On burnout, time and showing up
Edition #047
Hey friends,
Greetings from a small spa town in the UK - I hope you're having a great Sunday!
Next week I am taking some time off to read, walk and generally do things that don't involve staring at a screen 😅 This means I won't be sending out the filter next week (Aug 29th), but it will be back and better than ever on September 5th.
I have a lot of ideas I'm excited about working on but first I need to filter through the good opportunities so I can uncover the great ones - more on this later.
Have a fantastic week and I will be back in your inbox soon, now lets get into the filter.
Here are this weeks finds:
I.
⏰ On maker vs manager
(Article)
⏳ Paul Grahams essay on maker vs manager time is one of the best pieces I've read on improving how you spend your time.
This article from Farnam Street deconstructs that essay and takes a closer look at how you can practically apply maker and manager time principles to your own life.
The key takeaway being that success is whatever you define it to be. Someone like Gary Vaynerchuk thrives on a managers schedule, but breaking the day up into tiny little chunks would be horrendous for a writer like James Clear who needs long uninterrupted blocks of time to work.
One way is not superior to the other, the key is to define what works for you and build the routine that helps you to thrive.
II.
🎣 On avoiding burnout as an entrepreneur
(Thread)
📌 When I first started freelancing I burnt myself out on numerous occasions, I still occasionally do it now.
The problem typically stems from how we think we're 'supposed to work'.
This thread from Andrea Bosoni shares some interesting ideas on how to avoid burnout when you work for yourself.
He says instead of trying to completely split up life and work he integrates the two. Instead of working 9-5 he will play tennis or watch a tv show in the middle of the day and work when he's feeling inspired in the mornings or the evenings. There's no real rules here, instead you should just follow how you feel.
There isn't a schedule that will work for everyone but the most important thing to do when you work for yourself is to break free of the 9-5 mindset that is so deeply ingrained in us and to experiment with how work can fit around our lives, not the other way around.
III.
🌖 On the effectiveness of just showing up
(Article)
🐌 When we want to achieve something big our minds tend to wander towards creating an elaborate plan on how to achieve that thing.
But what would happen if instead you just started?
Sure it feels like you need to plan before you get moving but often it's the planning that stops us from ever starting in the first place.
This article talks about how Typesense, an open source search engine, was built over the course of 6 years with no deadlines, no quarterly goals and no milestones.
Instead of the typical route they followed a simple method:
- Set a big goal in a growing market that will be around long term
- Work on it everyday
If you're able to show up everyday you'll be amazed by what you can build.
One interesting idea
“Most people will choose unhappiness over uncertainty." - Tim Ferriss
End note
If you enjoyed this edition of the Sunday Filter then I’d love it if you could share it with a few friends. You can send them over here to sign up or share it on Twitter.
Have a great week!
- Stephen