Hi buddy,
Good morning and welcome to the final standard-edition GigaByte newsletter of the year. Crazy how time…doesn’t fly during Covid.
Before we go further into the article let’s talk about something that is equally essential. It is the time of the new year where we all have sudden bursts of motivation to make the next year a better year.
I’m a huge fan of small things. Small things that seem inappropriate in the beginning when done consistently over a period of time yields staggering results. Small things are the ones that will define your future self.
Small things are crucial for building a relationship.
In terms of finance, a monthly investment of ₹1000 for 1 year at a rate of return of 15% (realistically, the stock market gives around 7 - 8%) gives you a total of ₹12,804 (₹804 interest). Doesn’t seem like a lot, right? Now, the ₹1000 monthly investment for 50 years at 15% gives you more than ₹9 crores (your contribution is ₹6 lakhs).
Now read this line again: Small things that seem inappropriate in the beginning when done consistently over a period of time yields staggering results.
The quality of your life often depends on the quality of your habits. With the same habits, you’ll end up with the same results.
The goal for a better year had always been there. It will be only when you implement a system of continuous small improvements then you’ll achieve a different outcome.
In order to make a year great, you need good months. For a good month, you need to make better decisions every day. Deciding between sleeping more or working out. Great years over a period of time makes you a great human.
Take good care of yourself. Hang out with people who help you and lift you, and cut down the rest.
It always starts with your friends. Then you try it.
I like to hang out with people who help me to retire early, and every else I feel like a distraction.
Make better decisions every day for a great year.
Happy New Year!
In today’s topic:
Book review
Good Amazon Products
People worth following
Links that don’t suck
Book Review:
Digital Minimalism
Book by Cal Newport
How to master your attention in an increasingly high-tech world.
Why digital minimalism?
The amount of time we spend staring at a screen is unsustainable. Mastering our high-tech habits is key to making the best use of them by prioritizing long-term benefits over short-term satisfaction.
What's the bad thing about tech?
It's not that tech isn't useful and that we should reject it, it's about the fact that it dictates how we behave/feel, resulting in a loss of control/autonomy. The question is, how can we take back control?
Are we the problem?
It's not that we are too lazy or too weak to resist, it's just that we don't know how to protect ourselves from the design patterns used by tech companies to foster moderate behavioural addictions.
What's an addiction?
"Addiction is a condition in which a person engages in the use of a substance or in a behaviour for which the rewarding effects provide a compelling incentive to repeatedly pursue the behaviour despite detrimental consequences."
What are the two forces driving behavioural addiction?
Intermittent positive reinforcement (Unpredictable rewards in the form of likes, upvotes, swipes, or retweets distributed on a regular basis releases more dopamine than predictable ones. Opening an app to see notifications drives up the amount of time you spend on it significantly) and the drive for social approval (Humans are social animals craving for attention and social approval.).
The Digital Declutter
What's the objective?
To transform the technologies you use from a source of distraction into tools to support a life well-lived.
What are the 3 principles behind digital minimalism?
Clutter is costly, optimization is important, and intentionality is satisfying.
What is digital decluttering?
It's a 30-day period where you take a break from the optional technologies in your life to rediscover meaningful activities. At the end of the break, you reintroduce those technologies one at a time after carefully determining their added values and how you'll use them to serve you.
What's an optional technology?
Any app, website, or digital tool that won't harm the daily operation of your professional or personal life during the one-month period.
How to deal with the withdrawal symptoms?
The first two weeks will probably feel unpleasant. The key is to focus on cultivating high-quality (as in, meaningful and enjoyable) alternatives that will fill in the periods of the void you'll experience.
What are the 3 criteria to allow an optional technology back into your life?
It has to serve something you deeply value (clear mission), be the best way to use technology to serve said value (no better alternative), and be constrained by rules to tell you when (what day, how frequently) and how (methodology) to use it.
Spend Time Alone
"Solitude is a subjective state in which your mind is free from input from other minds."
Why is solitude so important?
Solitude is when new ideas are born, you develop an understanding of the self, and you build appreciation for interpersonal connections.
How to practice solitude?
Leave your phone at home
Take long walks
Practice conversation-centric communication. It's about being face-to-face, fully present to one another. We learn to listen and develop our empathy. It's where we experience the joy of being heard and understood.
Reclaim Leisure
A life that requires activities that serve no other purpose than the satisfaction that the activity itself generates: high-quality leisure.
Use your skills to produce valuable things in the real world
Seek activities that require real-world, structured social interactions
Follow leisure plans: lay down an objective, write down strategies to stick to it, develop habits that will support this objective, and review your progress weekly
Use your new free time effectively.
Join the Attention Resistance
What are tactics to use to resist companies trying to capture your attention?
Here are a couple of things I do
Delete social media from your phone: mobile versions are more likely to be addictive than their desktop counterpart. I only download social media apps to upload something, and the work is done I uninstall them.
With the help of Google’s Wellbeing, I restrict usage to specific hours
Most of the time I listen to Podcasts that are worth listening to.