Weekly Mix #209 - How to work more efficiently by being lazy

Peter Thiel, Freediving, Lazy Work, FOBO & How to Write a Book

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Happy Monday!

My first week back in Montreal was a reminder of a couple things:

Expectations don't often meet reality: I remembered work and being in the office as it had been before—full of people, and energy, and a fun place to work. It still is...sort of. There's just far fewer people, and the influence of COVID is still clear.

Your environment shapes your habits: the friends I have here, the things I usually do, my usual routines—those are dictated largely by where I am and what I've done in the past. It takes conscious (sometimes painful) effort to change these things.

Despite those reminders, it's beautiful here in Montreal, and great to see friends and colleagues that I haven't in a long time.

Changing locations and routines is always a good time to re-examine priorities and see what things I like and don't like, and how those things have changed.

Have a great week!

Graham

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Links

📖 Peter Thiel's Origin Story - Max Chafkin - Intelligencer - Peter Thiel is the billionaire founder of Palantir, early investor in Facebook, and one of the early founders of Paypal. He wrote Zero to One, which is widely considered required startup reading, and is considered one of the most prominent contrarian investors in the world. This profile may make you second-guess following his credos, however. I've added the full book to my reading list.

📖 The Secrets of the World's Greatest Freediver - GQ - This look at freediving and Alexey Molchanov, considered the best freediver in the world, is unbelievable. The sport is fascinating; like surfing, I think it probably has a lot to teach the average person about being aware of their body and controlling their body and mind.

📖 Can you be successful (while being lazy)? - Khe Hy - I enjoyed this piece about working more efficiently, centered around the Cork Effect, which is a surfing technique I didn't know about until I read this piece.

📖 How James Clear is Writing His Next Book - Superorganizers - James Clear wrote Atomic Habits, the best book on habits I've ever read. This post goes deep into detail about how he's writing his next book. I love posts like this, not only because they show exactly how the best work, but they also show that they're just normal people with normal tools.

📖 The affliction of abundance: FOBO or the fear of a better option - Anne-Laure Le Cunff - In a world of infinite options, it's becoming harder and harder to a) make a decision, and b) be happy with that decision (especially long-term). This article outlines when you might be suffering from fear of a better option, and what to do about it.​​

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