“You’re only as good as your record collection.” 🎧

The little, square book Show Your Work has changed they way I think about blogging, processing my ideas, and has even helped me appreciate my music playlists.

One idea it introduces is to embrace collecting.

There’s not as big of a difference between collecting and creating as you might think.
Show Your Work

Great musicians, writers, and artists tend to collect and appreciate other people’s work. “The reading feeds the writing, which feeds the reading,” the book says. Hopefully this approach works for me as I dig into music creation.

Or to put it another way:

You’re only as good as your record collection.
DJ Spooky, via Show Your Work

To that end, here is my ever-growing list of new songs I like, built up gradually over the last few years, thanks to Shazam and a few coffee shops with their own great playlists. As of this writing, this playlist is over 49 hours long and could double as its own radio station.

Don’t hoard indeed. 😆

Books

It’s time for book snippets ✄

27 May 202330 May 2023 patmcg1 Comment

I’ve been doing super summaries on this blog for a while now. The idea is to condense a great book into a super distilled version that covers the core concepts as quickly as possible. Hopefully the super summary is useful, and if your curiosity is teased enough, then you can read the actual book.

I think it’s a win-win, and these continue to be some of my most popular posts.

But some books simply can’t be super-summarized.

The book Show Your Work has has been sitting on my coffee table taunting me for months. I pick it up and read a bit, absorb whatever nuggets of inspiration I get out of it, and then put it away for a while.

I keep thinking I’ll write up a super-summary on this little 184-page book. I mean, how hard could that be?

Ironically enough, this tiny, square, innocent-looking book is so densely packed with good material that a super summary is nearly impossible. I think I could but the book in half, maybe? But who wants a 92-page summary of a book? 🤔

So I’m starting a new thing here: a book snippet. I’ll take one little concept at a time from a book and post it. And then post a series of excerpts over time for any give book.

This approach fits (so to speak) with my goal of keeping things short. So with that, stay tuned for the first snippet.

👉 First snippet: “You’re only as good as your record collection.” 🎧

This little book defies the super summary.

Books · Quotes · You

“If you work on something a little bit every day, you end up with something that is massive.”

Featured patmcg1 Comment

I like this idea…

If you work on something a little bit every day, you end up with something that is massive.
Kenneth Goldsmith

The book Show Your Work references this quote and really brings it home with an image that illustrates how a good picture can outshine even the best words.

👉 By the way, Show Your Work inspires this blog and will most definitely be getting its own super summary (or series) here (eventually).

Books · creativity · Practical

Super Summary: Deep Work

13 April 202224 December 2022 patmcgLeave a comment

Next up in my super summary series: Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport.

On this blog, a super summary is basically a “summary of a summary” of a book (with a few additions of my own). It gives you the basic idea of a book to see if you want to read the real thing. Most of the content comes from Lucid visual book summary series.

👉This book gives you official permission to set your chat app to do-not-disturb or enable Focus mode on your iPhone.

Deep vs. shallow work

Shallow work is work that’s done in small pieces, doesn’t require your full attention, and keeps you busy. It is often necessary, but it does not lead to great achievements.

Deep work means complex thinking in a state of distraction-free concentration or flow. Your brain can do amazing things in this state of focus.

Many great thinkers in history went to incredible lengths to isolate themselves from distractions while they worked. Studies show that many of people’s happiest moments come when they are stretched to their mental limits and lose themselves in this state.

This intense focus allows you to master difficult skills and produce at an elite level. It’s a career builder.

Making time for deep work

Switching frequently between tasks leaves “attention residue” and makes it difficult to focus on a new task after switching focus, especially if you leave the previous ask unfinished.

To allow yourself to get the most out of deep work, schedule your time in blocks of deep and shallow work with one of the following strategies.

👉I’ve found that I can only be productive at deep work for about 90 minutes at a time. Then I need a mental break. 🤯

Monastic

On one end, monastic deep workers go to great lengths to make time for deep work. They eliminate social media and use email sparingly to achieve their goals.

👉This seems pretty extreme unless you aim to be Henry David Thoreau at Walden Pond or Bon Iver at his cabin in Wisconsin. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Bimodal

Bimodal deep workers plan their day in larger blocks to make time for both the shallow and deep work they need to do.

This strategy can mean bookending a solid day of deep work email and busy work at the beginning and end of the day.

Rhythmic

Rhythmic deep workers break their time down into smaller chunks to fit their broken-up schedule.

👉This is how I work because, you know, meetings. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Journalistic

For those with even less predictable days, journalistic scheduling capitalizes on spare moments that come up throughout the day, even if it’s just 30 minutes.

These people keep fighting for deep work time as their day evolves. 🏃🏻‍♀️

👉 For some additional ideas, check out Wired article How to Use Block Scheduling to Revamp Your Workflow.

Books

Super summary: Quiet, The Power of Introverts

15 June 202116 October 2022 patmcgLeave a comment

A super-summary on this blog is basically a “summary of a summary” of a book, with a few additions of my own. It gives you the basic idea of a book to see if you want to read the real thing.

Next up via Lucid: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking [book | audiobook].

Who are the introverts?

Introverts are people who tend to benefit from alone time. They favor reflective and deliberate thinking. This approach lets them dig deep.

Some classic introverts are Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks, Abraham Lincoln, and Warren Buffett. Isaac Newton was known to be “a deeply introverted character and fiercely protective of his privacy.”

👉My favorite new introvert is standup comedian Taylor Tomlinson, who framed introversion with this joke:

I read a statistic that said in 80 percent of homicides cases the killer was someone the victim knew. When I read that, I was relieved. Like thank god, I don’t want to get murdered and meet someone. That’s a lot for a Friday, getting stabbed and acquainted.

Introverts have a hidden side

While introverts tend to be outwardly quiet, they can also be bold, strong, and courageous. This is not a paradox.

See examples above. ☝️ You don’t have to be loud to revolutionize our understanding of the world, save a nation, or build a fortune.

They may not be fun at parties, but these are some heavy hitters when it comes to lasting, positive change in the world.

Introverts aren’t always introverted

Introverts can act extroverted pretty convincingly if it is in the service of something they love. An introvert can do public speaking or standup comedy as long as it serves a core purpose.

This explains introverted, charismatic entertainers such as Prince

👉 As a bit of an introvert myself, I admire the fun, freewheeling nature of many extroverts. I’m trying to learn from them to do more and think less. But I also appreciate that my core happiness lies within and I can have some of my best nights all to myself.