Hey friends,

Welcome back to another issue of Thought Caffeine, a weekly newsletter where I share my favourite productivity tips, random party facts, and other interesting finds throughout my week.

🌲 App: Forest

This week, I was introduced to the Forest app (H/T to Trish). I think I now remember Ali Abdaal mention it in one of his older blog posts, but the concept is nice and simple.

In this app, you can plant virtual trees for a set amount of time (e.g 60 or 90 minutes). Toggling on the 'Deep Focus' mode, which I recommend, means that leaving the app will kill the tree. The app is brilliant because it combines the concept of the Pomodoro technique (blocking time segments for focused work) and at the same token, remove distractions from your phone.

Other cool features include the 'Plant Together' mode, where you and your friends can plant trees together and one person leaving the app will kill the trees of all the people in the group. This adds a sense of social responsibility, which means you're even less likely to cave into the distractions. You can also plant actual trees in the app through Forest's partnership with Trees for the Future, and their tally is now close to 1 million trees. I revere companies that uphold a high standard of corporate social responsibility — and I think Forest is doing a fantastic job in this department.

This is what my forest looks like after 1 week. It's an absolute game changer.

🎼 Turn your writing into music

⚫️ The Story Circle

One of the most interesting writing tips I've read in a while comes from essayist David Perell.

"Stories are much more pleasant when they end at the same place they began. Start your stories with a theme and end them on the same note. So right when the story is about to finish, remember the introduction and bring it back for the ending. Close the circle where it began."

This narrative concept succeeds in other forms of media as well. I notice that movies that end where they began are usually able to hit a very satisfying sweet spot. It introduces the element of surprise in the most familiar way possible — as if to say: Hey, you knew this all along.

✍️ Why Fructose Is Your Arch Nemesis

When it comes to diets and nutrition, public opinion can be massively divided. Fat-free diet gained popularity in the 70s, and has stuck around over half a century now, still being mass-marketed by food companies and organisations. New research, however suggest that dietary fat isn't the biggest problem — it's sugar. And it's a very specific type of sugar.

Click here to read more

📖 Quote of the Week

“The artists who truly bring something new into the world are the ones who are so ambitious that they’re able to put aside their egos in order to hone their craft. Humility, for them, is intrinsic to success. Ironically, one needs a healthy ego in order to be humble enough to take small steps. Small steps require that you delay the gratification of feeling you’ve arrived at your goal.”

From The Two Types of Toughness Required for Success by Ross Ellenhorn, PhD. Resurfaced via Readwise.

🐦 Tweet of the Week

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Have a blast of a week! 🛵

John