How will you measure your life? by Clayton M,. Christensen

BOOK
This book completely changed my relationship with money. I think everyone should give it a read. Even though it’s portrayed as a personal finance book, it gives answers to much deeper questions than just “How do I save more?”

TABLE OF CONTENTS
🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences
🎨 Impressions
👤 Who Should Read It?
☘️ How the Book Changed Me
✍️ My Top 3 Quotes
📒 Summary + Notes
By applying business theory to our personal lives, Christensen shows us that success is more than just hard work. It’s also about finding meaning, maintaining healthy relationships, and being happy.

🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences
Achieving more means finding a job that motivates us and spending time on meaningful goals.
The worst thing we can do is neglect our friends and family, as our relationships are our biggest source of happiness.
We should allocate our resources – like our time, energy, and talent – on the tasks that bring us closer to our long-term goals.
🎨 Impressions
This book challenged me to think about my own life choices and how I’m prioritising my work, relationships, and other goals. It’s packed full of great examples from the world of business that we can apply to make our lives better.

👤 Who Should Read It?
I’d highly recommend this to anyone who’s interested in learning about success, whether in business or in life. But, you’ll probably enjoy it if:

You’re not enjoying your job or you don’t find it fulfilling.
You’re not 100% happy with your life and trying to find your purpose.
You think that there’s more to life than hard work.
You enjoy business or self-help books.
☘️ How the Book Changed Me
How my life / behaviour / thoughts / ideas have changed as a result of reading the book.

It made me appreciate my relationships and some important goals I’ve been neglecting.
Working as a doctor is something that motivates me and I need to find a way to bring it back into my life (at least part-time). Whenever I finish a shift I’m always like “wow, that was a challenge, but I feel like I learnt a lot and made a meaningful contribution to someone’s life”. This is super motivational and I miss it.
I decided to write out my goals and track them properly. As part of a new monthly series I’m going to update my public journal about the various goals I’m working towards and make sure I’m allocating my resources to those things that give me the most rewarding outcome.
✍️ My Top 3 Quotes
How you allocate your resources is where the rubber meets the road. Real strategy – in companies and in our lives – is created through hundreds of every day decisions about where we spend our resources. As you’re living your life from day to day, how do you make sure you’re heading in the right direction? Watch where your resources flow. If they’re not supporting the strategy you’ve decided upon, then you’re not implementing that strategy at all.
The theory of motivation suggests you need to ask yourself a different set of questions than most of us are used to asking. Is this work meaningful to me? Is this job going to give me a chance to develop? Am I going to learn new things? Will I have an opportunity for recognition and achievement? Am I going to be given responsibility? These are the things that will truly motivate you. Once you get this right, the more measurable aspects of your job will fade in importance.
Work can bring you a sense of fulfilment – but it pales in comparison to the enduring happiness you can find in the intimate relationships that you cultivate with your family and close friends.
📒 Summary + Notes
🧭 Theories are powerful tools. Without a plan or a theory we’re at sea without a sextant. Good theory helps people steer to good decisions – not just in business, but in life, too.
🧮 We’re more likely to find success if we’re calculating in how we plan our lives but allow enough flexibility in our plans for unexpected moments of serendipity.
🧪 Our initial strategies are rarely correct. Success relies on experimenting to find what works.
⚖️ We have to balance the pursuit of aspirations and goals with taking advantage of unanticipated opportunities. Managing this part of the strategy process is often the difference between success and failure for companies; it’s true for our careers, too.
🧠 We succeed in the parts of our lives we optimise for.
🔑 How we allocate our own resources can make our life turn out to be exactly as we hope or very different from what we intend ← this is key
⏳ We need to constantly allocate our resources (such as our time, energy, and talent) in alignment with the long-term goals that give us the most rewarding outcome.
🕳 Without a purpose, life can become hollow.
🧽 ‘Hygiene’ and ‘motivation’ are our 2 core needs for job satisfaction – Hygiene factors are things like status and salary. Motivation factors are the aspects of our jobs that challenge us and offer us opportunities for personal growth.
👏 We need to be honest with our actions and uphold strong moral principles when faced with difficult decisions.
🧍‍♂️ Decide what you stand for. And then stand for it all the time.
🙅‍♂️ We often rationalise a bad decision by telling ourselves we’ll do it “just this once”. Don’t do this. We’ll just keep making bad decisions harming our long-term goals.
💯 It’s easier to stick to our principles 100% of the time than 98% of the time.
❤️ Investing more time in our relationships and building deeper connections with loved ones is the quickest way to enrich our lives and be happier.
👫 It’s easy for us to not prioritise our friends and family as we think they’ll always be there for us. But that’s the wrong way to look at it. We have to invest in relationships long before we need them.
😄 Happy friendships and marriages are about focusing on other people’s happiness. Ask: “what job does my partner/friend most need me to do?”
🎓 We should be educating our children by giving them the tools to teach themselves. This means giving our kids the opportunity to face new challenges, the independence to find their own solutions, and having the freedom to fail.
👨‍👩‍👦 Don’t outsource parenting to someone else. If our children get their values from other people, whose children are they?
😇 Don’t worry about the status we’ve achieved; worry about the individuals we’ve helped become better people.

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Your Money Or Your Life by Vicki Robin

Book Summary (Can you please share the summary of the book )

“Your Money or Your Life” is a personal finance book written by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez. The book outlines a step-by-step program for transforming your relationship with money and achieving financial independence. Here are a few key points from the book:

  1. Tracking your spending: One of the key elements of the program is tracking all of your spending for a period of time so that you can get a clear understanding of where your money is going.
  2. Reducing expenses: Once you have a clear picture of your spending habits, the book encourages you to look for ways to reduce your expenses. This includes cutting back on things like eating out, entertainment, and shopping, as well as finding ways to reduce your bills for things like housing, utilities, and transportation.
  3. Building a savings cushion: The book emphasizes the importance of building an emergency savings fund, so that you are prepared for unexpected expenses and can avoid taking on debt.
  4. Investing in yourself: The book argues that one of the best investments you can make is in yourself, by developing new skills, building your knowledge, and pursuing your passions.
  5. Building wealth through smart investments: The book provides guidance on how to invest your money in a way that will help you build wealth over time, while minimizing risk.
  6. Living on less: The book encourages you to adopt a simpler lifestyle and live on less, so that you can free up more of your money to invest in your financial future.
  7. Staying motivated: The book provides tips and strategies for staying motivated and on track with your financial goals, even when the road ahead seems long and challenging.

Top of Form

The Book in 3 Sentences

  1. Track all spending and reduce expenses: The book outlines a step-by-step program for tracking your spending and reducing expenses, so you can have a clear understanding of your spending habits and find ways to cut back on unnecessary expenses.
  2. Build wealth through smart investments: The book provides guidance on how to invest your money in a way that will help you build wealth over time, while minimizing risk.
  3. Live a simpler life: The book encourages a simpler lifestyle, focusing on living on less and freeing up money to invest in your financial future and other important things in life like skills, knowledge, and passions.

Impressions

  1. Eye-opening: Tracking spending and expenses helps you become more mindful of your spending habits and how much money you waste on things they don’t really need.
  2. Empowering: The book empowers you to take control of your finances and make the changes necessary to achieve financial independence.
  3. Inspiring: You are inspired to make changes to their financial situation, and find the book’s step-by-step approach to be both manageable and achievable.
  4. Life-changing: The book can be a catalyst for making significant changes in your life, leading to greater financial stability and peace of mind.

How I Discovered It

The book is widely reviewed online, and many financial bloggers and personal finance experts have written about it, making it easier for people to discover the book. I was recommended the book by our local Hills district librarians.

Who Should Read It?

“Your Money or Your Life” is recommended for anyone who wants to improve their financial situation, regardless of their current financial status. This includes people who are living paycheck-to-paycheck, those who are struggling to pay off debt, and those who want to save more money and achieve financial independence. The book is particularly helpful for those who are feeling overwhelmed by their finances, who are struggling to make ends meet, or who are looking for a step-by-step guide to improving their financial situation. The book is written in a practical, down-to-earth style, and its focus on tracking expenses and becoming more mindful of spending habits makes it a good fit for people who are looking for a straightforward, no-nonsense approach to managing their finances.

 

How the Book Changed Me

Some of the most changes I experienced after reading the book include:

  • Increased awareness of my spending habits and a greater understanding of where my money is going
  • Improved budgeting skills and the ability to live below my means
  • A greater focus on building wealth and saving for the future

My Top Quotes

  • “Our relationship with money reflects our relationship with life.”
  • “Our net worth is not what we have but what we owe.”
  • “The exchange of time for money must be intentional, and only for those things that truly enrich life.”
  • “Spending money is a vote for the kind of life we want to lead.”
  • “True wealth is not about having money, it’s about having options.”
  • “Your life is your currency, and you are the banker.”

Detailed Notes//Key Topics

  1. Mindful spending: The book encourages readers to take a closer look at their spending habits and become mindful of how they are exchanging their time and energy for money.
  2. Tracking expenses: A key component of the book is a detailed system for tracking all of your expenses and income, in order to gain a clear picture of your financial situation.
  3. Cutting expenses: Once you have a clear picture of your spending, the book offers advice and guidance on how to identify areas where you can reduce expenses and save money.
  4. Earning more money: The book also explores ways to increase your income, whether through finding a better-paying job or starting a side hustle.
  5. Saving and investing: Once you have control over your spending and have increased your income, the book provides advice on how to save and invest for the future.
  6. Living below your means: The book emphasizes the importance of living below your means, or spending less than you earn, in order to achieve financial freedom and stability.
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Die With Zero by Bill Perkins

Book Summary

“Die with Zero” by Bill Perkins is a self-help book that encourages readers to reevaluate their relationship with money and time. The central premise of the book is that people should aim to live their lives to the fullest and enjoy their wealth and experiences to the maximum. This involves thinking more intentionally about how they spend their time and money and making deliberate choices that align with their values and goals.

Perkins suggests that people should aim to “die with zero,” meaning that they should spend all their resources by the end of their lives rather than leaving a large sum of money behind for others to inherit. This idea is based on the belief that money has diminishing returns over time and that experiences and memories provide more lasting happiness.

The book offers practical tips and exercises for readers to reevaluate their spending habits and make more intentional choices about how they use their time and money. Perkins also emphasizes the importance of planning for the future and finding ways to make the most of the time and resources that are available.

Overall, “Die with Zero” is a thought-provoking book that encourages readers to reconsider their priorities and make the most of their lives. It combines personal anecdotes and insights with practical advice and exercises to help readers take action and make positive changes in their lives.

The Book in 3 Sentences

  1. Reevaluate your relationship with money and time – Think more intentionally about how you spend your resources and make deliberate choices that align with your values and goals.
  2. Aim to spend all your resources – Rather than leaving a large sum of money behind for others to inherit, spend your resources in ways that bring you the most happiness and fulfillment.
  3. Plan for the future – While it’s important to enjoy the present, it’s also essential to plan for the future and find ways to make the most of the time and resources that are available to you.

Impressions

Thought-provoking – The book challenges you to reevaluate your relationship with money and time in order to consider a new perspective on how to approach it.

Practical and actionable – The book offers practical tips and exercises that we can use to make positive changes in our lives and take steps toward living more intentionally.

Insightful and engaging – The author shares personal anecdotes and insights throughout the book, making it a relatable and engaging read.

Controversial – The idea of spending all of one’s resources rather than leaving an inheritance for loved ones can be controversial and may not resonate with all readers.

 How I Discovered It

“Die with Zero” by Bill Perkins was released in July 2020 and has since gained popularity through various channels. The book was recommended to me by one of my friends.

Who Should Read It?

Those who are approaching retirement or have recently retired – The book encourages readers to rethink their priorities and make the most of their time and resources, which may be particularly relevant for those who are transitioning into a new phase of life.

Individuals who are interested in personal growth and development – The book offers insights and exercises that can help readers reflect on their goals and values and make positive changes in their lives.

People who want to be more intentional with their spending – The book encourages readers to think more deliberately about how they spend their money and make choices that bring them the most happiness and fulfilment.

How the Book Changed Me

After reading “Die with Zero” by Bill Perkins, I was inspired to make changes in my life. 

I become more intentional with my spending – The book encouraged me to rethink and make choices that bring me the most happiness and fulfilment. It made me reevaluate my spending habits and make changes that align with their values and priorities.

Prioritize experiences over possessions – The value of experiences and fulfilment began to change me. I prioritized experiences over possessions and started to invest in experiences that would enrich my life.

Developed a clearer sense of purpose – The book’s exercises and insights helped me reflect on my goals and values and develop a clearer sense of purpose.

My Top Quotes

  1. “The value of money is not money; it’s freedom.”
  2. “Time is a precious commodity, and it’s up to us to decide how we spend it.”
  3. “The joy is in the journey, not the destination.”
  4. “You have to know what you want and why you want it, or you’ll never know when you have enough.”
  5. “It’s not about having more money; it’s about having more life.”

Detailed Notes//Key Topics

  1. Prioritizing experiences over possessions – The book emphasizes the value of experiences over possessions and encourages readers to focus on experiences that bring them joy and fulfillment.
  2. Defining your goals and values – The book offers exercises and insights to help readers reflect on their goals and values and develop a clearer sense of purpose.
  3. Creating a “bucket list” – The book encourages readers to create a list of experiences they want to have and prioritize them based on their values and goals.
  4. Balancing spending with saving – The book offers insights on how to balance spending money on experiences with saving for the future.
  5. Maximizing the value of time – The book emphasizes the importance of being intentional with your time and making choices that align with your values and goals.
  6. Redefining retirement – The book challenges traditional ideas of retirement and encourages readers to rethink how they spend their time in order to live a more fulfilling life.
  7. Overcoming fear and regret – The book offers insights on how to overcome the fear of missing out and the regret of not pursuing your dreams.

Overall, “Die with Zero” encourages readers to be more intentional with their time and resources and make deliberate choices that align with their values and goals. By focusing on experiences over possessions and living with purpose, readers can live a more fulfilling life and die with no regrets.

Break the Procrastination Cycle

more than just tweaking your master plan and making no mistakes at all.

Have a great week!


ICYMI: Check out last week’s newsletter for more context on my chat with Katie.

🛒 Shopify Starter Plan – Launch Your Online Business for $5
If you’re thinking about selling products or services online, I highly recommend the Shopify Starter Plan.

It lets you set up your own online store in a couple of minutes, with no personal website or coding involved. All for $5 a month. You can then sell on practically any social media (Facebook, Insta, TikTok, Spotify, etc).

The Starter Plan includes an admin dashboard where you’ll manage orders, analyse sales, and talk to your customers. It’s great for creators who are just starting out, and you can upgrade to a full Shopify membership later as well. Check out the Shopify Starter Plan using this link.

Thanks to Shopify for sponsoring this issue 🙏

♥️ My Favourite Things
📝 Article – How to Get Insanely Rich in the Creator Economy by Nat Eliason. Nat gives a great breakdown of how the creator economy works, but it slowly turns into a dark, ironic takedown: “You traded in one trapped life for another, but you can’t grumble about this new cage you’re in because you built it for yourself.”

📚 Book – The Three Alarms by Eric Partaker. I’m really getting into this book. It’s got a cheesy subtitle (‘Transform Your Health, Wealth, and Relationships Forever’). But there are a lot of genuinely good insights on creativity, working distraction-free, and not chasing the wrong things in life.

🎧 Audiobook – Oathbringer, by Brandon Sanderson. This is Book #3 of the Stormlight Archive. I just re-listened to it on Audible, and I’m moving straight on to #4, Rhythm of War. It’s going to be glorious.

📚 Book – The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl R Trueman. A slightly controversial book about how modern culture got obsessed with identity. Tries to describe all the changes that happened in society order to understand the phrase ‘a man trapped in a woman’s body’. Not sure I agree with all the takes, but it was an interesting read.

🎬 My New Videos
🪴 My Complete Studio Tour (2022) – I take you on a tour of my London studio, discuss different filming setups, and look at my finances to see if the studio is really worth all the money we pay in rent.

👴🏻 How To Retire Early – A Guide to Financial Freedom – If you’re anything like me you don’t want to wait until you’re 70 to live your best life. This is my video guide to ‘retiring’ early.

✍️ Quote of the Week
I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of folks who are unhappy at work tend to equate a “good job” entirely with money, benefits, and security, rather than whether it allows them to express their talents.

😉

Give More, Expect Less

Hey friends, A lot of creators end up making things they’re not excited or passionate about. I’ve done this a few times in the past: if you know what you’re doing, you can get lots of views from lazy, recycled content. But it can sometimes feel a little soul-destroying.

And viewers pick up on that negative vibe. Like Visakan Veerasamy says: “if I’m not having a good time, everything I do gets contaminated by the subtle resentment that builds up. I don’t want that.”

The solution might be what YouTuber Ryan Trahan calls Redemptive Work.

Instead of cranking out content to get maximum views, Ryan treats every video as a gift to the viewer:

Instead of toiling for profit, we’re going to create for restoration. Instead of exhausting ourselves for an extra buck, we’re going to creatively instil in this project as much as we can, so that whoever receives this receives it as a gift, and is rejuvenated by it. […]
And it’s crazy… the more we’ve been able to pour into the videos creatively to give a gift to people, the more views that we’re seeing.

And I think it’s because it’s received as a gift.
It’s better for him, it’s better for the audience, and it’s way more sustainable.

When you’re in the gift-giving mindset, you’re just trying to make something fun. Something you’re proud of on an artistic level. So whatever you create will be filled with positive vibes, that’ll draw people in.

Of course, if you want to be a professional creator, there’s some strategy involved. You need to ask ‘what do people actually want’ before giving a gift. But you can do that without manipulating people into watching at all costs. If you can do good work and serve enough people, the money should take care of itself. In theory.

Other creators have spotted that the idea of giving a gift is pretty powerful:

Austin Kleon: “When you feel as though you’ve lost or are losing your gift, the quickest way to recover is to step outside the marketplace and make gifts.”
Tiago Forte: “I believe service and pleasure can be one and the same, like two sides of the same coin. By asking yourself how you can be of service, you evolve into a more generous person who you enjoy seeing in the mirror.”
Brendon Burchard: “When you feel the drive to serve others, you sustain solid performance longer.”
When I sit down for my morning journaling session, I often wonder about my purpose as a creator: What am I doing? Why am I doing it? And it’s comforting that after thousands of words of writing, my conclusion is broadly the same as Ryan’s:
shameel, be less outcome-dependent. Do your own thing, put it out there, and think of it as a gift you’ve made for the viewer. They can take it or leave it.

So next time you’re doing something creative, maybe ask yourself “who am I making this for? Is this the kind of gift I’d like to give them? Was it made with love?”

And I’ll try to do the same with my videos 😉

Have a great week!

🧠 Notion – Join me in Australia for a Community Celebration

Notion’s gotten a lot more powerful in the last few months. Here’s a rundown of everything that’s new.

Not sure how to use all the new features? If you’re London-based, stop by the Notion Pop-Up in Spitalfields Market from 11am-6pm. You can meet, learn from, and share your Notion setup with other Londoners, and enjoy some free coffee & tea, vanilla wheelcakes, matcha donuts, and other stuff.

Where: Old Spitalfields Market, 16 Horner Square, London E1 6EW
Notion Pop-Up Hours: 6-8 October from 11am-6pm
Afterwards, join me for a special evening celebrating the local Notion community. It’ll be October 6, 6pm at Mindspace Shoreditch, just a few blocks away from the pop-up. Sign up here.

Thanks to Notion for sponsoring this issue of Sunday Snippets. 🙏

♥️ My Favourite Things

🎙️ Deep Dive Podcast –

 

 Max Fosh: The Highs And Lows Of Being A Viral Sensation. Max got famous for faking his way into the London Fashion Week and making a video about it. His career has gone 📈 since then. We chatted about Max’s journey to 1M YouTube subscribers, how he puts together crazy videos, and the highs and lows of being a creator.

📝 Article

 – I Don’t Wanna! by Visakan Veerasamy. Amazing article on what it’s like to be a writer/creator and not want to do the thing you’re currently working on.

🤳 Tech

 – Instax Mini Link2 A mini printer that connects to my iPhone and prints off pictures in a few seconds, polaroid-style. Especially good for giving keepsake photos to friends, and for printing mini-photos to paste into my bullet journal (like I did this week for the launch of Season 4 of my Deep Dive podcast).

🚢 Course 

– Ship 30 for 30. My friends Dickie Bush and Nicolas Cole run this amazing online writing course, and the next cohort’s launching soon. If you’d like to sign up, use my code ALI to get a $100 discount.

👕 Clothes 

– MKBHD Chevron Hoodie. I got one of Marques Brownlee’s custom chevron hoodies this week. Extremely snug, would recommend.

✍️ Quote of the Week

Adults are always asking kids what they want to be when they grow up because they are looking for ideas.
Paula Poundstone, quoted in The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. Resurfaced using Readwise.

How to read 200 Books in Year

Hey friends,

I’d like to propose a new theory of reading.

I call it the Explore vs Exploit Model.

See, when I tell people I read 200 books in a year, I get two main reactions.

The first is “OMG how are u so wise??” But there’s a counter-movement that says “fuck you, there’s no way you can absorb all that info from 200 books! It’s a scam! You’d get more value from reading just 3 books per year, and applying the lessons.”

But that counter-argument misses a crucial point: there’s more than one way to read a book. And you don’t have to stick to just one mode.

In fact, I have two main modes of reading.

🗺️ 1. Reading for Exploration

We all have a mental box of possibilities – things we know about ourselves and the world.

When I read for exploration, I’m trying to expand that box as much as possible. I read quickly (often listening to audiobooks at 2x speed), just to get new ideas on my radar:

Listening to Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks during a road trip
Skimming new productivity books for original ideas.
Taking a new fiction author for a test-drive
Let’s say you’ve never studied business. You could do a lot worse than speed-listening to the top 5 business books on Amazon (about 20 hours of listening). You’d get 5 different perspectives and a pencil sketch of the field. And if you get really interested, you’ll know which book to revisit.

This is how I found the book Traction, which I dip into every month for advice on running my company.

So long as you enjoy the process, there’s nothing inherently wrong with listening to 200 audiobooks/year at x3 speed. You won’t remember them all, or be able to act on every insight, but you’ll massively expand your horizons.

⛏️ 2. Reading for Exploitation

This is where it gets serious.

About once a week I’ll read a book in-depth, making Kindle highlights and (sometimes) taking detailed notes. This can take 15h+ per book, so it’s a serious time investment.

I do this when I want to exploit a book’s contents. It could be about investing, relationships, Stoic philosophy… if a book has solid info that’s relevant to my life, I’ll upgrade it to my ‘reading for exploitation’ list. This applies to pretty much every book that I’ve summarised on YouTube (Atomic Habits, Make Time, Four Thousand Weeks, etc).

I’ll only invest this much time and effort in a book if at least one of these things is true:

I’ve already skimmed it, and decided it’s worth a proper read
It’s been recommended by a trusted source
It’s essential for my work (eg a Book Club video)
I can tell it’ll be amazing.
Reading isn’t a choice between skimming 200 audiobooks at 3x speed or spending 80 hours taking notes on Marcus Aurelius. It’s more like a funnel – get lots of ideas on your radar with Reading for Exploration, then niche down and put ideas into practice with Reading for Exploitation.

🚨Two Warnings

Don’t take reading so seriously that you never pick up a book (“oh no I need to take notes and absorb 100% of the contents”).
Don’t get so addicted to the novelty of skimming a new book that you never re-read books, and take notes on the good ones.
Have a great week!

🚀 Grow Your YouTube Channel


Heads up – the waiting list for Cohort 7 of my Part-Time YouTuber Academy is now open 🎉

It’s an action-packed, 5-week live online course running Nov to Dec 2022, where I’ll teach you how to start, grow, and eventually monetise your own YouTube channel. Sign up here with your email, and you’ll be the first to know when we open PTYA for enrollment. You’ll also get updates about the new cohort.

📚 Shortform


If you want to put a lot of new books and ideas on your radar, I highly recommend Shortform. They write short summaries of the world’s best non-fiction books, and have a library going into the 1000s. Each summary gives the book’s key ideas in one page, plus a longer 3-5 page breakdown with commentary and analysis.

It’s like getting a smart friend to tell you about a book. Click this link to get a 5-day free trial, and 20% off the annual premium subscription.

Thanks to Shortform for sponsoring this issue of Sunday Snippets. 🙏

♥️ My Favourite Things


📱 App – Rize.io I’ve been using this desktop app a lot recently. It tracks all your computer activity, and gives you a breakdown of how you spend your time. Which can be a harsh reality check… You can also set focus times – notifications will pause, and the app will play the right music and ambient noise (eg coffee shop chatter) to get you in the zone. If you’re interested, you can use the promo code Shameel to get 25% off for 3 months. (They’re not paying me to say this at all, and this is an old promo code that doesn’t give me any kickback, I just genuinely use the app a lot these days especially for book writing stuff so I’m mentioning it here).

📄 A3 Pads – I’ve loved using these big pads to brainstorm video and book ideas. There’s something about Some coloured Sharpies and I’m all set.

👨‍💻 An Actual Desk – It’s ironic: even though I’m the desk setup guy, I haven’t had my own desk for at least a year. My bedroom in London was too small to have a proper desk, and in the studio I was always hot desking. But now I’ve moved to a new place and have my own desk again, I’m rediscovering how good it is to have a main base of operations.

📅 My Ideal Week – I’m trying to stick to an ordered schedule where I block time for breakfast, meditation, workouts, and a lot more every week. Wish me luck.