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
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
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
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
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
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
Jim Collins - Concepts - The Hedgehog Concept
A Hedgehog Concept is not a goal to be the best, a strategy to be the best, an intention to be the best, a plan to be the best. It is an understanding of what you can be the best at. The distinction is absolutely crucial.
Aligning your business around maximizing profits will lead to less profits in the long run. For some reason it is required to instead focus on an ancillary goal, something that customers value highly, and strive to do that well. Outsized profits then often come raining down. And yet our shared experience in American business belies this and I'm sure we could all give example after example of the bottom line becoming the only focus, usually at the expense of stakeholders, customers, and employees.
The hedgehog concept from Jim Collins touches on this to some extent. If you haven't read Good to Great I do recommend it. It came out a number of years ago and may be a bit cliched but to be honest I don't care... recommending Good to Great is my personal hedgehog. -Brian