I’m not a great saver. In general, I’m a spender. But I want to become a decent saver so that that I can invest it and make a good pile of money before I retire and hopefully live well before that. Given my spending nature, for me, it’s about creating systems that take out the need for willpower and that make it easy for me to spend less and save more. Monzo, Marcus, and Moneybox help me do that. Monzo Monzo is a new bank account that’s mobile-only and aimed at young people. It has a cool bright pink card that when you tap it or use it, sends an instant update to your phone. So I know immediately when I buy a coffee or lunch. It literally tells me as soon as I tap my card on the reader. So how does Monzo help me save money? Two ways: …[Read More]
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker – key takeaways
Why We Sleep is a ridiculously valuable book for anyone who doesn’t sleep much on a consistent basis. Whether that’s due to insomnia or to being a total badass who thinks that sleep is for the weak and lazy. Matthew is someone we should listen to. He’s professor of of neuroscience and psychology at UCLA and before that he was a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He also works as a sleep scientist at Google Life Sciences (Verily) The main takeaways from Why We Sleep Consistent sleep deprivation is really, really bad for you. By sleep deprivation, he means anything less than a solid 8 hours of sleep. Walker links consistent sleep deprivation to cancer, dementia, obesity depression, and anxiety. Also, the shorter you sleep, the shorter you live. All in all, really, really bad. We have a chemical called adenosine that is continually produced from the moment …[Read More]
What does it mean to eat well?
For lots of people, eating is something to get done. For these people, food is fuel. But what if we ask the question: “What is the best that eating can do for us?” the idea that ‘food is fuel’ becomes a deprived way of looking at eating. (Pint of Huel anyone??) At its very best, food nourishes the body and nourishes the soul too. Body. At the very least, what you eat should be nourishing for the body. It should be nutrient-dense, packed full of vitamins and things that help your body function at its best. It should give you energy, help your muscles repair and help your body’s complex chemical make-up be at its optimum. Soul. It should delight the senses. From what goes into your eyes, to what it smells like, to what it tastes like, to the texture of your food as you eat it. Some of the best food experiences …[Read More]
If you were asked to introduce yourself, would you sell yourself short vs what the objective reality was?
Angelique told me about something that happened at her work. She was in a meeting where a new senior hire from the Product Team came to introduce himself to her team. Everyone in her team introduced in turn introduced themselves back to the new hire. When it got to Angelique, she said that she was a bit nervous, and stumbled a bit, and when she sat down afterwards, she was mortified. Bear in mind that Angelique is an experienced professional, with nearly seven years at her company, and is also a veteran public speaker. If it can happen to her, it can happen to all of us. It could certainly happen to me. Lots of career advice I read says that we should all have a short description of ourselves ready to be deployed whenever someone asks about us. It should be memorised. It’s good advice. However, what would you …[Read More]
Definitely feeling the benefits of implementing some of Aubrey Marcus’s book “Own The Day, Own Your Life”
I love airport bookshops. It’s like the best of books distilled into a few shelves. I can never resist even though it will double my carry on luggage. The domestic terminal at Melbourne Tullamarine had some enticing books: 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson (which I’ve read but only on Kindle, so I bought a paperback there and then), First Man In by Ant Middleton, who I’ve only recently discovered on Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins, and Own The Day, Own Your Life by Aubrey Marcus. I snapped it up alongside Peterson’s. (Will get Middleton’s book soon.) The premise of Aubrey’s book is that by making the right small decisions throughout our day, we optimise our health, mindset, productivity and overall well-being. This helps us to win our day, and if we do this day after day, we win our life. The section I really like is …[Read More]