Do the Opposite #49 - Introducing the Zerno app (Get Early Access!), Claim Early Hours: Pay Yourself First, Biofabrication
Good News Everyone!
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Introducing the ZERNO app
You, as a subscriber of this newsletter and member of the Do the Opposite community, are learning about this first. :) In the past year I've been working on a big project and today I want to shed a little light on it for the first time.
The planned release for the app is in May-June 2020. As updates about the project roll out in the upcoming months, you will be the first to know and the first to test out the app!
I've had the idea for Zerno for the longest time and, though it's taken me some time to get to a level of coding skills where I can make it into reality, I think that time also helped me understand what it needs to do (the functionality) better. I can say for sure that if you enjoy the topics and themes covered here in the DTO newsletter, you will love the app! :)
So far I can't offer more details, I am just letting you know the app is coming soon. I want to share with you the link to the app where you'll be able to get early access to the app updates and soon Zerno itself.
GET EARLY ACCESS!
As time goes, I will come up with more benefits and perks to share with the DTO community!
P.S. Let me know if sign-up doesn't work for you!
Claim Early Hours: Pay Yourself First
Here's the video that inspired this section:
How To Get Out of Bed More Easily | Wake Up Early with ENERGY | Better Ideas
This is something I am actively working on: I am trying to teach myself to go to sleep and wake up earlier, to have a bit more time in the morning to work on my projects. There is some solid advice in this video on the topic.
One of the reasons why I am considering waking up early (as you know I am not a huge fan of following the "common sense" advice :) is because when I was running a lot last year in preparation for the half-marathon, I've noticed the following: On the days I woke up early and ran in the morning, that gave me the energy for the whole day and I felt great. On the days I went to work first, and then ran in the evening, I was pretty tired and "low-energy" at work as well as got even more tired after the evening run.
I think learning and/or working on my projects in the morning compared to late evenings (I am a self-proclaimed night owl) will be similar in that it will be more effective. I also believe in "pay yourself first" principle. In personal finance, pay yourself first means that when you get your salary or any sort of payment for your services, you first invest the amount/percentage you decided on, and only then you spend the rest of it any way you want.
Same applies to your mental energy. You owe it to yourself to invest into your own projects first; the projects you are really excited about, the ones that make you come alive. After you've done that you can spend the rest at your job.
It sounds like I am advocating for doing a 'half-ass' job at work, but I don't. I actually think if you work on your stuff first, then the rest of the workday you will be more focused, because you are awake and have your brain's wheels turning by the time you get to your job. Another benefit is that you will feel more confident because your projects are moving forwards, have less worry and frustration on your mind, and thus be able to do a much better job at work.
Heck, by writing this down, I've convinced myself even more that I should do it! :)
Articles
1) "To Make Big Gains, Avoid Tiny Losses" by James Clear
When changing habits, we often get so intense about one specific action we are measuring our progress against that we are blind to the way we negatively impact the very same self-improvement goal in other related aspects. For example we focus on getting a lot of exercise but neglect to watch what we eat. We focus on cutting on eating out when we're saving money, but neglect to address our habit of buying new clothes too often. It's easier to plug the hole in the boat you are taking across a lake than to constantly use a bucket to get the incoming water out while also trying to row.
2) "Monkey Mind: Shifting the Habit of Feeling Distracted Throughout the Day" by Leo Babauta
Leo shares with us some great advice on how to be more focused and mindful in everyday life. Less distraction means we can accomplish more in less time, thus freeing up more time to learn, rest, plan and enjoy life! Being in a state of constant distraction and attention shifting is stress-inducing on its own, so another benefit of being more focused is the feeling of clarity it brings.
3) "Why Foley Artists Use Cabbage and Celery to Create Hollywood’s Distinctive Sounds" by Paula Mejia
It's funny to read that the sounds we hear in movies that make them seem real and immersive to us are often made by entirely different means than what the director wants us to believe. For example, in the world famous Titanic, the crackle of Rose frozen hair detaching from a piece of the shipwreck she's been clinging to, is actually made by peeling frozen lettuce. The article covers more details on how these sounds are made. I've also once read that in making sounds of the undead eating flesh in a computer game (I think it was "The Witcher" but I might be wrong), creators of sounds for the game stirred a pot of cooked pasta loudly. :)
Videos
1) The Brain-Changing Benefits of Exercise | Wendy Suzuki
Time and time again we learn of the amazing benefits exercise has on the brain. It affects everything, from memory to ability to focus to brain longevity. Highly recommend this video! I also enjoyed Wendy's humour a lot!
3) Why "Biofabrication" is the Next Industrial Revolution | Suzanne Lee
This is an incredible video - I couldn't believe what I was seeing as I watched it. It talks about using microorganisms, algae, bacteria and the like to literally "make things" - grow the materials instead of gathering them. They call it the 4th Industrial Revolution. One of the examples is how instead of growing and gathering cotton, they had microbes that produces a similar material in the lab. The video also explores making furniture from living organisms and buildings with exteriors like tree bark.
Tweet of the Week
Ethos
Quotes
"Formal education will make you a living, self-education will make you a fortune."
― Jim Rohn
"My whole thing was, if I can put in 5 percent of the effort of somebody getting an A, and I can get a C minus, that’s amazing,” he explains. “It’s certainly good enough, right? [Then] I can take the other 95 percent of the time and invest it in something I really care about."
― David Heinemeier Hansson
"Workaholics don't actually accomplish more than nonworkaholics. They may claim to be perfectionists, but that just mean they're wasting time fixating on inconsequential details instead of moving on to the next task."
― Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, "Rework"
"At the age of four, you were an artist. And at seven, you were a poet."
― Seth Godin, "Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?"
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Keep doing the opposite,
Alex Kallaway
Website: dotheoppo.site
Twitter: twitter.com/ka11away