“Let it sink…”

I’ve been chewing on this idea for a while and think it might also relate to perfectionism. Not everyone can be a “winner”, got to pick the battles wisely.

Power moves

Recently, I had a frugality disaster.

I finally gave in and subscribed to something I’d been eyeing for a while.

Please welcome Readwise to the list of things I annually pay for.

As always, not sponsored, not commissioned—trust me, they still can’t afford it.

Now, you won’t believe the first thing I did right after paying for the subscription.

Obviously, I added a new reminder in my Notion “My Subscriptions” database to decide—one week before renewal—if I still need to keep it.

Not if I want to keep the subscription (I guess, I would—who wouldn’t?). But if I need to.

Anyway, back to why I decided to give it a try.

A few reasons:

First.

I’ve “oversubscribed” to a lot of newsletters lately. I go through tons of content to find the cool stuff worth your attention and my inspiration.

I get 7–8 newsletters daily. They clutter my inbox. But I process them when it’s time.

I take notes.

Second.

I read a lot of articles.

I take notes.

Third.

I read books in the Kindle and Books apps.

I take notes.

As you see, I consume only digital content.

Why?

• I can adjust the font size to my liking. The last time I tried reading a physical book was Zone to Win, which came in close to a pocket-size format. The letters were so tiny, my eyes bled (figure of speech—if my wife is reading this, honey, I’m fine). So I respectfully placed it in the trash and bought the digital version the same day. Lesson learned paid for.

• I can copy-paste highlights into Obsidian on the go and process my notes later.

• I can carry a massive “library” whenever I travel.

I go through all my content on iPad (ironically, I use it way more than my iPhone).

So I thought—why not funnel all this content through Readwise Reader and see what happens?

After Omnivore was shut down recently, I tried going back to Pocket, Instapaper, and Matter for deferred reading.

Kinda meh…

Here’s what I’m getting from the subscription (a.k.a. my benefits):

• No more copy-pasting highlights—the service automatically grabs them and delivers to my tool of choice (Obsidian, but it also supports Notion, Apple Notes, and more).

• It pulls X (Twitter) threads (!) into a pleasant, digestible format.

• Spaced repetition. Every day, I get a random selection of highlights. Oh boy, I seriously underestimated this feature. Now I’m having flashbacks to books I read a decade ago—insights I almost forgot about.

Maybe there’s more, but these were enough to convince me.

I went all in for a full year to experiment.

Of course, I had to negotiate this expense with my lovely wife.

But she approved it after I reminded her that my only Valentine’s Day gift was the opportunity to watch the bouquet of flowers I gave her.

Now, after a few weeks of using the tool, I’ve noticed that I’ve started spending more time reading.

My explanation for why this is happening:

• Taking, copying, and pasting notes was subconscious friction—something I wanted to avoid.

  I used to be lazy and skipped a lot of decent thoughts because of it. Now, I highlight everything worthy while reading without overthinking. I let it sit for a few days/weeks, then delete whatever I don’t want to keep.

• I paid for it—so I have to use it.

Pro tip: Keep a running list of epic fails from people you might need to negotiate with someday.

Will keep you updated.

Till next time.

P.S. To prove this isn't a “sponsored” edition, I'm not dropping Readwise's affiliate link—even though I could've benefited. Yup, my style is wild.

Our favorite digital finds

Short & Sweet

The four types of distractions that derail your focus - 2 min read.

An interesting perspective on classifying distractions: controllable vs. uncontrollable and annoying vs. fun.

This Is How To Conquer Anxiety: 4 Secrets From Research - 7 min read.

It was worth reading just for this insight: “Get a feeling of control by planning.” It helps. I’ve started experimenting with planning in 30-minute chunks—let’s see if anything worth writing comes out of it.

Clear Thinking by Shane Parrish [Actionable Summary] - 5 min read.

The book Clear Thinking is nice. But hey, if there's a no-fluff summary, why not take a taste? That way, we can decide if it's worth the full read - or if we already know the topic (I clearly didn't!).

A Tweet That Hits

Feedback is a gift. Are we ready to hear the harsh truth?

Add this to your shelf

It's a fun, easy-to-read book full of life lessons from Matthew McConaughey. A mix of stories, advice, and personal experiences that make you think about how to handle challenges and get the most out of life. Plus, it's not just for his fans—there's something in it for everyone!

Unpacking the routines of interesting people

Interesting facts:

Airstream Living: He spent years living in a customized Airstream trailer, parked near the beach, because minimalism can be luxurious.

Flat-Out Refusal to Fly Private: Despite his fame, he prefers flying commercial, often seen chatting with passengers in coach.

Extreme Weight Loss for Dallas Buyers Club: McConaughey dropped a wild 47 pounds for his Oscar-winning role as Ron Woodroof. He went from his normal weight to just 135 pounds (61 kg) by surviving on egg whites, a little chicken, and Diet Coke—losing about 2.5 pounds a week.

Watch-worthy clips

Great summary on how to steadily make progress with to-do lists.

Watch time: 6m 27s.

Enjoying the newsletter? Please forward this issue to a friend who might enjoy it too 😊🙏🏻

It only takes 10 seconds. Making this one took us 9 hours…