Hey friends —
For this newsletter, I’m sharing five of my most favorite finds from the previous week. These include:
68 bits of life-changing advice 🪴
My most-trusted productivity combo ⏳
My go-to movement routine 🏃🏼
An effortless technique to reduce stress 🌬️
A question that’s changing the way I work 💭
I hope you find these to be as useful as I did. And if there's even just one that has changed your life for the better, then it would make writing this newsletter all worth it.
Enjoy!
📽️ a video i’ve been (re)watching
Kevin Kelly co-founded Wired magazine in 1993. He turned 68 on May 2020, and as a birthday gift, he offered 68 bits of unsolicited advice.
My five most favorite ones are:
#16. Don’t be the best. Be the only.
#23. The more you are interested in others, the more interesting they find you. To be interesting, be interested.
#32. Show up. Keep showing up. Somebody successful said: 99% of success is just showing up.
#42. There is no limit on better. Talent is distributed unfairly, but there is no limit on how much we can improve what we start with.
#64. Learn how to take a 20-minute power nap without embarrassment.
⏳ productivity techniques i swear by
I've practically tried every productivity technique out there, and I swear by this deadly duo: The Pomodoro Technique and Time Blocking.
In a nutshell, here's how it works:
The day before, I create a specific schedule for all the important tasks I want to accomplish.
And when it's time to do the work, I use the Pomodoro Technique to keep me focused.
That's it. Plain and simple.
It works well because time blocking helps me clarify what I need to work on, and the Pomodoro Technique helps me stay committed to the one task I've decided to do for each session. That way, I can enter deep focus mode and prevent burnout at the same time.
🏃🏼 a stretching routine that’s keeping me healthy
I often sit all day while working at my day job, and that makes my body feel the WORST kind of feeling the next morning. I know that I need to exercise regularly to prevent this, but sometimes I just don’t have an extra 30 minutes to spare.
So when that happens, I rely on 5 to 10-minute stretching sessions found on the YouTube channel Breathe and Flow.
Their 10-minute mobility routine removes the tightness I feel in my body without fail. So if you have several jam-packed days like I do, I recommend dedicating just 10 minutes to follow this routine, and I promise you’ll thank yourself for it.
🌬️ a breathing technique i’ve been using
Breathwork is amazing. If you're stressed out, I recommend trying this technique to quickly relieve yourself without exerting much effort:
Take two inhales through the nose, with the first one being longer than the second. Then take an extended exhale through the mouth. Repeat this 1 to 3 times.
When I use this technique, I usually feel heat coursing through my body after the exhale. This provides my body with a sense of relief from the stress immediately. It almost feels like a life hack.
Dr. Andrew Huberman demonstrates it clearly in this video, along with a good explanation of how this works:
💭 a question i’ve been asking
What would this look like if it were fun?
In the book "Feel-Good Productivity," productivity expert Ali Abdaal explores how the secret to productivity isn't discipline, grit, or grind—it's joy.
The book inspired me to regularly ask myself, “What would this look like if it were fun?”
This one question has helped me implement changes in the way I work.
For instance, when I need to process data for my weekly report, I now play anime music instead of working in silence. When I need to finish a menial task, I challenge myself to accomplish it as quickly as possible and see if I can beat my previous record. And recently, when I have meetings, I started joining the call earlier to have a lighthearted chat with team members.
These are subtle changes, but they have allowed me to take a more positive approach to my work, which has helped me achieve better results in the process.
So despite the difficulty of the task at hand, I encourage you—dear reader—to join me in discovering more creative answers to the question: “What would this look like if it were fun?”
I want to try something new this week. I've been getting a lot of value from talking to people, and it's easily one of the best investments I make with my time. So, because I also hope to make more meaningful connections this year, I'm opening up my weekends for casual chats about anything and everything.
If you've found what I share in my newsletters interesting or if you just need a friend (I certainly do), I'd love for us to have a genuinely meaningful conversation. You can set a free meeting through the button below:
Thank you for being here,
Linart 🐢
That double breath-sigh breathing technique has been a game changer for me. I'll be writing about it in a couple of weeks time. thanks for sharing this great roundup!
I've tried time-blocking before, but for some reason, I end up spending more time on one thing then the schedule doesn't apply to my day anymore. What do you do when you've over/underestimated time you need for specific tasks?