Notebook
Welcome to my second brain. My notebook is where I test my ideas in public.
A collection of ideas I get while reading, but too immature for an essay. If a note resonates with others, I develop it into an essay. Think of my essays as complete paintings and my notebook as rough sketches. You get the idea.
To receive these notes in your inbox, sign up at todayilearned.substack.com
Imitate, then innovate
Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different from that from which it was torn. —T. S.
Working on fewer things
I've been on a short break recently, not doing much writing aside from publishing weekly. When I wrote daily, I felt like my ideas were stale, and it didn't have that unique touch. It felt like post #292 on productivity, and I didn't like that. So I stopped for a
Doing a mindful productivity audit: 10 questions to improve your mental health while being productive
I've recently joined Ness Labs' Mindful Productivity Challenge to learn how to be more productive while taking care of my mental health and avoiding burning out. The challenge is simple: Every day, we learn about one new strategy and do a short exercise to put it into practice. On the
Remember anything with the method of loci
According to legend, Greek poet Simonides stepped outside the dining hall of a dinner he attended when the roof collapsed, killing everyone inside. Due to the extent of damage, they could not identify any of the victims. However, Simonides found that he could identify each victim by picturing the hall's
Revenge bedtime procrastination
Picture this: You've had a busy day and didn't have any "me time" throughout your day. Work piles on, and once you're done, it's actually time to sleep. But instead of sleeping, you go on Netflix and browse social media until the wee hours. Like most behaviours, psychologists have an
How long does it take to form a habit?
In 1960, Dr Maxwell Maltz discovered that it took 21 days for patients to get used to the results of an operation and adjust to new routines. He wrote: "These, and many other commonly observed phenomena tend to show that it requires a minimum of about 21 days for an
Time blocking
It's time to ditch our to-do lists. We're bad at estimating how long it takes to complete a task. As a result, we fill our to-do lists to the brim and feel bad for not completing them at the end of the day. To-do lists are great for determining what
Intermittent screen fasting
We should treat technology as we treat food. Both are good, but only when consumed in moderation. Too much food and we get obesity, diabetes, and heart problems. Too much technology can distract us and harm our mental health. Maybe it's time for us to take a leaf out of
Think journey before destination
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, along with Roger Federer, are the GOATs of tennis. They've each won 20 Grand Slams, with them missing out on the trophy only 11 times since they started playing. What makes them so successful at hitting a yellow fuzzy ball across the net? Here's what
Dealing with imposter syndrome
I've been feeling like an imposter lately - and that's not because I've been playing Among Us. I've been writing for quite some time, but I feel like most of my work is garbage. "I'm not that good of a student or writer". "I'm too young, and I haven't lived
