5-Bullet Monday #47 (30/11/2020)

Happy Monday!

With so many things happening this week — promos, upgrading my desk, thinking long-term strategy — I only published one book summary:

• Everything Is F*cked by Mark Manson

So here’s the best of what I published in the last few weeks:

#1 YouTube Videos

1. The Scientific Way to Build Good Habits in 4 Easy Steps (Atomic Habits by James Clear)
2. Deep Work by Cal Newport: Summary and Key Lessons
3. How to Make Change Easier and Effective – Switch by Chip and Dan Heath: Summary and Key Lessons
4. How to Design Your Life to Focus on the Most Important Things (Essentialism by Greg McKeown)

Want to get updates on future videos? Subscribe to the channel by clicking here ;)

#2 Articles

1. Color Code Your Calendar, Already
2. How to Plan Your Day: Taking Control of Your Time (With Examples)
3. 10 Time Wasters You Need to Avoid for Improved Productivity
4. 4 Deep Work Strategies: Do You Know the Best One for You?
5. How to Use a Time Log to Conquer Your Day-to-Day (in 3 Easy Steps)
6. Chronic Procrastination: How to Get Rid of It and Overcome It for Good
7. 13 Procrastination Tips to Make Progress on Your Tasks (Easy to Apply)

If want to get updates on future articles, please follow me on Medium.

#3 Book Summaries

1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
2. The Productivity Project by Chris Bailey
3. Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
4. Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
5. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
6. Start With Why by Simon Sinek
7. The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone
8. The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
9. The End of Jobs by Taylor Pearson

Do you have recommendations on books I should read and summarize? Hit reply and let me know ;)

I’ve got a big list of summaries to do so plenty more in the weeks to come.

Right, on to the Medley ;)

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Bullet Monday,” a list of what I’m pondering and exploring.

What I’m pondering—
So last week I told you I started reading “Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker. Lots of people had recommended this book, solid reviews. It was a game-changer!

But… I was bored after a few pages.

I didn’t want to read more. It felt very academic and not at all what I was expecting or need to read right now.

So I dropped this book (for now). Yes, you can (and should!) drop books if they are not interesting to you right now or if you find them boring.

Two things can happen after this:

1. Sometimes, I’ll never pick that book again
2. Other times, I’ll come back to the book sometime in the future

So there are 2 variables to this:

1. Read what you want
2. The timing of what you read

The first means reading stuff that interests you.

For example:

90% of the books I read are around productivity, performance, entrepreneurship, and better thinking. I’ll read about other topics too, but sparsely. I try to pick the “best” (read: most recommended) book on a topic and read that. If I find it interesting, then I’ll pick more books on that topic.

In the words of Naval Ravikant: “Read what you love until you love to read.”

As for the second — timing — that one is related to how prepared you are for the information. Do you need it now? Can you apply the knowledge to your life now? Those are the books that can make a difference.

I talked about this concept of just-in-time information before and it’s something I find myself thinking about from time to time.

The best book (for you) is the one that gives you the information you need right now. 

So when deciding what to read next, ask yourself: “What problem am I trying to solve right now?”

A simple question to uncover what’s next on your reading list.

I started reading “Why We Sleep” because I thought it was going to be what I needed right now.

But now I’m thinking about strategy, not sleep. So I used that simple question and arrived at my next book. And I’m loving it! (more on it below)

What about you: how do you decide what to read next?

What I’m thankful for—
Thank you so much to everyone that replied to my last email commenting on my struggles with selling. Apparently, I’m not alone. Even though I knew that, it was great to read some stories from you guys.

Others just emailed thanking me for “being real”. I appreciate that as well. It was not easy to write and “being so real”. But I will continue to keep it real.

What do you think? Do you prefer more “me real” stories or more updates with links about productivity and performance?

Hit reply and let me know ;)

I’m also thinking of being more active on Twitter and share some more updates and insights. If that’s something you’d like to hear about, give me a follow ;)

I also appreciate everyone who grabbed my deals pre-Black Friday. You guys gave me a little more runway so I can continue to create things. So big big big thank you!

What I’m reading—
So after dropping “Why We Sleep” I asked myself the magic question:

“What problem am I trying to solve right now?”

My answer? Right now I want to learn more about strategy and how to scale a company.

I’m at the stage of trying to build a small but flexible team to scale our efforts. I want to stay small but need some help. The mission doesn’t change: I want to help you perform at your best in order to be happier. My goal is to bring people on board that share the same passion to fulfill that mission.

The book recommended to me was “Your Next Five Moves: Master the Art of Business Strategy” by Patrick Bet-David.

And after just 10 pages I knew this was the book I needed right now.

In short: it’s a practical and effective guide for thinking more clearly and achieving your most audacious professional goals.

This book helps entrepreneurs understand exactly what they need to do next by translating this skill into a valuable methodology.

Highly recommended.

What I’m waiting for—
So I finally went ahead and ordered the upgrades for my new desk setup. I’m so excited. It’s going to be sooooooo sick…

I’m thinking of sharing on Twitter my building process, talk about the items, etc.

And then do a video on this new productivity setup.

What do you think? Should I do it?

Hit reply with Yay or Nay ;)

Level up your productivity—In my Productivity Vault, you can find 300+ proven productivity hacks. 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.

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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And should you come across anything interesting this week, send it my way. I love finding new things to read through members of this newsletter.

Have a great week ;)

Dan

P.s. don’t forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel ;)