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Killing it with Kagan - Week One
I have officially wrapped up my first week of Killing it with Kagan. The initial results are encouraging. Below is a brief summary of the handful of things I tested this week (For more detail, check out my blog post - Killing it with Kagan: Week One.)
Morning Routine: The six step routine I borrowed is simple and effective: Make bed, Push ups, Journal, Learn, Reflect on goals, Daily Gratitude.
Nightly Note-cards: The simple act of writing out 5 items on an index card each night - radically enhances the next day when combined with the next point.
Following Through: I have been implementing this by keeping to a simple rule - Whatever is on my index card, MUST be completed that day. Previously I tried making a rule that nothing could be on my to-do list for longer than 3 days - but to be honest, it failed to add the urgency this does.
Goal-setting: Redid my goals using Noah's system. It has made them far more effective and cohesive. Hopefully it leads to a higher completion rate as well.
Action-biased: Action = Progress. That simple. I am slowly trying to develop a far more action-biased mindset. This experiment is the best place to start.
Most of what I will be testing over the first few weeks will be pulled directly from his YT channel.
Rereads
On another bright note, I completed a reread of The 4-Hour Work Week this week. It's one of the books Noah Kagan recommends and I remember it having a huge impact on me - so it felt like a great place to start.
I am planning on writing a short post on implementing different parts of this book, but for now, the four of the easiest to implement actions were:
- Complete an 80/20 analysis of your life. What 20% of people, activities, things, are giving you 80% of your positive emotions? What 20% are give you 80% of your negative emotions? Adjust accordingly.
- Double your reading speed in 10 minutes. There's a great companion video. I remember using this when I first read about it years ago - but refreshing and using the techniques has been great to get through my weekly law and commerce readings. The easiest way to start with this is to use a tracer (finger, pen, etc) to follow along as you read and prevent regressions.
- Fear-setting and Dreamlining. These two activities - more details here and here, respectively - can be done relatively quickly but are great for a mental reset in overcoming your fears, and realising what you really want.
- Don't answer unknown/unrecognised numbers. I have been doing this for so long that I actually forgot I first discovered this trick from the 4HWW. A very simple way to optimise your time and avoid having to listen to robocallers, scams or sales pitches. If it is important, they'll leave a message.
Lovecraftian Horror
Lastly, I am close to finishing The Call of Cthulhu (and other short stories) by H.P. Lovecraft. The fact that I have been reading it on and off for roughly two years - despite being less than 500 pages - is less a reflection of it and more of the problems with anthologies / collections, namely the occasional poor story that breaks momentum.
Lovecraft provides an interesting case. The best of his works are fantastic - they set the standard and tropes found across countless other Horror Stories.
However, the worst parts of his works are truly awful - in both the way they are written and how they reflect the authors horrific beliefs. (More information can be found in this great TED-ED video.)
I would recommend reading a light selection of his works before diving into some of his more controversial works.
Until next week,
Zachariah.
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