Structured Consistency, Bad Books, Rereading Books & Managing Time [TMP #32]
June Recap and July Framework
Hi, happy new month! And goodness me, we’re now in the second half of the year!!
Also, I changed the name of the monthly series, ‘Wisdom From The Internet (WFI)’, to ‘Curated Goodies’. (Check the bottom of this post for the March, April and May editions.)
Now, today’s 1st, and as per tradition-in-the-making, I reflected on how the month of June went so I become aware of certain habits and systems to drop, take on or maintain. You can use mine to reflect on yours; how did you spend the month of June?
At a glance:
Things I Learned: Consistency and Structure
Things I Learned: Bad Books
Things I Learned: Rereading Books
Parting Quotes
Alright, let’s get to it 🚀
***
Things I Learned: Structured Consistency
‘If I know what’s good for me, I would stick to a good routine that makes me get stuff done and sleep well at night.’
Earlier in the month, I watched an Ali Abdaal video where he basically explained that we humans adopt systems we think are beneficial but actually don’t increase success by such a significant amount that we should continue with them.
For him, this was about the 4-hour week and not having to stick to a ‘post-every-(insert)-day’ schedule. In fact, he got work done at no loss and with a plus: he got good rest that enabled him to do more work he loved without feeling like work was a chore.
Good right? So I contextualized it: I don’t need to post my monthly series every 1st of the month; the range is 1st to 3rd, what matters is that I post at the beginning. That’s how I ended up with a June Recap and not a Moving Into June post.
I’m new to this, I need a structure to keep me accountable, and I need to be consistent if I want to be good at this. Consistent practice makes perfect.
Things I Learned: On Bad Books
I love books. I see a book and I automatically want to read it. This is the story of how I wasted my time reading useless, no-value, IQ-depleting books. (There is one in particular that pains me as I write this.)
In Arthur Schopenhauer’s words,
‘They [bad books] monopolise the time, money, and attention which really belong to good books and their noble aims; they are written merely with a view to making money or procuring places. They are not only useless, but they do positive harm. Nine-tenths of the whole of our present literature aims solely at taking a few shillings out of the public’s pocket, and to accomplish this, author, publisher, and reviewer have joined forces.’
(Source)
And in some other cases, books that would have left me with ideas and perspectives that I do not want to have anything to do with. ‘All things are permissible but not all things are beneficial, not all things are good for me.’
But moving on, I am learning that not all books are worth my time, my attention, my mental energy, and certainly not my brain space. I have to judiciously select the books I will read.
In more Schopenhauer’s words,
This consists in not taking a book into one’s hand merely because it is interesting the great public at the time — such as political or religious pamphlets, novels, poetry, and the like, which make a noise and reach perhaps several editions in their first and last years of existence. Remember rather that the man who writes for fools always finds a large public: and only read for a limited and definite time exclusively the works of great minds, those who surpass other men of all times and countries, and whom the voice of fame points to as such. These alone really educate and instruct.
One can never read too little of bad, or too much of good books: bad books are intellectual poison; they destroy the mind.
(Source)
Things I Learned: Rereading Books
There are bad books and there are golden books. Yeah, you’ve read them, you know the gist, you know the moral lessons, but man, it hits different or louder the second time. You know it in your blood, and you do not forget it. Ever.
While I love books, I do not love rereading books but guess who now has past books on her read list? You should too, and if you don’t have any books to start with, read Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. You’re welcome.
Things I Learned: Managing Time
Finally, I’m learning to treat my time like money. Though I’m young, I do not have all the time in the world. In fact, something Steal Like an Artist taught me is that having that mindset only kills creativity.
Parting quotes:
“Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not.”
“Actions, not time, will tell. Actions make time your friend.”
That will be all friends, I still have exams to study for.
Till next week,
Dayo