This is an old article from a series about experimenting with daily routines in order to find the best possible way to do the things you do on a daily basis. This first piece is all about sleep, and I thought it was a really fun experiment. I've started playing around with different wake times, and right now I'm trying to get into a rhythm of waking up at 5:30am. The main problem I'm having is going to bed early enough to make 5:30am wake-ups not suck. - Calvin
I left my central London apartment to live and work in my car - Business Insider
In my head I have this file of backup ideas slash alternate timeline realities. In one of them I live on a cruise ship. In another I'm a time traveling agent protecting the integrity of history. And in a third I'm traveling across Europe in an SUV converted to an officebedroom. -Brian
In literary circles this review of a dime-store romance novel by the literary curmudgeon of the London Review of Books is held up as the greatest book review of all time. The opening line itself is classic: To be a really lousy writer takes energy. Don't I know it...
-Brian
Second Spanish church falls prey to well-intentioned restorer | World news | The Guardian
Priceless masterpieces "restored" by people with the art talent of a 5 year old with finger paints? And apparently this keeps happening? Wait, actually this is hilarious- you have to see these pictures... -Brian
As He Heads Back To Prison, A Nashville Man Says 'Goodbye' To The New Life He Hoped To Build
Thanks Katie, I didn't know I was gonna cry today.... -Brian
The “Burner List”—My simple, paper-based system for focused to-dos
I love this, but I also love Todoist. But if you aren't obsessive about todos and you're interested in getting your life together, I'd try this system just to see if it helps. - Calvin
Forget About Setting Goals. Focus on This Instead.
What if you focused on systems or processes rather than goals? Would you still get results? This author says you will. What do you think? –Calvin
The “Spell” of Procrastination: Specious Barriers and How to Conquer Them
This article ties in well with a previous article I shared about the excuse "I don't have time". Procrastination is so attractive because it's safe; if you don't ever try to get something done, you have zero chances of failing to get that thing done.
I also enjoy the word "specious". Although if I tried to use it in a sentence with my accent it would just sound like "spacious" and everyone would think I was dumb. – Calvin
Productivity in 2017: What we learned from analyzing 225 million hours of work time
If the last article was motivational for you, this one will bring you back down to Earth pretty fast. Key takeaway here: you have so much less time per week to actually get things done than you think you do. We are hilariously optimistic when it comes to estimating the amount of time it will take to accomplish a task, and apparently we don't know much about how many calendar days it will take to accomplish that task either.
Caveat: this app only has data from people that use the app, but to me that is even more convincing. If you're someone that cares enough about productivity to install a productivity tracking app, then you're probably a high-performing individual. And if performance-minded folks are only able to cobble together 12.5 hours of productive time per week (that's 2.5 hours a day) then that is shocking. – Calvin
The Flight Routines of Super Travelers
I'm a bit concerned that I appear to travel more than these so-called "Super Travelers" profiled by the BBC. So in addition to a bonus article on jet lag, here are my "Super Traveler Tips":
-Super Traveler Brian