How to Implement a Killer GTD System in Google Sheets
I run across a lot of GTD setups. But this one was shared by Josh Rensch over on the Productivity Guild and I have to admit that it’s rather unique.
Cortex #62: 2018 Yearly Themes - Relay FM
Looking back on 2017, I realized I was in a similar boat as Grey. The year was chaotic in many ways. But I’m not one to do yearly themes (though I’ve considered it many times) so adopting The Year of Order isn’t something I’ll do. But I do like his catch phrase for it, “The work isn’t the work. The system is the work.” It’s very similar to the concept of building habits instead of projects. I can get behind that.
A Tactical List of How to Plan Your Days, Weeks, & Projects
Matt Ragland has a fascinating approach to planning out his days/weeks/months on paper. This is an article I’ll likely come back to time and again.
How To Read A Book by Mortimer Adler
Pre-reading process:
- Title page and preface
- Table of Contents
- Check the index
- Read the publishers blurb
- Skim the main chapters
- Skim the entire book
- P. 38 You need to be able to read at different speeds. Not just faster than you currently do.
- P. 41 The assumption that we have the Declaration of Independence in house. 😂 It’s online. Why buy one?
Four questions to ask of a book:
- What is the book about as a whole?
- What is being said in detail, and how?
- Is the book true, in whole or part?
- What of it? Why?
- P. 50 Create a personal index at the back and write a summary outline at the beginning.
I. THE FIRST STAGE OF ANALYTICAL READING: RULES FOR FINDING WHAT A BOOK IS ABOUT
- Classify the book according to kind and subject matter.
- State what the whole book is about with the utmost brevity.
- Enumerate its major parts in their order and relation, and outline these parts as you have outlined the whole.
- Define the problem or problems the author has tried to solve.
II. THE SECOND STAGE OF ANALYTICAL READING: RULES FOR INTERPRETING A BOOK’S CONTENTS
- Come to terms with the author by interpreting his key words.
- Grasp the author’s leading propositions by dealing with his most important sentences.
- Know the author’s arguments, by finding them in, or con— structing them out o,f sequences of sentences.
- Determine which of his problems the author has solved, and which he has not; and of the latter, decide which the author knew he had failed to solve.
III. THE THIRD STAGE OF ANALYTICAL READING: RULES FOR CRITICIZING A BOOK AS A COMMUNICATION OF KNOWLEDGE
A. General Maxims of Intellectual Etiquette
- Do not begin criticism until you have completed your outline and your interpretation of the book. (Do not say you agree, dis- agree, or suspend judgment, until you can say “I understand”)
- Do not disagree disputatiously or contentiously.
- Demonstrate that you recognize the dillerence between knowledge and mere personal opinion by presenting good reasons for any critical judgment you make.
B. Special Criteria for Points of Criticism
- Show wherein the author is uninformed.
- Show wherein the author is misinformed.
- Show wherein the author is illogical.
- Show wherein the author‘s analysis or account is incomplete.
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Action: Reevaluate the Bookworm format and how we process a book in post.
- Imaginative literature: basically it’s saying to NOT get too wound up in the details.
- Reading poems: read it through first and then again out loud.
Backing Off Defer Dates: An OmniFocus Experiment - MacSparky
No one makes a living on Patreon | The Outline
Patreon has been a service I’ve never understood. It seems like a great idea but it also gives off the impression of a sophisticated membership software much of which you can replicate with a WordPress site and a membership software like Paid Memberships Pro. So I wasn’t surprised when I ran across this article.
005: Austin Kleon - Pencil vs Computer • Hurry Slowly
I feel like I’m linking to Hurry Slowly a lot lately. Jocelyn does an excellent job of verbalizing exactly what I’m thinking about a lot of topics revolving around technology and headspace. This one is especially memorable for me. Austin Kleon joins to talk about the intersection of analog and digital tools, a topic I’m quite enamored with.
Why forests and rivers are the most potent health tonic around | Aeon Essays
My sense is that we’ve known getting outside is an extremely positive activity in regards to our health. But I have to say this is one of the first articles I’ve run across that attempts to explain why on the microbial level.
003: Craig Mod - I Want My Attention Back! • Hurry Slowly
It’s a long story but I’m finally getting back into listening to podcasts and not just recording them. And Hurry Slowly is one of my favorites that I’m catching up on. This particular episode struck me as Craig Mod explains his methods of pointing his attention where he wants and when he wants. All I can say is that I’m jealous, but at the same time wondering what to do about it.
Segment’s Systematic Quest for Depth - Cal Newport
I am far from a proponent of open offices. I worked in one once. I’ll avoid it all I can in the future. In this article, Cal Newport shares a story about Segment and how they did something to combat their open office and increase focus.
Since our children are...
Since our children are privy to a superabundance of media, we now need to proactively engineer moments of absence for them. We cannot afford to count on accidental absence any more than we can count on accidental veggies at dinner.
Michael Harris - The End of Absence (39)
For the beginner...
For the beginner, novelty is anything that hasn’t been encountered before. For the expert, novelty is nuance.
Angela Duckworth - Grit (114)
A man who is...
A man who is more concerned with being a good man than being good at being a man makes a very well-behaved slave.
Jack Donovan - The Way of Men (82)
Culture is more than...
Culture is more than the aggregate of what Google describes as ‘the world’s information.’ It’s more than what can be reduced to binary code and uploaded onto the Net. To remain vital, culture must be renewed in the minds of the members of every generation. Outsource memory, and culture withers.
Nicholas Carr - The Shallows (197)