Do the Opposite #37 - Audiobook Services: Why I Moved From Audible to Scribd, Occam's Razor, 24 sqm Micro Apartment

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Audibook Services: Why I Moved From Audible To Scribd

In the past 2 years I've been consuming more than half of the books I go through via audio. Almost all that time I've been using Audible, a company owned by Amazon. Here in Canada, a basic subscription to Audible is about $15 per month and gives the user 1 token per month to spend.

The cool part is: that token can buy you any book on their platform, from short 4-5 hour books to massive 30+ hour titles. The not-so-cool part, in my opinion, is that this system forces you to prefer longer books (so that you maximize the return on your investment) to shorter ones. This poses a problem when you want to read a book that is short.

So far I've been avoiding short books and doing OK, but recently I've learned about Scribd, that has a way more attractive model: you pay a flat fee each month (around $10 or so per month), and get access to an unlimited library of books. Similar to Netflix: once you are part of the service, you can listen to everything that's available without having to purchase individual titles.

It's been liberating for me as I can finally read all the 5-12 hour books that were on my list without the guilt of overpaying. The quality of the app and the settings available are similar/identical to Audible, so you don't have to give any value up to make the switch.

Disclaimer: If you decide to join, you can use my referral link: https://www.scribd.com/g/80k21i It will give us both a bonus: you will get first 2 months of using the service for FREE, and I will get a free month of Scribd as well. You are of course welcome to not use the link, but I thought why not share it as it is a win-win ;) DTO Member benefits :)

Articles:

1) "When In Doubt, Try The Difference" by Derek Sivers
This is Derek's way of saying "Do the Opposite". :) The idea is: if you are used to doing/having something, try going without it and see how you feel. He, however, makes another point: if you haven't tried something, you should give it a chance and see what the experience is like. We must constantly experiment, putting ourselves in new, unknown and uncomfortable situations: that's how we make new exciting memories and grow. You probably remember your first trip abroad very vividly. Same goes for when you were giving a talk in front of a large crowd for the first time. When we stop experimenting, our lives become tunnels, in which all the choices are pre-made and we are just living them out (following wherever the tunnel goes without looking around).

2) "What Happened When Oslo Decided To Make Its Downtown Basically Car-Free?" by Adele Peters
A great look into how a city can be transformed and how certain fears regarding the changes are misguided. There are always naysayers when it comes to making cities more pedestrian-friendly, but the outcomes of such changes are almost always good for the people living there. Cities become less dangerous, less congested; air becomes cleaner; public transport becomes more reliable when it does not depend on the traffic conditions being volatile.

3) "How to Use Occam’s Razor Without Getting Cut" by Shane Parrish
Occam's Razor is a mental model that helps us make decisions faster and better. The principle is: the simplest explanation is almost always the right one. One example would be: if you are in the countryside and you see hoofprints on the road, it's much more likely that there is a horse somewhere nearby rather than a zebra. There are some caveats to this mental model as well: you have to know the edge cases. In our example, if we were in African Savannah, the hoofprints would more likely belong to a zebra than a horse instead. For some more fun examples of Occam's Razor principle, check out this page.

Videos:

1) Never Too Small Ep. 24: 24 sqm Micro Apartment - Boneca
This video, shared with me by my lovely wife Ani, explores a tiny apartment in Sydney, Australia. There are quite a few tiny apartment showcase videos around the web, especially on YouTube, but this one stands out due to the ingenuity of the solutions used in the space. Everything is thought through and there is no corner that is unused or wasn't considered. Delightful!

2) Quit Social Media | Dr. Cal Newport | TEDxTysons
Most of us know that the time we spend on Social Media is not bringing us much return on "attention" investment. Cal provides concrete examples of how less social media can make us happier, more productive and less stressed, and how more of it leaves us in negative states. If you haven't checked out his books, I recommend them, especially "Deep Work".


Tweet that resonated with me

Ethos:

Quotes:

"We acquire virtues by first having put them into action... We become just by the practice of just actions, self-controlled by exercising self-control, and courageous by performing acts of courage."
— Aristotle


"I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended."
— Nelson Mandela

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Keep doing the opposite,
Alex Kallaway
Website: dotheoppo.site
Twitter: twitter.com/ka11away