Thanks for checking out the Weekly Learning Roundup. These bite-sized, weekly posts are designed to give you a quick hit of interesting learnings and articles I came across this week.

It’s a motley assortment of tips, resources, and links that will hopefully give you a bit of inspiration for the upcoming week. Enjoy!

What I’m reading —

Active Listening by Shane Parrish

I really like how this article breaks down what active listening really means. Personally, I find myself too often thinking about what I want to say next instead of truly listening to the person I’m talking with. As the article suggests, real conversations happen when you’re not colouring the things your conversation partner is saying but understanding the heart of what they’re saying and connecting with it.

Podcast episode I’m enjoying —

Naval Ravikant on Reading, Happiness, Systems for Decision Making, Habits, Honesty and More on The Knowledge Project

Naval Ravikant is a highly successful angel investor and someone who loves to learn and grow. This podcast episode from The Knowledge Project (via Farnam Street) goes into Naval’s life philosophy. For a guy who has had so much success in Silicon Valley, it’s amazing how down to earth he is and content he seems with blazing his own path to happiness.

A quote that’s inspiring me —

It’s never the changes we want that change everything.

— Junot Diaz

“ah-ha!” thought of the week —

Manage your energy – not your time.

Something that I’ve been feeling increasingly constraining is this idea of “time management”. Don’t get me wrong, managing your time is a critical skill to develop for focus and productivity. But if time management becomes your one and only objective, you may be missing out on your true potential.

We all have different times of the day when we feel energized, creative, or tired. Trying to power through hours of your day that you usually feel tired might leave your full potential untapped. (And that second, third, or fourth cup of coffee isn’t going to help in the long run).

Developing an awareness of your energy and doing the right things at the right time can make a difference. If you feel like you’re running out of gas late in the morning, maybe go take a walk. Or if you’re feeling lethargic in the early afternoon, maybe go take a nap (if you have a place to) or find a colleague to chat up so you feel more energized.

Personally, I try my best to be a robot to “be productive” during all hours of the day – especially from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. But I’m not a robot. I’m human. And acknowledging that and respecting my energy throughout the day can help me be more productive and satisfied in the long run.

—

Featured image by Breather.

As always, thanks for checking out this Weekly Learnings Roundup. Follow me on Twitter @peternakamura to see the full list of articles that I share on a daily basis.