A Note from 2030
Seth Godin drops some good advice.
Twelve years from now, your future self is going to thank you for something you did today, for an asset you began to build, a habit you formed, a seed you planted.Even if you’re not sure of where it will lead, today’s the day to begin.
Subtract
Nicholas Bate asks what can we subtract to relive the pressure? I love the question, no idea about the answer.
Saturday
Nicholas Bate drops 100 words every once in a while. I liked this one.
Deep and long sleep, slow coffee and some reflection. Rapid unpacking and washing on. From entropy and chaos to some order and greater simplicity. Quick e-mail and then switch off for the weekend. The local market: friendly, warm conversation and best local-grown vegetables at budget prices. But where’s the fish van? Hope he’s OK? Blue skies, strong sun and bitter wind. Balls in play across the park; kids at their best. Climb, run, yell and just be. Return to wood-burner and two novels and slow cooked food and reflections captured in her note-book. Reflections on shifts; it was her Saturday.
Productivity Hack
I have an unhealthy addiction to finding the perfect productivity system and failing miserably at it. I used productivity apps, tried bullet journaling, tried hacks and tips, and other assorted ideas. Thousands of words are written daily on the subject.
Steve Melvin at Daddilife has more productivity tips, but his main one is probably the most important.
The most useful method? The real “secret” to productivity? Its really quite simple…Learn when you are productive.Do you know when your productive hours are? I don’t. Soooo, I’m going to start a log and try to be mindful about my productivity. There are other good ideas too, but I’m finding out when you are productive is smart.
I have no idea why I’ve never done it before.
How to Configure Your iPhone to Work for You, Not Against You
This is the longest article on Medium I’ve ever seen, clocking in as a 74-minute read. It’s awesome and easily navigable.
The iPhone could be an incredible tool, but most people use their phone as a life-shortening distraction device. However, if you take the time to follow the steps in this article you will be more productive, more focused, and — I’m not joking at all — live longer.
Good advice abounds.
Daily Intentions
I’m being bombarded with news, notifications, and other assorted miscellany, and it’s hurting my head. I can’t wait for this election to end.
I’m reminded of a post on Copyblogger about dealing with distraction and productivity.
Take some time away from the usual flood of news and notifications to think about your daily intentions. Document them somehow — any way that works for you — and make sure you see them through.It’s good to step away from the cacophony of noise and just figure out what you want to do.— Loryn Cole
The Time Bandits of Southern California
Amy Wallace in GQ has a truly bonkers long read about thieves who stole luxury watches and the special agent who caught them.
On a quiet Monday around noon, two men dressed in black stepped onto an ascending escalator in the underground parking lot of an open-air mall in Century City in Los Angeles. By the time they had reached the top, they’d pulled on ski masks and they were sprinting.
This story gets turned into a movie in 5, 4, 3, 2…
One of the Best Teams of All Time
The Boston Red Sox just dominated major league baseball this past season. Zach Kram argues at The Ringer the team is one of the best of all time.
Behind David Price, Steve Pearce, Chris Sale, and others, the team that won 108 regular-season games and easily disposed of the Yankees, Astros, and Dodgers has won its fourth title of the century. And there’s no new blueprint for would-be copycats, either.
They are going to be dominating for a good long while.
Monster Mash
You’ve never heard the Monster Mash. You’ve only heard a song about the Monster Mash.
The Monday Blues
Have you heard? The Monday Blues exist. Anxiety! Sadness! Stress! Some even start feeling it Sunday night. The dreaded Monday morning happens every six days. The horror!
Even if you enjoy your work, shouldn’t the work week and the weekend be simpatico and not enemies of each other? The only way I see that working is to not work so much on the weekend and find some personal me time. For example, last Sunday I spent two hours in the morning drinking coffee before anyone else was up. It might have been the best part of my weekend. Of course, I’m sure plenty of you have jobs where you have to work weekends. My wife is a prime example.
The solution then is to find ways to relax and unwind in the evenings and, yes, even the weekend–coffee in the morning, an extended and uninterrupted hot shower or bath, Netflix and chill. Find what works for you.
Otherwise, every day is a Monday and nobody wants that.
The Main Problem
My main problem with the song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” is that the Devil’s section is invariably better than Johnny’s in any version I’ve heard.
Time Traveler
Ever wonder which words first appeared in print the year you were born? Merriam-Webster’s Time Traveler page lets you find out. It’s a good way to kill a couple of minutes and you might have some fun too.
For example, Poison Dart Frog is the name of my next band.
What the Hell Happened to Darius Miles?
Darius Miles on going straight from high school to the L.A. Clippers in 2000. Remarkable, compelling read, capturing his life’s joy and tragedy.
Trust me, you want to read this even if you’re not into sports.
Paul Simon: Bridge Over Troubled Water
Paul Simon performs “Bridge Over Troubled Water” on Saturday Night Live.
Exquisite.
Lest we Forget
A catalog of Trump’s worst cruelties, collusions, corruptions and crimes. The first in a series.
Caroll Spinney Retires
Do you know who Caroll Spinney is? I bet you know the characters he’s inhabited for decades.
The friendly, bearded face of Caroll Spinney may not be one you recognize immediately. But if you have watched TV at any point in the past 50 years or so, you are almost certainly familiar with his work. Since 1969, he has played the parts of the gentle, inquisitive Big Bird and the lovably disgruntled Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street, the long-running children’s program.
This Thursday, as he so often has, Spinney, 84, plans to travel to the studios in Astoria, Queens, where “Sesame Street” is produced, and record some voices for his colorful alter egos.
Then he will retire from the program: His roles will be passed on to new performers and his remarkable half-century run, in which he has embodied two of the most beloved characters on television, will come to an end.
What an amazing run.
The Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Guide to Solving Relationship Problems
Mark Manson has a lengthy essay going over all the ways to solve relationship problems. He does it in his unique style. His decision tree exercise is essential reading, something to return to in times of relationship struggle.
Never Work a Day in Your Life Dream
J. Westenberg hates being a writer:
They say that if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. It’s bullshit. It’s not true. It’s a fabrication. It’s a quote splashed on an Instagram photo with too many hashtags and barely a scrape of meaning.There are times when I dearly love writing, and there are times when I dearly love being a writer, but there are moments that make me feel like I’m drowning. Those moments when it’s late at night, and there’s nothing but me and complete silence and the words won’t come. Those moments when I look back and hate the work that I’ve done. Those days where nobody reads, where there are no ideas, where I have no blood to give.
The truth is, your deepest most closely and personally held passion will still feel like work, when it requires work. When it requires sweat. When the pressure is looming above you and you’re struggling.
Why wouldn’t we want to have a life without work? A life without the pressure of getting shit done, a life where we don’t have liabilities and responsibilities that demand time and bandwidth and emotional and physical and intellectual labour? It sounds like a dream come true, but it really is only a dream.
Oh, do I want a life without work. I’m inherently lazy. Sometimes, I don’t want to do a thing.
Still, you power through. Passion is something you never want to lose. Even on the bad days. Even on the days you hate writing.
"Fall"
On Monday and Tuesday, it was in the mid-80s. I attended an outdoor cookout. Wednesday it was 73. Thursday, it was 53. Today it’s 41, and it’s snowing. Welcome to “Fall” in Central Illinois.
The Best Songs in the (Fictional) Universe
The Ringer has compiled a list of the best songs from fictional characters in movies. The debate between the writers is marvelous.
I totally got Shea Serrano’s back regarding “We All Die Young.”