Table of contents
- Life Update
- Tools and Tips
- Stuff
Life Update
A couple of weeks ago, I devoted the newsletter to the concept of "Mind Management, not Time Management."
It was based on a book by David Kadavy with the same title.
The book essentially discusses how to plan your schedule to enhance CREATIVITY, not just PRODUCTIVITY.
You can read it here if you missed it.
I sometimes write LinkedIn posts about my weekly newsletters, which I did for this one too.
A few days later, the author himself commented on my post, thanking me for sharing.
Naturally, I checked his LinkedIn profile to confirm it was really him, then I clicked the "connect" button.
For those unfamiliar with LinkedIn, "connecting" means you follow each other's posts.
However, instead of connecting, it made me just a follower of David.
This means I see what he posts, but he doesn't see what I post.
Thanks, but no thanks.
Isn't LinkedIn supposed to be about being LINKED... IN?
If it's one-directional, they should call it "FollowIn", not "LinkedIn".
Enough about meaningless social media stuff! 😃
This week we'll explore how returning to analog tools has boosted my creativity.
Number 152!
Tools and Tips
I'm an early adopter.
I like to try new technologies as soon as they come out.
I was the first student in 3rd grade to print my homework on a computer (back in 1988). I was among the first to use a laptop in university and to send emails from my phone—long before the iPhone existed. And I started using AI before it was cool 😅.
So naturally, I abandoned physical books long ago and stopped writing on paper notes ages ago.
Why should I write notes by hand? Why carry physical books?
They take up space, can get lost, and I can't search them or do computational magic with them.
But lately, I've been struggling with productivity. For weeks, I've felt exhausted, finding it difficult to sit down and write.
Tasks took longer than usual, and staying focused became a challenge.
Then I took a day off.
After finishing some morning chores, I sat down to read— not exactly a physical book, but one on my E-reader.
Then, ideas started popping into my mind.
I'd never experienced so many ideas emerging at such a rapid pace.
But now I needed to write down these ideas.
In the past, I would’ve typed them into my phone.
But this time, I wrote them in my notebook.
With a pen.
And something magical happened 🪄.
As I wrote with a pen, I found myself improving the ideas as I was writing them!
This NEVER happened when I typed on my phone.
Why?
Well, I believe it's a combination of two factors:
1️⃣ When writing with a pen, I use both sides of my brain (the artistic side joins in).
2️⃣ When writing in a notebook, I'm free from the distracting messages on my phone. These messages ruin your creativity and take away your energy.
This experience led me to make a DRASTIC change in my productivity system:
🔵 I now devote 25% of my research time to creative thinking.
During this stage, no phone or computer are allowed. Only books, e-reader, whiteboard, pen, and a notebook.
🔵 I now carry a portable E-reader instead of my iPad Mini.
It’s called Boox Palma 2.
It's like having your entire collection of physical books and printed papers with you at all times.
It doesn't have any notifications on it.
🔵 I now carry a physical notebook and a pen.
But as a gadget boy, I like to use the fancy "Field Notes" notebook.
I have no idea why I chose it. I was probably brainwashed by an advertisement 😃.
You can check out a picture of my E-reader, notebook, and pen right here, and I also wrote about them in the "stuff" section below.
How about you?
Do you miss the old pen and paper?
Stuff
💡Gear I use:
1️⃣ Boox Palma 2 I've been reading on a Kindle since 2017, and about a year ago switched to an Android E-reader that doesn't limit me to Kindle books and PDFs.
But the Boox Palma 2 achieves something different — it fits in my pocket and in my hand.
It makes it far more accessible, and more fun to read.I read almost exclusively on the Readwise Reader app, and no other reading app comes close.
2️⃣ Field Notes Notebook there's something really fun about this notebook. There's even a cult of people worshiping it like there's no tomorrow.
Is it worth the price?
I think it is, but you can achieve the same result with any notebook you find at your local stationery shop.
Epilogue
If you received this newsletter from a friend and would like to join Friday's Digest, visit https://newsletter.shaysharon.com
That’s it for this issue.
See you next week!
Shay
Want to learn more from me?
Tip Sheets:
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- Future Fellows & Postdocs
- The PhD Journey
- How To Write an Abstract in 10 Minutes
- How to Study for the TOEFL
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- My Workflow for Reading & Writing Manuscripts
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How to Write an Abstract in 10 Minutes
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- How I Studied for the TOEFL
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