Some presents under the tree for you View in browser

Issue #4

15th December 2020

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We've popped some presents under the tree for you in this Christmas special.

Scrolling down you'll find free access to one of the greatest books published this year, phone wallpapers, and our top three book recommendations for your festive reading lists.

Come next week, we'll be returning to our normal programming and unpick the most practical ways to memorise information.

Some Precocious Presents

  • One of the Greatest Books of 2020: 'The Almanack of Naval' is a book that every human on earth should read if they care about wealth or happiness, and it's free.

    "The book is a mixture of mind expanding realizations, harsh truths, meditations, helpful mantras and welcome punches to the face as needed. Could not recommend this more highly for anyone aspiring to have more wealth, wisdom, time, happiness, or peace." – Louis on Amazon

    You can view it here and there is an option to download the PDF for more convenient reading.
  • Phone wallpapers: In response to a reader's question, we put together some serving suggestions on how to design your phone home screen, so it doesn't distract from your ambitions. We've made all the wallpapers free to download, so you can add some zenful play to your digital front door.
  • Reading for the curious, ambitious and lazy: If you're hungry for some fun and stimulating reads beyond Naval's Almanack, we've put together our top three book recommendations by asking the team, 'Which books have you most frequently gifted to someone else?'.

Warm wishes,

Jamie Miles

P.S. If you have any feedback, feel free to send me an email at jamie@jamoe.org or reach out on Twitter @jamoemills.
Redraft Replies

Where we answer reader questions.

Question: In ‘Disciplined by Design’, I was familiar with how our environment shapes our actions, but I never connected that to how my phone layout changes my default behaviour, or that we look at our phones on average every 12 minutes. Do you have any recommendations on what a good phone setup would be?
– Maya, Canada

Reply: Great question. When getting things done, having your phone in another room is best. However, that’s not always practical, as our phones are increasingly integrated with the items on our to-do lists.

To help, we've put together three serving suggestions that apply the principles from the research, so you can rethink your own phone layout. They range from 'The Way to Hell' to the 'Maximum Minimalist', and we've made all the featured phone wallpapers free to download. Enjoy tweaking your digital front door.
– Jamie
Escaping your Phone's Gravity

Takeaways

  • Stop getting sucked into your phone’s orbit by redecorating your home screen, making it a tool rather than a distraction
  • Learn how to apply the Buffet Principle to your phone home screen, and use it as inspiration for designing other key spaces that unconsciously shape your behaviour
  • When you pick up your phone, default to things that nudge you in the direction you want your life to be moving in

      Applying the Buffet Principle

      On average, UK smartphone users check their phones every 12 minutes according to the 2018 Ofcom study. Knowing this presents a great opportunity. We can change our lock screens and home screens to nudge our behaviour in the direction we want to be moving in, especially in the knowledge that 75% of us will default to selecting the first choice we see.

      Here I’ll be building on the home screen design insights covered in the Disciplined by Design article. In that article, I shared what the team and I call the Buffet Principle:

      Buffet Principle: The first choice we see shapes our actions the most. So, make the first choice the right choice.

      This principle is grounded in the peer reviewed medical study from 2013 that found 75% of people at a food buffet accepted the first item they were offered regardless of whether they were being health conscious or not.

      With our phone lock screens and home screens being the front page of our digital worlds, that means the apps on that front page shape our behaviour the most. You’ll find a mix of serving suggestions below to inspire adjustments that'll make your desired action your default action.

      Inspirational Examples

      Below you'll find three examples:

      • The Way to Hell
      • Casual Minimalist
      • Maximum Minimalist
      See the Inspirational Examples
      Food for Thought

      Christmas special: Three curious books to add to your festive reading lists

      "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari (Non-Fiction)

      "100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one. Us. Homo sapiens". Go on the adventure of how we arrived at what we call present civilisation in a book that reads like a thriller by challenging everything we thought we knew about being a human: our thoughts, our actions, our power, and our future. 

      The graphic novel is also brilliant, as is the YouTube collaboration the author did with Kurzgesagt to produce a mini-documentary on human origins.

        "Good Omens" by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman (Fiction)

        Whether you read the book or enjoy the award-winning audio version, "Good Omens" is a wickedly witty look at the end of the world. We know, an odd recommendation for the end of 2020, but crying with laughter is a wonderful tincture.

        One of my favourite parts is, "Many phenomena - wars, plagues, sudden audits - have been advanced as evidence for the hidden hand of Satan in the affairs of Man, but whenever students of demonology get together the M25 London orbital motorway is generally agreed to be among the top contenders for Exhibit A."

        "Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman" by Richard P. Feynman (Non-Fiction)

        Winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics, Richard Feynman was a clever cookie. He was also a wonderful soul with a fantastic gift for investigating the world. An artist, safe-cracker, bongo player, practical joker and storyteller, this book's collection of anecdotes from Feynman's life will charm, entertain and inspire.

        P.S. The links aren't affiliate links. We've also opted to use Waterstones and Bookshop.org in case you also want to support local bookshops this Christmas.
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