5-Bullet Monday #41 (19/10/2020)
Happy Monday!
This was a prolific week.
In this article—How a Color Coded Calendar Helps You Conquer Your Day (Easy Tips)—I cover how color coded calendar hacks that will help you conquer your day.
In Make Before You Manage: A Mantra That Saves Creators from Overwhelm, I talk about recent struggles and the mantra that I use to save me from overwhelm.
I also published new book summaries of 3 awesome books:
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
- On Writing by Stephen King
- Vagabonding by Rolf Potts
Right, on to the Medley ;)
Here is your weekly dose of “5-Bullet Monday,” a list of what I’m pondering and exploring.
On reading books —
People often ask me: how do you read so many books? Here’s some advice:
- “Read what you love until you love to read.”—Naval Ravikant
- Make reading a habit. Some great tips on my reading habit article
- You don’t need to finish every book you start. If you’re excited after 10 pages, keep going. Otherwise, drop it
- If you’re not learning or enjoying it, start something new
- Read-it-when-you-need-it. Find books to solve problems now. More on this in my just in time information article
- Highlight and take notes as you read. Use that knowledge to make something new. More tips on this article
Despite getting this question every week, I’ve only written 2 articles about reading books. Perhaps it’s time for a new one?
What do you struggle with when trying to read books?
On running —
So I ran twice this week. That’s not normal at all. I’m not a big fan of running. But I tried the Couch to 5k App and found it surprisingly easy. Here’s why:
- It’s simple. The first few weeks the routine is: walking for 5 min + 8 reps of running 60s and walking 90s + finish with a cooldown of 5 minutes walking. Anyone can do this.
- No friction. Get your running shoes, load up the app, and you’re ready to go.
- Small victories. At the end of the practice, you get a nice boost from the app celebrating your victory.
- Incremental difficulty. Every 2 weeks the difficulty increases, but only a little.
Which got me thinking: this is the same reason videogames are addictive. And you can use the same principles for any habit:
- Start small
- Make it easy
- Make it rewarding
- Slowly increase difficulty
And these are the ideas conveyed in Atomic Habits. To create good habits:
- Make It Obvious. Use implementation techniques and design your environment
- Make It Attractive.Use temptation bundling and create a motivation ritual
- Make It Easy.Reduce friction and prime the environment
- Make It Satisfying.Give yourself rewards
What I’m reading —
I finished “Procrastinate on Purpose” by Rory Vaden. I thought it was sort of ok. I had heard many of the concepts elsewhere so really nothing groundbreaking for me. But it was neatly organized and that helped a lot.
I’m now reading “The End of Procrastination: How to Stop Postponing and Live a Fulfilled Life” as research on why we procrastinate and what we can do about it.
What’s the best book you read on procrastination? Hit reply and let me know.
What I’m watching —
I watched “Running for Good” last week. I’m in awe of what some human beings are capable of achieving.
It follows world record marathon runner Fiona Oakes in her attempt not only to set a new global record in endurance racing but to compete in the ‘toughest footrace on earth’, the Marathon Des Sables, a 250km race through the Sahara Desert.
Astonishing and highly recommended.
300 + productivity hacks —
Added new hacks to the Productivity Vault. These are all the productivity hacks I’ve spent years collecting and testing.
Everything that works with simple step-by-step instructions on how to apply to your work and life.
Want to get access to this database with 300+ proven productivity hacks? Get immediate access by clicking here.
Please give me feedback on Twitter. Which bullet above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know. Just send a tweet to @dansilvestrecom and put #5BulletMonday at the end so I can find it.
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Have a great week ;)
Dan
