Hello Friends!
I’ve reworked ON My Bookshelf to bring you wider, deeper, and cooler content. Let me know what you think of it - let’s get on with it!
Today’s Checklist:
✅Is It Possible to Become More Productive?
✅AI apps to help with your journaling and productivity
✅Prime day coming up, take a peak at my cart
💡Random fact of the week:
How long does it take, on average, to refocus after being interrupted? (A) 5 minutes (B) 13 minutes (C) 23 minutes. Answer by the end of issue :)
📌Bookmarks
🏖️ Vacation Productivity: avoid Work Distractions and Truly Unwind
🌍 Global Gathering: your Guide to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics
🎁Wedding season is here: how much should I spend on presents?
🚀Upskill the next chapter
Is It Even Possible to Become More Productive?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m the first one to look for productivity hacks and see how can I optimize my time and routines. BUT.. productivity has become an obsession. From self-help books to time management apps, we're constantly bombarded with advice on how to do more in less time. But as we chase the elusive goal of peak efficiency, it's worth asking: Is it even possible to become more productive, or are we chasing an impossible dream?
The most important takeaways for productivity:
Focus on flow: Aim for a state of deep concentration where you're fully immersed in your work. This "flow state" can lead to higher-quality output and greater satisfaction.
Redefine productivity: Instead of measuring success by the number of tasks completed, consider the value and impact of your work. Quality often trumps quantity.
Set realistic expectations: Recognize that constant productivity is neither sustainable nor desirable. Allow for breaks, rest, and moments of seeming "unproductivity" in your routine.
True productivity isn't about maximizing every minute of your day. It's about finding a balance between focused work, meaningful rest, and personal fulfillment. Instead of striving for an unattainable level of constant output, focus on creating a sustainable work rhythm that allows for both productivity and well-being.
Take a moment to reflect on your current approach to productivity. Are you constantly pushing yourself to do more, or are you allowing space for flow and creativity?
Challenge yourself to redefine what productivity means to you and experiment with new ways of working that prioritize both output and personal satisfaction.
More resources:
🎬 How to Be Productive without Burning Out by Dr Izzy Sealey
🎧 The Happiness Lab Podcast by Dr. Laurie Santos
📋The Productivity Paradox from Harvard Business Review
🧰 Toolbox
📓 Guided Journaling with Stoic: This is a free journaling app! It’s powered with AI and offers guided prompts based on your life according to your phone. With features to address a wide range of topics like productivity, stress, and relationships.
🚀 Serene - The Productivity app to help you focus: it helps prioritize your most important tasks and stay focused. The app blocks distractions (like other web pages), enabling deep work and increased productivity. It incorporates focus music and breaks to enhance focus.
📚 Must-reads
🌟Glow in the F*cking Dark by Tara Schuster - Non-fiction pick
After losing her job and having to isolate during the pandemic, Tara went through a difficult period of rediscovering herself. It shares her journey of healing from childhood traumas and reclaiming her sense of purpose.
🏘️Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner - Fiction
This multigenerational family saga from the author of Fleishman Is in Trouble follows the genuinely strange journey of Long Island’s wealthy Fletcher family. The book explores domestic dynamics and American Jewish life, but also features, and we quote: “old wives’ tales, evil eyes, ambition, achievement, boredom, orgies, dybbuks, inheritance, pyramid schemes, right-wing capitalists, [and] beta-blockers.” Yes, please!!
✨ Top picks
Prime day is coming up and prepping my cart with three picks this year are:
📻Marshall speaker - who doesn’t one one?
🫧Vaccum Robot - yes, I feel old being so excited to get this one.
🔥Lit follow
💵Financial nerd @mixedupmoney - love this account for stories on relatable finance experiences. Full of eye-catching digital illustrations that depict women—and their financial obstacles—in everyday life.
🎯 Playtime
💡Random Fact Answer: C) 23 minutes! Yep, that quick "got a sec?" chat can cost you almost half an hour of focus time.
That’s all for this week’s issue. Have a great Sunday and week. Let’s get ON with it :)
This newsletter is independently crafted and shares books, trainings and recommendations that are applicable to my tastes and likes. When you buy through some of my links, marked in bold within this symbols * *, I may earn a commission.