25 Feb - 03 Mar 2019
A busy week getting back in the groove after time off. A long trip on Tuesday disrupted my kettlebells routine further but I managed to get it back on track, and was quite happy to hit a PB on Saturday racking and holding a 48kg kettlebell.
I thought I had achieved a “perfect month” on my Apple Watch activity rings but it turns out I missed a move goal by 11 calories on one day. Oh well, I’m trying again in March. However, I am enjoying finding ways to keep active, with more walks or workouts and when I’m a bit short, I’ve taken to walking up and down the stairs to fill it, much to my wife’s chagrin. In some ways, I’m almost better off never achieving it to keep these habits intact.
Best thing I’ve read
I read a few interesting articles, but standout this week was two Tim Ferriss podcasts I listened to on my long business trip with Susan Cain and then Jim Collins. Both were great conversations, full of nuance and they were both interesting people and ideas, more than that, what stood out was that it was clear that everyone was prepared and present for the conversations.
If I had to pick a favourite, it would be the Jim Collins episode. There were several great concepts and practical strategies I am keen to experiment with myself.
Books I’m reading
I finished reading Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries. It has short, contained stories which lend themselves to a quick read here and there. Slightly annoyingly they’re well-written so I’ve chosen this over making progress on 7 Habits for Highly Effective Families. We also finished listening to the first Harry Potter book, which I enjoyed more than I expected to as well.
Our book club call was delayed until next week so I’ve also started The Rescue by Steven Konkoly as it sounded interesting—it’s one of the Amazon First Reads for March.
What did I learn this week?
Several ideas from Jim Collins.
1. The Flywheel concept
2. 50/30/20 - splitting his time, 50% creative work, 30% teaching, 20% admin
3. Maintaining 1000 creative hours per year through tracking and discipline
A week in Stoicism
Seneca reminds us that we should be like a spy in an enemy camp and read and learn from them. In that vein, in a Daily Stoic email it discussed a thought from a Jesuit monk, Anthony De Mello. He said there are three intellectual feats that we struggle with on a regular basis, that are harder than just about any physical activity on the planet:
- Returning love for hate
- Including the excluded
- Admitting you are wrong
This is something that Stoics would have fully agreed with and so we must find ways to build your spirit; be kinder and more inclusive, and learn to be more open-minded.
weeknotes