Hey everyone,
Hope you're having a great week. Here are a few things I've been reading and pondering lately. Enjoy!
1. I Kicked My Smartphone Addiction by Retraining My Brain to Enjoy Being Bored
One thing I try to do with this newsletter is tell you things you already know but are worth reinforcing. This is one of those things.
A 2014 study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that bored people “are more likely to engage in sensation seeking”—that is, to look for activities or sights that engage their minds and stimulate the brain’s reward centers.
These people are more prone to “divergent thinking styles”—the ability to come up with creative new ideas. “Thus, boredom may encourage people to approach rewards and spark associative thought.”
2. How to Use the Feynman Technique to Learn Faster
It's simple and effective. (And it definitely fall into the category of "things you already know but are worth being reminded of.")
3. Podcast of the Week
Reply All is a solid podcast, but this two-part episode is incredible. Host Alex Goldman gets a call from a scammer and ends up meeting the guy in India.
Listen here or in any podcast player.
4. Gadget of the Week
I just bought this simple headphone hanger $6.99 and I really dig it.
5. Random Links
- A very interesting post: I Answered 99 Stack Overflow Questions and Now 2 Million Developers Know About My Product
- How many SaaS blogs have 1.5 million readers? Basically none, so this is worth reading: How Buffer Increased the Readership of Buffer’s Blog to Over 1.5 Million Visits
- This is a great video from Simon Sinek: The Millennial Question
- From @MrProduct: Why Early Adopters Are Suckers
- A great thought from Paulo Coelho: "Pessimism is a misuse of your imagination."
Have a great weekend!
Jimmy
PS - I'm looking to partner with a few great businesses to sponsor this newsletter. It reaches a bunch of smart folks from places like Google, Apple, Spotify, New York Times, Marriott and Harvard. Shoot me an email if you're interested in working together.
