The content we consume can consume us, if we are not mindful enough. In this period of information overload and analysis paralysis, The ‘Weekly Highlights’ collects the 3, most valuable pieces of content I have come across during the week, and packages them in a single page, with some notes and key highlights, so to foster mindful and intentional consumption of content, which can truly add value to our life.

Intentional content consumption, in an era in which the amount of content we expose ourselves to can consume us, if we are not mindful enough. 🐘

The Real Reason People Won't Change | Robert Kegan & Lisa Laskow Lahey

Competing Commitments

We are, very often, stuck to our own big assumptions about life, and work, and other people, in a prisoner-like fashion. We are prisoners of our own minds. We tend to be resistant to change. Competing commitments and elephants in the brain may be one of the main sources of such resistance.

"A competing commitment is a subconscious, hidden goal that conflicts with our stated commitments."
“Competing commitments should not be seen as weaknesses. They represent some version of self-protection, a perfectly natural and reasonable human impulse.” (Kegan & Lahey, 2001)

For a full analysis of competing commitments, check out this week’s newsletter issue.

Building an Idea Factory | David Perell and Ali Abdaal

“If you curate a sufficiently unique information diet, you’ll have a combination of ideas nobody has ever seen before. ”

De-correlate → connect knowledge from different and seemingly unrelated domains
Outside the spotlight → look away from mainstream information
Escape the time bias → don't only consume information which is new (e.g. Instagram, very recent articles, etc.)

Divergence and Convergence are part of the content creation process. The former refers to expanding on your ideas (production process); the latter is the editing process. Add as much as you want during production. Remove unnecessary stuff during editing. This reminds me dr. Jordan B. Peterson’s writing guide.

Nir Eyal: Mastering Indistraction | The Knowledge Project

Time management requires emotional management. Distraction stems from inner emotional discomfort and emotional reactivity.

Distraction is the inability to deal with emotional discomfort (internal triggers).

We have control over technology. Personal responsibility is key here. We are wholly responsible for the way we use technology.

The first step to indistraction is mastering personal responsibility and our own emotions. How we respond to emotional reactions makes the difference, not the emotion itself.

The opposite of distraction is traction. Traction is what pulls you closer to where you are directed, what helps you reach your priorities and vision.

Time blocking is a tool that can bring intentionality and clarity to our life and rapport with technologies. Time is what you have control over. Your calendar is what defines what you do. To do lists can be overwhelming and useless, as we tend to add many tasks in them, without blocking out defined time to actually do the thing. Make time to think. There are 2 main types of work: reactive and reflective work. Reactive work is what many people do all the time, such as email and admin work. Bringing intentionality to do reflective work is key to have a competitive advantage and bolster the living of an examined life.