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Hey there,
Ready for a hot take?
Hustle culture is a form of laziness.
We can explain. Laziness or sloth is considered a deadly sin. But before sloth meant “laziness,” it stood for ‘acedia,’ which is Greek for “lack of care.” And hustle culture thrives on carelessness.
This is best demonstrated by the Pareto Principle, which states that 80% of effects come from 20% of the causes. Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto first discovered the idea when he realized 20% of Italy’s population owned 80% of Italy’s land.
And once you notice it, the Pareto Principle starts popping up everywhere, like...
- 80% of profits come from 20% of your products or services
- 80% of traffic comes from 20% of drivers
- 80% of news coverage comes from 20% of world events
The Pareto Principle encapsulates hustle culture’s inefficiency in two ways.
- Hustle culture stresses busyness and overworking instead of sitting down to figure out where to focus the 20% of your efforts.
- Hustle culture values the work instead of the outcome. But it’s by focusing on the outcome that work becomes effortless.
When you only stop working when you’re done (and not when you’re tired), you become highly inefficient. Plus, research suggests the average person is only productive for 2 hours and 53 minutes a day.
That’s why it’s critical you ask yourself the why behind the work you’re doing.
Is it because it’s convenient? Mindless? What you’re expected to do?
Or are you working towards a larger strategy? Is it a subtask that will help you accomplish a larger goal?
Take the time to sit down and figure out which 20% of your work is absolutely vital. Then see if you can ditch the other 80. It’ll be time well spent - promise.
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HOWTO: Be More Productive
Article | by Aaron Swartz
We don’t always feel like being productive.
Some days, we’re psyched to tackle our workload. Other days, we want to sulk in bed and binge-watch The Bachelorette.
Time has varying levels of quality. Certain hours are ripe for productivity. There are no distractions and mentally, you’re doing great. Other moments, you just can’t seem to focus no matter how many pomodoros you do.
Real productivity is about recognizing that time isn’t interchangeable. You can’t just swap one hour in the day for another.
In this article, Aaron Swartz teaches us how to optimize our time when we’re motivated. But the real trick? Learning how to increase our odds of having more high-quality time in the first place, and letting the other times just be.
Read the article →
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The Problem Isn’t That Life is Unfair - It’s Your Broken Idea of Fairness
Article | by Oliver Emberton
Whether you realize it or not, we all think life should operate a certain way.
If you’re a good person, the world will reward you. If you love someone, they’ll love you back. If you work hard, you’ll become successful.
But these are fantasies.
In reality, life isn’t fair - because it’s not supposed to be. Or, in the words of Oliver Emberton:
“Our idea of fairness is self-interest. Could you imagine how insane life would be if it was actually ‘fair’ to everyone? Companies would only fail if everyone who worked for them was evil. Raindrops would only fall on bad people.”
In this piece, Oliver explains how we get so caught up thinking about how life should be that we can’t see how it is. He uncovers the real rules, and, warning: they’re pretty uncomfortable.
Read the article →
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This Song Plants Trees
Tool | by Matt Gordon
Introducing the first MP3-Tree. 🌲🎶
Every time you stream this 31-second tune, it helps plant a tree. It’s planted over 1,700 trees so far, the latest rooted in Madagascar soil.
Add it to your playlist and get streaming. Let’s go get some shrubbery out in the world.
Tune in →
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Laura Try
This month's featured creator, Laura Try, is on a mission: to live a healthy and cheerful life. She documents her healthy lifestyle on YouTube, where she tackles wild fitness challenges like two-month digital detoxes and doing 1,000 burpees (phew!). If you’re looking for a dose of adventure, Laura is your gal.
1. Introduce yourself! Who are you?
I am a video creator, aged 39, and I live in the UK.
2. Why do you create? Who is your content for?
I have had an inner drive to create since I was a child — music, dance, arts, and woodwork were always at the top of my list. As I got older, and the more I became attached to a computer, the more my creativity switched off.
But now I create videos which make me feel really great.
I mostly make videos for myself — it’s a way for me to stay motivated and accountable. Researching and making the videos also helps me gain more knowledge about becoming healthier which I love! And the bonus is other people gain value from them as well.
3. The biggest lesson you’ve learned since you began creating content?
I should have started years ago!
I wanted to start making videos 8 years ago (in 2013) but was too scared. So I made myself busy with other stuff. The irony is I became a social media manager and started creating stuff for other people.
Then during the lockdown of 2020, I couldn't take the feeling of wanting to make videos anymore… I just had to do it!
4. One thing you wish you knew before you started?
How much time it takes to make a video — it takes so much time!
It wouldn’t have put me off creating, but I feel I could have been more prepared if I had known how long it takes.
On average it takes me 2 days to write a script, 1 day to film, then 2-5 days to edit. Then there’s all the admin of publishing and sharing to social sites and websites, which takes hours.
5. In one to two sentences, what’s one piece of advice you’d give to aspiring creators or self-development nerds?
Keep it simple. Just get on with it!
6. Would you rather eat only cheese for 1 year or not be able to eat cheese for 1 year?
Argh! That is a hard question!!!! Despite loving cheese, I’m going to go with not eating cheese for one year — I'm sure my health and waistline will thank me for it.
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Written by Alice Lemée
Edited by Matt D'Avella & Shawn Forno
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