Hey there!
Thanks for checking out the Weekly Learning Roundup. These bite-sized, weekly posts are designed to give you a quick hit of interesting learnings I had over the previous week.
This week I really want you to check out Tim Ferriss’s post on his morning journal. I’ve always found spending 5-10 minutes writing in my journal in the morning a cathartic experience. As Ferriss explains, it’s a way to “cage our monkey mind on paper” so we can get on with our day. I often have a lot of conflicted emotions with challenges and issues I face in my life but seeing them on paper makes them less daunting. Try it out for a week and see how it goes for you.
Enjoy this week’s roundup!
Favourite links from the week:
What My Morning Journal Looks Like (Tim Ferriss)
What’s Next in Computing? (Medium)
Working more than 50 hours makes you less productive (CNBC)
Millennials may not all die poor and alone after all (Quartz)
Brain hacking emerges as latest trend in wearable tech, but is it ready for prime time? (SharpBrains)
Productivity tip of the week:
Keep an eye on your work hours
The CNBC article above provides some great insight into the work week. According to research from John Pencavel from Stanford University, employee output falls sharply a 50-hour work week and off a cliff after 55 hours. For many of us it might seem like the more hours we spend at work means the more we get done but the benefits of spending overtime hours may not be worth the costs.
I admit, I’m guilty of spending more time with work than I should, but I can feel my willpower and energy go down as I dig deeper into a project. I love my job but I can also feel the same love get drained from myself during those long weeks. So perhaps the key to keeping work fresh and exciting lies in balancing the hours that we work. If we can focus less on the hours worked and more on the focus and productiveness we put in during the workday, we may be doing ourselves a world of good.
Product/service I’m loving:
I know I’ve mentioned IFTTT (standing for “If This Then That”) in the past but this is seriously a useful tool if you’re looking to automate aspects of your life. I use IFTTT to text me reminders to log my weight every Sunday, update me on the weather every morning, message me on daily habits I want to incorporate into my life, and so much more. It’s basically Swiss Army knife for automation and reminders.
For example, I just recently setup a text message reminder at 5:00 a.m. to put a dash of salt in my morning water (it’s a great way to re-charge your thyroids after a night’s sleep). I know it sounds a little lame but having the right reminder at the right time can really help you with habit development. Big changes are made by small actions and IFTTT helps me take action on the small changes I want to make.
If learning more about IFTTT is something you’d be interested in, let me know in the comments below. I’d be happy to create a tutorial video on how I use IFTTT to manage my reminders.
Documentaries/books I’m enjoying:
Moldy
Toxic mold thrives in approximately one out of three households in the US. It’s serious and insidious issue that affects 57 million Americans. Dave Asprey and the Bulletproof team produced this in-depth documentary into toxic mold that might explain why you feel brain fog, sluggishness, and even outright sickness. They’ve got a 10-day free screening going on for the film that I recommend checking out. They’ll ask you for your email address and name but it’ll be worth the free access.
A quote that’s inspiring me:
“Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become reality.” —Earl Nightingale
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As always, thank you to those that liked, re-tweeted, or commented on my Tweets. See you on next week’s round up!
Peter Nakamura 