Reading & Thoughts from April
Issue #19 // *|DATE:F j, Y|*
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“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” —Dr. Seuss
#READING
Why You Need To Start Using A Decision Journal (6 min read)
//trello
Summary: Step up your decision-making game by tracking key decisions and reflecting on a regular cadence on how that decision went
The day after I read this article, I created a section in my notetaking app, specifically for decisions. We make many decisions daily, with varying degrees of importance. You really want to improve the decisions that make your life better. Why do we leave decisions to a one-time process? Instead, we should be measuring how those decisions performed and reflect to understand why it performed so well or so poorly.
Goal for next month: track one key decision and review it one month later to see how it panned out.
How to Edit Your Own Writing (10 min read)
//nytimes
Summary: Writing is hard, here are ways to make it easier
I'm super lazy and I hate to edit my writing. With that being said, I do edit my writing (sometimes). This article gives some great writing tips:
Understand that what you write first is a draft
Watch for common errors
Jargon
Clichés
The passive voice
Rambling
Give your work some space
Cut, cut, cut
Spend the most time on the beginning
Pay attention to structure
Use all the resources you can
Grammarly
Thesaurus
And some tips from me:
Have someone else take a second look (I use my girlfriend or mom)
Write your first draft on paper or in a note-taking app (DO NOT COPY & PASTE)
Start over, don't be afraid to throw your work away (don't hoard)
IT'S TIME TO BUILD (8 min read)
//a16z
Summary: We lack desire to build the things that will accelerate us into the future, and that needs to change (audio version of this article)
While I'm sure there are criticisms and points to refute in this article, that isn't the intention. This article is a vision for America to get out of its trough and actually build things that make a difference for humanity
"I think building is how we reboot the American dream"
Building can take various forms: building directly, helping, teaching, and taking care
Bulletins vs bulletin boards (2 min read)
//sethgodin
Summary: Information on demand is way more useful than information that demands our attention at moments when we’re not interested
Oddly, this reminds me of Myspace where you would go to see what someone is doing (with intention) rather than with force
We've changed the nature of visiting with intention to visiting by force
Notifications, emails, "productivity" applications are made popular through force
The best way to change the dynamic may to go back to intention and creating a reason to be there
#PODCASTS
How to Use Stoicism to Choose Alive Time Over Dead Time
//timferriss
Listen to this podcast
Focus on what you can control and have the wisdom to know what you can’t act on
Ask yourself: “How can I make the next 3 to 6 months some of the most enjoyable or productive of my life”
Imagine all of the worst things that can happen and then look for ways to decrease the chances of them happening and decrease the damage if they do happen
This is essentially an activity I do: Pre-Mortems
“It doesn’t matter how many opportunities you miss, it matters how many opportunities you take advantage of”
Why We Didn't Prepare For The Pandemic
//theindicator
Listen to this podcast
There are some interesting insights why we didn't prepare for the pandemic: from grocery stores to the government
Most of the reason we didn't prepare comes down to a simple cost-benefit analysis
#RANDOM
Hours
//cutebouncingbunnies
Daily Stock Market Email
//bullish
Ok Google - it's time you discovered cyclists
//cyklistbloggen
Stop Mindless Browsing
//intention
Why the NSA Called Me After Midnight and Requested My Source Code
//medium
Are You Really the Product?
//slate
Here’s the One Thing You Need to Do to Learn More About Anything
//inc
How to Make Hard Life Decisions
//scottyoung
#BOOKS
Swipe to Unlock: A Primer on Technology and Business Strategy
//technology
Read this Book
I don't generally recommend books, since I try to read classic, old books and there are many better book recommendation lists, but let's give it a shot! Let me know if you decide to read this book
This was a super quick read, with short chapters that could be a series of articles in itself
One of my favorite sections was about Jio, an Indian telecommunications company
This book will give you a solid foundation of technology and why large corporations decided to make certain key decisions
#THOUGHTS
Take advantage of your corona-break
How can you make this time worth more than if everything were normal?
Relax, you don't always need to be productive
Don't buy, do a DIY project
Gyms are closed, try a new exercise routine
Take a course online (MIT OpenCourseWare, Udemy, Fiverr)
Will COVID-19 be better for the long term economy?
This is a genuine question I've been thinking about, and I've been trying to figure out how they will play out. I've been trying to think in years/decades rather than weeks/months
Renewable energy (oil is getting pummeled right now)
Cities will be designed around pedestrians/cycling rather than automobiles
Individuals/business will (hopefully) save more for an emergency fund
Remote work makes people equal (Silicon Valley vs US; US vs The World)