Assuming you're not reading (because it's the end of July). I'm going to share something personal. Something behind the scenes. I'm going to share my short story about how I nearly quit working on my website (this newsletter included).

So, a couple of months ago. Google, the search engine most of us use to find answers to our grave questions, to find more ways to prevent doing the job we do (i.e., procrastinate), decided to exterminate my site. I saw an 80% drop in traffic basically overnight.

Why? What happened? What should I do to improve? Why does Google hate me? Is it because I'm from the small country of Bulgaria?

All of these questions were troubling my mind for the past 6 months.

Eventually, just recently, I figured it out. I found the “missing piece” that I needed to climb up the search results again. I'm still not where I was, but I'm slowly moving towards there.

During the process of steady decline and thinking about shutting this project down, a couple of interesting things happened.

When things were working great - my traffic was slowly increasing every month - I had no need to make improvements. Since things worked, I simply focused on producing content.

When things started to malfunction. Besides losing my traffic, I also started to lose faith. Hopelessness was consuming my soul. But instead of quitting, I decided to make improvements. To take a stand against the monopolistic search engine. I've redesigned my site - made it faster and better looking. I've removed a lot of old articles. I created better-looking covers for my book summaries. I edited 60% of my content, which was an amazing experience on its own - I got to laugh at my previous articles that kind of sucked. I revised my writing process and I started to produce more in-depth articles that cover more important topics (or at least I hope they do).

Eventually, the problem that hit both the income coming from my site and my confidence about the work I do here was kind of a blessing in disguise. During the phase of trying to recover from the drop in traffic, I learned a lot of new things about content production, SEO, writing, and eventually, I improved my online home.

I believe there is a lesson here that applies to other aspects.

When things work, we take them for granted. We rarely question the way they function and we rarely look for ways to make improvements. Only when something ceases to bring results, we look for solutions. But a lot of times, it can be too late.

The simplest example is if you're feeling OK. Just because you're fine - not sick - doesn't mean that you shouldn't take care of your health. Exercising and diet shouldn't be things we do only when we gain weight. These should be a permanent part of our daily routine.

There are countless other examples. The work you do. The relationship you have. The blog you run ... Just because something works doesn't mean there's no better version - ways to improve it.

Not that you should try to improve everything you do.

But probably it's a good idea to ask yourself from time to time this: "How can I improve in the things I'm already good at?" The answer will help you understand that you're far from perfect.

• Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber: In light of the growing popularity of The Great Resignation movement, I believe that it's a great moment to share this summary. Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber is an amazing read. It goes into details about why purposeful jobs are underpaid and why sexy, but meaningless occupations are on the rise.

Become a Thinker: Want to keep improving in your craft? Want to stop procrastinating and finally take action? The end goal of the content I produce is to provoke thinking and doing. Stop sitting motionless and get more done by joining my membership program. Join The Thinkers Club.

Interesting books I recently added to my reading list (and hopefully will read at some point):

• The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs: Regardless of whether you decide to commit to an old-fashioned paper tome or a shiny new eReader. The reward of committing to an Internet-free afternoon of concentrated reading is a state of bliss we should invite more often in our lives. This book will help you rediscover the love of reading - if you lost it.
• Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam M. Grant: You think you know everything? Think again! Adam Grant forces us to think about the things we don't know. With this, he wants to help us improve our skills. After all, if you think you know everything, you surely won't look for new and better ways to improve what you're doing.
• Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most by Greg McKeown: The newest book of the author of Essentialism. Greg McKeown is here again to give us the motivation and the techniques we need to tackle complexity. Ways to add simplicity to the tricky task we do.

Interesting words from books and around the web:

• Gunnen (noun): To find happiness in someone else's happiness because that's how much you love them. To witness or acknowledge someone's success or enjoyment without envy or grudge.
• Virago (noun): A strong, brave, or warlike woman. A woman who demonstrates exemplary and heroic qualities.
• Querencia (noun): A place from which one's strength is drawn. Where one feels at home. The place where you are your most authentic self.

Virginia Woolf was an English writer, focused on capturing in words the excitement, pain, beauty, and horror of her surrounding life. She's considered one of the most important modernists, authors, and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device.

Big idea: Be a keen observer!

The work of Virginia Woolf draws from simple daily activities that are often left unnoticed. In her short essay called "The Death Of the Moth", she examines the life of a moth trapped in a pane of glass. Something that might be trivial for most people, turns into a beautiful writing experiment.

In her other famous work, To the Lighthouse. The writing is mostly focused on emotions, thoughts, observations. There is almost no action. But that doesn't stop the writer from immersing us in a completely different world.

Everything we encounter, all the sounds, sensations, the pain in the eyes of others, can become a work of art if we just take the time to notice them.

From my desk:

• The Main 3 Reasons Why You Should Read More Books: The average person reads 1.5 books per year while the average top CEO reads over 50 books per year. And they don’t do this to brag on social media – to Instagram the book with a cup of coffee on the side. They do this so they can maintain a competitive edge.

From around the web:

• Letter To A Young Songwriter: This piece is not just for songwriters. It's for everyone focused on the long game. My favorite part: "Just write a song. Make it as stupid and silly as you can. Finish it. Allow it to be a little strange, weird and rough around the edges. In fact, go especially out of your way to try and write the worst song ever. Then try and top that with something even worse, if possible. It’s hard to find good ideas when you’re looking for good ideas, but you can sometimes find them just next door when you’re looking for bad ideas."
• What folding 1,000 origami cranes taught me about living: "With a few days left in 2020, I knew I could still end the year with 1,000 origami cranes but what was the point? I looked back at the year and realised that I was treating my life as a checklist. My focus on accomplishing things turned everything into an item to cross off, an end to reach."

Anchoring Effect

The anchoring effect is a cognitive bias that focuses our attention on the first piece of information we encounter. We don't consider the situation objectively, we are influenced by how the information is presented.

For example, if you want to buy a new office chair, your mind will interpret differently the following: A chair that costs $300 and a similar chair that too costs $300 but the label states that it's discounted from $500.

Our mind, seemingly automatically, gets anchored to the discounted chair and makes it look more appealing - even if the chairs are similar, even the same.

To end, a cool video that will redefine your understanding of what is normal.

Thanks for reading!

Ivaylo Durmonski

Enjoying the content? Schedule time with yourself to think about how you can implement some of the ideas in your life.