I Wasted 5 Days of My Life

Newsletter

Hey friends,

Something unusual happened to me this December.

One Sunday I woke up and just… didn’t feel like doing anything.

Not working on my business, not filming YouTube videos. Not even something actively recharging (like going for a walk).

I’m usually pumped for the day ahead. But this time my brain just said: Meh, why bother getting up?

If you’re a long-term Sunday Snippets reader, you know I like to apply the Reitoff Principle in these situations:If there’s a day where I get home from work a little late and I’m feeling pretty tired, I’ll just write-off the evening and lounge on the sofa reading a book or getting through my backlog of Peter McKinnon and Matt D’Avella videos, completely guilt-free.

– Sunday Snippets, May 2019

But this time I made a crucial mistake.

Instead of accepting the situation and devoting the next few days to Netflix, takeout, and light reading, I talked myself into ‘being productive’. I have a book to write. Videos to film. This business won’t run itself.

What that actually looked like was me slumped at my desk, wrapped in a blanket with a mug of tea, doing a bunch of pseudo work + watching random video essays. Which lasted for about 5 days, until I woke up on Thursday feeling back to normal and ready to take on the world.

But if I’d applied the Reitoff Principle from the beginning I’d probably have recovered in ~2 days, and had a much better time.

Moral of the story: give yourself a break on days when you know you won’t be productive.

Have a great week!

Ali xx

📖 Shortform Summary

Someone recommended I read Susan Cain’s book Quiet: The Power of Introverts recently. I skimmed through the Shortform summary first though, and it seemed really good.

Here’s how Shortform summarise Susan’s point about ‘stretching your temperament’:However, while your innate temperament influences you throughout your life, you have the ability to stretch your personality beyond your comfort zone and act in ways that don’t come naturally to you.

Psychologist Brian Little argues that it’s worth it to act out of character in order to pursue “core personal projects” or goals that matter deeply to you. For instance, an introvert can be a passionate teacher if sharing his subject with others is a “core project” to him.

I highly recommend Shortform for getting the key ideas from a book, or if you want to test drive books before reading them cover-to-cover.

If you want to sign up, use my link for a free trial and 20% off.

♥️ My Favourite Things

📝 Article – The Art and Science of Spending Money by Morgan Housel. Thirteen insights on how and why people spend their money. Lots of interesting points:

The more you were snubbed when you were poor, the more you enjoy displaying your wealth.
Spending can be a representation of how hard you’ve worked and how much stress went into earning your paycheck.

🎬 YouTube Video – Genius YouTube Advice for 15 Minutes Straight. A great collection of YouTube advice assembled by Think Media. Featuring MrBeast, MKBHD, Casey Neistat, and yours truly.

🎙️Podcast – Marketing with Brendon Burchard. I’ve been on a binge of this podcast recently. Some incredible insights about sales, marketing, and content from a true pro who’s been doing it for 10+ years.

👨‍💻 Tech – Oripura Laptop Stand. A super-simple laptop stand from Herman Miller that I take on all my travels. It folds down to roughly the size of an iPad Air. A bit pricey at $49, but I got it for free as a Herman Miller ambassador lol.

🎬 My New Videos

🏖️ My Portable Productivity Desk Setup (Remote Work) – I travel around a bit these days so I need to have a good portable desk setup. In this video I take you through what that looks like.

Quote of the Week

Power is the faculty or capacity to act, the strength and potency to accomplish something. It is the vital energy to make choices and decisions. It also includes the capacity to overcome deeply embedded habits and to cultivate higher, more effective ones.

From 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey. Resurfaced using Readwise.

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Want to learn more from me? Check out my online video courses 👇

🚀 Productivity Masterclass

→ Do more of what matters to you, in a fun and sustainable way

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📹 YouTube for Beginners

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