Sunday Snacks: Life-changing ideas
Hey friends!
It's been such a long time since I last posted a newsletter (I know it’s not a Sunday, sorry!)- it feels like I don't have much to share at times, and I've been a bit hectic recently - I just got out of self-isolation as a COVID Close Contact.
That being said, I finally came to my senses that the feeling of "I don't have good stuff to share" is nonsense. I just started writing, so naturally, I need feedback from readers to see what resonates and what does not. I could give lame reasons why I'm not working hard on my writing, but ultimately there are no two ways about it: if you really care about it, you need to make time for it. You don't see parents not feeding their children because they're busy at work, do they?
Feedback is valuable. Not receiving feedback on your work is naive practice. To achieve mastery, you need to do what Anders Ericsson, in his book Peak (book summary coming soon), calls deliberate practice.
Feedback is so easy to get these days, but it's a bit scary: you need to practice in public.
Justin Bieber played the guitar on the sidewalk before he was even a teenager.
Ed Sheeran played songs on the London Underground before he signed with a record label.
The Beatles - played six nights a week at a strip club in Hamburg, Germany, before they became a hit.
It's clear how important practising in public is.
That being said, I'd like to commit to sending my newsletter more consistently publicly. The reasons are twofold: improve the quality of my writing by getting feedback from others, and to improve the quality of what I'm reading as well - I can't share something boring and not insightful!
To keep me accountable, should you catch me not keeping up with my schedule of at least one newsletter every week, ping me, and I'll donate $5 to your charity of choice. I'm putting my money and skin in the game, and hopefully, that'll improve my writing and reading.
Here's What I've Written Over the Past Few Weeks:
Here's a compilation of ideas that literally changed my life lens, and I hope that some of them surprise you! Here are 20 ideas on personal development, habit building, learning, productivity, and decision making.
Direct Learning - the only way to learn
The easiest way to learn is simply by spending a lot of time doing what you want to become good at. If you want to learn how to write, write articles instead of reading books on writing. If you want to learn how to play the piano, play a song instead of learning music theory. If you want to pass a test, practice solving the problems that are likely to come up.
If you're looking for a note-taking method for remembering your non-fiction reading that can enrich your writing, take a look at the Zettelkasten! I've not yet truly understood how to build one, but here's an article on what I learnt so far.
Motivation is super icky - everyone talks about it, everyone thinks it's the secret sauce to happiness and success. But it's not. It's unreliable, and more people need to know about it.
Building a Habit Tracker in Roam Research
Roam is an excellent tool for habit tracking - the bi-directional linking allows you to take notes on the habits you tracked and gives you context on your habits - which could be the feedback you need to improve your habits! Building a habit tracker in Roam is not intuitive, so here's an article on how you can build one in Roam.
Plus Minus Next Journaling in Roam Research: An Easy Method for Weekly Review
Here's an easy and fast method for reflecting on your week - and how to do it in Roam!
And Here Are 5 of the Best Things I've Read This Week:
What do we really mean when we say “Gamification?
Everyone talks about gamification and how it's the secret to improving your performance - but are we doing it right?
Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
If you're not into non-fiction, give this book a try. I just started reading it, and it's possibly one of the best-written books I've read - it's punchy, funny, and has good storytelling.
I'm only 20% into it, but here's my favourite highlight so far:
This Is the Most Fun Way to Make Your Life Awesome - Barking Up the Wrong Tree
What do happy and successful people have in common with one another? They have generativity - these are the people who care about future generations and work hard to make the world a better place. By making the life of others better, you're making your life better too!
How does one get here?
By changing the story you tell yourself.
What Skinny Margaritas Taught Me About Habit Formation
Need to stop craving for a bad habit? This post by Khe Hy might help you out.
The Endowment Effect - a quote from the book Money: A User's Guide by Laura Whateley
"We overvalue things we already own. This is the endowment effect. When we have owned something or used something for a period of time, whether that is something as big as a house or as silly as a Netflix subscription, we feel invested in it and value it more than we would have never owned it. That’s why people over-inflate the value of their own home when they sell, and feel aggrieved that the snooty young couple viewing cannot see how much time and attention went into choosing the perfect shade of grey-green to paint the kitchen cupboards; or why you get sucked into paying more for something on eBay than you would have declared it worth before you started bidding. Or even why we do not switch away from a subscription service after a free trial period has come to an end, or we have an irrational desire to stay with the same bank for thirty years."
As usual, thanks for reading!