On taking action, relaxing, and finding your atlas
Hi there! I'm Haikal. You are receiving this email because you signed up for Sunday Snacks, a biweekly newsletter about effective learning, productivity, and habits.
Hey friends!
I hope you are staying safe! I've recently started a 28 Day Writing Challenge. It's tough but so rewarding at the same time! I want to share the best ones, but you can read all my articles on my site.
I also changed the name of my newsletter from Sunday Shorts → Sunday Snacks. It sounds better, no?
That aside, here are three ideas from me, 2 quotes I'm pondering on and 1 question for you.
3 Ideas From Me
Notes Raft: How to Build a Habit of Writing Evergreen Notes
How do you make yourself do something? Use social accountability! This is how I created a group to make me write more notes. You could also use this concept for anything in your life: Reading, studying, exercising.
Most of us use the Internet without being aware of what we’re actually using it for, and a few seconds later, we find ourselves in that weird part of YouTube. How can we be more mindful about how we use the Internet?
Whatever you are learning, one or two resources will cover everything you need to know well. Find these resources, make it your map, your atlas. And stick to it.
The same goes for tools you're using too!
2 Quotes I'm Pondering On
Derek Sivers on living with less stress
“I’ve always been very Type-A, so a friend of mine got me into cycling when I was living in L.A. I lived right on the beach in Santa Monica, where there’s this great bike path in the sand that goes for, I think, 25 miles. I’d go onto the bike path, and I would [go] head down and push it—just red-faced huffing, all the way, pushing it as hard as I could. I would go all the way down to one end of the bike path and back, and then head home, and I’d set my little timer when doing this. . . .
“I noticed it was always 43 minutes. That’s what it took me to go as fast as I could on that bike path. But I noticed that, over time, I was starting to feel less psyched about going out on the bike path. Because mentally, when I would think of it, it would feel like pain and hard work. . . . So, then I thought, ‘You know, it’s not cool for me to associate negative stuff with going on the bike ride. Why don’t I just chill? For once, I’m gonna go on the same bike ride, and I’m not going to be a complete snail, but I’ll go at half of my normal pace.’ I got on my bike, and it was just pleasant.
“I went on the same bike ride, and I noticed that I was standing up, and I was looking around more. I looked into the ocean, and I saw there were these dolphins jumping in the ocean, and I went down to Marina del Rey, to my turnaround point, and I noticed in Marina del Rey, that there was a pelican that was flying above me. I looked up. I was like, ‘Hey, a pelican!’ and he shit in my mouth.
“So, the point is: I had such a nice time. It was purely pleasant. There was no red face, there was no huffing. And when I got back to my usual stopping place, I looked at my watch, and it said 45 minutes. I thought, ‘How the hell could that have been 45 minutes, as opposed to my usual 43? There’s no way.’ But it was right: 45 minutes. That was a profound lesson that changed the way
Source: The Art of Living with Less Stress by Derek Sivers | The Tim Ferriss Show
James Clear on the importance of getting in action
It is easy to get bogged down trying to find the optimal plan for change: the fastest way to lose weight, the best program to build muscle, the perfect idea for a side hustle. We are so focused on figuring out the best approach that we never get around to taking action. As Voltaire once wrote, “The best is the enemy of the good.”
I refer to this as the difference between being in motion and taking action. The two ideas sound similar, but they’re not the same. When you’re in motion, you’re planning and strategizing and learning. Those are all good things, but they don’t produce a result. Action, on the other hand, is the type of behavior that will deliver an outcome.
If I outline twenty ideas for articles I want to write, that’s motion. If I actually sit down and write an article, that’s action. If I search for a better diet plan and read a few books on the topic, that’s motion. If I actually eat a healthy meal, that’s action.
Sometimes motion is useful, but it will never produce an outcome by itself. It doesn’t matter how many times you go talk to the personal trainer, that motion will never get you in shape. Only the action of working out will get the result you’re looking to achieve.
Source: Atomic Habits
1 Question For You
What's one thing you're not working on because you want it to be perfect?
Thanks for reading!
Haikal
P.S If you found it helpful, could you give me a hand and share it?