the spike.

If you really have no idea, talk to others.

What can you do that requires minimal input while getting you maximal output.

But the point is, you want to identify the spike.

This will be your unlock.

Step 4: Apply the Spike

This is what will allow you to do the least for the most.

If you’re unable to prioritize all areas of your life, you want to figure out what has maximum leverage.

You want to go all in on the spike.

Let’s say your goal is to be more present with your kids, but work keeps you busy.

Your instinct might be to spend more time with them like watching full sports games and planning big weekend trips. But you’ve tried and it never works out.

Instead, what’s the one action that creates the deepest connection with the least effort?

Maybe it’s 10 minutes of playing catch every night before bed and having a deep conversation about their life.

That small habit builds a lifelong bond. And it only took 10 minutes a night.

That’s the power of a spike.

Minimal input, maximum impact.

Now, I’m going to break down 3 examples.

These are personal examples in my own life.

In these examples, I’ll list my end goal, paths, the spike (and why I think it’s a spike), some context, and the application of the spike.

Remember: you can overlap spikes if needed and even get creative with your spikes.

You’ll see that I’ll do that a lot in my examples.

There’s no exact way to do this.

It all just depends on what you’re able to do.

The point is that you actually do something rather than nothing.

Example 1: Relationships and Business

End Goal: I want to build a great relationship with my parents, while still building my business.

Paths:

• Spending time together regularly

• Having deep conversations

• Building something for my parents

• Buying meaningful gifts

• Shared hobbies or interests

• etc.

Spike: Having deep conversations and building something for my parents

Reason I Chose it as a Spike: 

This is what my family values most and also can be done with just a few minutes of presence a day.

I also love building and I can do it pretty fast (because of leverage - for another newsletter).

Context:

It's really hard to focus on getting rich and buying back your time while improving relationships simultaneously.

My family loves quality time, yet we rarely connect deeply.

I also know my mom loves dance and my dad loves speaking.

I knew I had to do something.

Applying the Spike:

• Monthly family nights where we compliment each other and give constructive feedback. Rough at first but transformational.

• Random family nights: movies, games, deep conversations. Recently, my parents played "21 questions" and loved it.

• Low-friction support: Built a mini dance studio for mom, set up a recording space for dad’s speeches.

These are examples from my family—you can do anything.

Think: maximum output, minimal input.

PS: If you have time to fully prioritize, by all means, go all-in. No need for minimal input.

Example 2: College and Friends

End Goal: I want to get into a great college without studying all day and still spend free time with friends.

Paths:

• Getting great grades

• Having standout extracurriculars (EC’s)

• Achieving top SAT scores

• Joining many clubs

• etc.

Spike: Having standout EC’s

Reason I Chose it as a Spike:

I can do something I enjoy and make myself stand out easier than anything else on the list without having to spend as much time.

Context:

In high school, I goofed around a lot.

Little studying, didn’t care much for classes.

But I knew school mattered for college.

So I had to figure out a way to do what I loved (so I didn’t burn out), spend time with friends and still get into a great college.

Applying the Spike:

After looking into the paths, I realized two things to get into a great college:

• Decent grades and SATs were necessary.

• I needed something distinctive.

First part needed some time—but not hours daily.

Second was harder but far more rewarding.

So, with my mom's help, I started a chess academy. That was my standout EC.

I also knew that my friend's brother got into UPenn with a tutoring academy, so this was a similar model with chess.

Random Pro-Tip: When in doubt, see what's working for others.

This led me to getting into my dream college while also spending tons of time with friends in high school.

Example 3: Work and Freedom

End Goal: I want to work on something I love, make money, and not work constantly.

Paths:

• Work extremely hard first, then do what I love later

• Immediately pursue what I love and hope it works out

• Figure out what the market wants (is in demand) and then align my energy

• etc.

Spike: Figure out what the market wants and then align my energy

Reason I Chose it as a Spike:

Because the market wants it already, this saves me tons of time.

I don’t have to have the confounding variable of figuring out if it’s my product or the demand.

Also, I can chose something I love so that makes it feel like play rather than work.

This means I can cut down hanging out with friends because this is equally as fun for me.

Context:

I knew that I wanted to do something I loved.

I loved creating content since middle school.

But it never worked out.

Because there were so many other things involved like scripting, editing, and SEO which I didn’t like very much.

So ultimately, making content got me no where.

But I wanted to do something I loved and make money from it.

Applying the Spike:

I found TikTok.

It was the perfect path.

It was a platform that required much less effort without all those variables.

And people were making full-time careers out of it (I asked others) and it was something I loved. It checked all the boxes.

So I went hard on it and built a following.

This led me to opening an agency which now let’s me make money and have free-time (still in the grind though).

All those examples?

I fit them into the spike framework.

But that doesn’t mean they’re the only right answers.

Your spike will depend entirely on your situation, your priorities, and what actually moves the needle for you.

The key isn’t blindly copying someone else’s spike.

It’s figuring out what works best in your own life.

What areas have you been neglecting?
What do you wish you had time for but always push to the side?

So write it out:

✅ Your Goal – What do you actually want to improve?

✅ The Paths – What are all the possible ways to get there? (Don’t overthink, just list them.)

✅ The Spike – Which one gives you the biggest impact for the least effort?

✅ Applying the Spike – How can you integrate this into your life right now?

You don’t need to fix everything at once. You just need to lift from the right spot.

Story: To Lift from the Right Spot

Most people try to lift everything at once without realizing that not all effort is equal.

But what if you found the spike—the single leverage point that makes everything else easier?

This essay has been heavily inspired by Sahil Bloom and his "Dimmer Switch" mentality.

You don't shut off life areas completely during certain seasons; you just dim them.

Focus on what matters most and dim the other switches accordingly.