Signs of a Weak Capture System

By Steve Pavlina

A common sign that you have a weak or under-utilized(ˈyo͞odlˌīz) system for capturing and organizing your tasks and projects is that you’re trying to use some non-system as a substitute(ˈsəbstəˌt(y)o͞ot).

This includes bad habits such as these:

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Leaving emails sitting in your inbox after you’ve read them the first time

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Using any messaging app to remember some to-do items

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Using multiple apps to capture tasks

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Not being sure which inbox to send your tasks to

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Worrying about tasks falling through the cracks(krak)
Relying on your human memory to keep reminding yourself about tasks you need to attend to

A good system has at most two inboxes: one digital inbox and one paper inbox.

A good system has one calendar(ˈkaləndər) for keeping track of your time-based commitments. You can also set it to proactively(prōˈaktivlē) remind you of appointments when necessary, so you don’t have to rely on your memory or constantly looking at the clock for that.

Your email inbox isn’t a calendar or a project management system. Nor is your web browser.

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A good system doesn’t show you reminders of your to-dos except(ikˈsept) when you need to see them. It doesn’t distract you by showing you the same unprocessed emails every time you check your inbox.

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Not having a good capture system is a problem worth solving. Consider that if you don’t solve it soon, you’re punting(pənt) the problem to the future, cursing(kərs) your future self with more distraction and degraded(diˈɡrādid) focus year after year. That will absolutely drag down the results you’re able to create and the quality of life you’re able to enjoy. You can solve this problem permanently(ˈpərmənəntlē). You can leave it in the past so that it never plagues(plāɡ) you again.

https://stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/12/signs-of-a-weak-capture-system/

A Day Of Sunshine

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

O gift of God! O perfect day:
Whereon(weˈrän) shall no man work, but play;
Whereon it is enough for me,
Not to be doing, but to be!

Through every fibre(ˈfībər) of my brain(brān),
Through every nerve(nərv), through every vein(vān),
I feel the electric(əˈlektrik) thrill(THril), the touch
Of life, that seems almost too much.

I hear the wind among the trees
Playing celestial(səˈlesCHəl) symphonies(ˈsimfənē);
I see the branches downward bent,
Like keys of some great instrument.

And over me unrolls(ˌənˈrōl) on high
The splendid(ˈsplendəd) scenery(ˈsēn(ə)rē) of the sky,
Where though a sapphire(ˈsaˌfī(ə)r) sea the sun
Sails(sāl) like a golden galleon(ˈɡalēən),

Towards yonder(ˈyändər) cloud-land in the West,
Towards yonder Islands of the Blest,
Whose steep(stēp) sierra(sēˈerə) far uplifts
Its craggy(ˈkraɡē) summits(ˈsəmət) white with drifts.

Blow, winds! and waft(wäft) through all the rooms
The snow-flakes(flāk) of the cherry-blooms!
Blow, winds! and bend within my reach
The fiery(ˈfī(ə)rē) blossoms(ˈbläsəm) of the peach!

O Life and Love! O happy throng(THrôNG)
Of thoughts, whose only speech is song!
O heart of man! canst(kanst) thou(T͟Hou) not be
Blithe(blīT͟H) as the air is, and as free?

https://americanliterature.com/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/poem/a-day-of-sunshine

Fast Car

By Tracy Chapman

You got a fast car
I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere
Any place is better
Starting from zero got nothing to lose
Maybe we’ll make something
Me myself I got nothing to prove(pro͞ov)

You got a fast car
I got a plan to get us out of here
I been working at the convenience(kənˈvēnyəns) store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
Won’t have to drive too far
Just ‘cross the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
And finally see what it means to be living

See my old man’s got a problem
He live with the bottle(ˈbädl) that’s the way it is
He says his body’s too old for working
His body’s too young to look like his
My mama went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
I said somebody’s got to take care of him
So I quit school and that’s what I did

You got a fast car
Is it fast enough so we can fly away?
We gotta(ˈɡädə) make a decision
Leave tonight or live and die this way

So remember when we were driving driving in your car
Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped ‘round my shoulder(ˈSHōldər)
And I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car
We go cruising(ˈkro͞oziNG), entertain ourselves
You still ain’t(ānt) got a job
And I work in a market as a checkout girl
I know things will get better
You’ll find work and I’ll get promoted
We’ll move out of the shelter
Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs(ˈsəbərb)

So remember when we were driving driving in your car
Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped ‘round my shoulder
And I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car
I got a job that pays all our bills
You stay out drinking late at the bar
See more of your friends than you do of your kids
I’d always hoped for better
Thought maybe together you and me would find it
I got no plans I ain’t going nowhere
So take your fast car and keep on driving

So remember when we were driving driving in your car
Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped ‘round my shoulder
And I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car
Is it fast enough so you can fly away?
You gotta make a decision
Leave tonight or live and die this way

https://y.qq.com/n/yqq/song/000QjRVb34qGuF.html

The Simple Path to Wealth(welTH)

By JL Collins

Chapter I

Introduction

This book grew out of my blog, www.jlcollinsnh.com. The blog, in turn, grew out of a series of letters I had begun to write to my then teenage daughter. These letters concerned various things—mostly about moneyy and investing—she was not yet quite ready to hear.

Since money is the single most powerful tool we have for navigating this complex world we’ve created, understanding it is critical(ˈkridək(ə)l). If you choose to master it, money becomes a wonderful servant(ˈsərvənt). If you don’t, it will surely master you.

“But Dad,” my little girl once said to me, “I know money is important. I just don’t want to spend my life thinking about it.”

For me this was eye-opening. I love this stuff. But most people have better things to do with their precious(ˈpreSHəs) time than think about money. They have bridges to build, diseases to cure(kyo͝or), treaties(ˈtrēdē) to negotiate(nəˈɡōSHēˌāt), mountains to climb(klīm), technologies to create, children to teach, businesses to open and build.

Unfortunately this benign(bəˈnīn) neglect(nəˈɡlekt) of things financial leaves you open to the charlatans(ˈSHärlədən) of the financial world. The people who make investing endlessly complex, because if it can be made complex it becomes more profitable(ˈpräfədəb(ə)l) for them, more expensive for us, and we are forced into their waiting arms.

Here’s an important truth: Complex(ˌkämˈpleks) investments exist only to profit those who create and sell them. Further(ˈfərT͟Hər), not only are they more costly to the investor, they are less effective.

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http://jlcollinsnh.com

Jeff Bezos to step down as Amazon(ˈaməˌzän) chief executive(iɡˈzekyədiv)

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is to step down as chief executive of the e-commerce(ˈkämərs) giant(ˈjīənt) that he started in his garage(ɡəˈräZH) nearly 30 years ago.

He will become executive chairman, a move he said would give him “time and energy” to focus on his other ventures(ˈven(t)SHər).

Mr Bezos, who has a fortune(ˈfôrCHən) of almost $200bn, will be replaced by Andy Jassy(ˈyäsē), who currently(ˈkərəntlē) leads Amazon’s cloud computing business.

The change will take place in the second half of 2021, the company said.

“Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on anything else,” Mr Bezos said in a letter(ˈledər) to Amazon staff on Tuesday.

“As Exec(iɡˈzek) Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives(iˈniSH(ē)ədiv) but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions.”

“I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate(ˈpaSH(ə)nət) about the impact I think these organisations can have,” he added.

Mr Bezos, 57, has led Amazon since its start as an online bookshop in 1994. The firm now employs 1.3 million people globally and has its hand in everything from package delivery and streaming video to cloud services and advertising.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55912878

What is life all about? Self-exploration(ˌekspləˈrāSH(ə)n) is good for the ‘Soul(sōl)’

By Michael Ordoña

“Soul” isn’t what most might expect from a big-studio, animated movie for kids, but Pixar’s success affords it the freedom to try new things — including exploring(ikˈsplôr) the oldest of questions.

“I think a lot of us have fallen into that idea of ‘Just find your passion; do what you love, and everything else will fall into place,’ and I came to a point where I’m like, ‘Not everything is coming into place. I’m not happy and content all the time just because I love doing animation,’ ” says “Soul” director and co-writer Pete(pit) Docter, a two-time Oscar(ˈäskər) winner.

“What’s life really all about, and what are we meant to be doing? The film was really an investigation into that.”

“Soul’s” main character, Joe (voiced by Jamie Foxx), is a frustrated jazz(jaz) musician-turned-teacher about to get his big break at a club when he unexpectedly dies. His struggle to return to his life (accompanied by a kind of baby soul voiced by Tina Fey) to fulfill what he sees as his purpose forms the story. As Docter says, “Soul” is not concerned with religious(rəˈlijəs) dogma(ˈdôɡmə), but with being present and alive right now, which makes the highly improvisational(imˌprävəˈzāSH(ə)nl) art of jazz an appropriate theme(THēm).

It helped considerably that co-writer Kemp Powers used to cover jazz as a journalist, but there’s no replacement for lived experience. Docter refers(rəˈfər) to the opening scene, in which Joe conveys(kənˈvā) to his students how he fell in love with jazz when his father took him to a club:

“Where that came from was me asking Jon Batiste(bəˈtēst), who played the music, ‘Describe to me a moment like this.’ And I almost literally(ˈlidərəlē) transcribed(tran(t)ˈskrīb) what he said and put it in the film.”

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https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2021-01-25/soul-animated-feature-pete-docter-jazz

Ten years of experience in one hour

By Derek Sivers

From 1998 to 2008, I had this wild(wīld) experience of starting a little hobby(ˈhäbē), accidentally(ˌaksəˈden(t)(ə)lē) growing it into a big business, and then selling it for $22 million. So now people want to hear my thoughts.

People ask me about that experience, so I tell stories about how it went for me. Many of them are about all the things I did wrong. I made some horrible mistakes.

People ask my advice on how to approach situations in their lives or businesses, so I explain how I approach things. But my approach is just one way, and I could argue(ˈärɡyo͞o) against it as well.

I’m not really suggesting that anyone should be like me. I’m pretty unusual, so what works for me might not work for others. But enough people thought that my stories and the philosophies(fəˈläsəfē) I developed from this experience were worth sharing, so here we are.

This is most of what I learned in ten years, compacted into something you can read in an hour.

I hope you find these ideas useful for your own life or business. I also hope you disagree with some of them. Then I hope you email me to tell me about your different point of view, because that’s my favorite part of all.

(I’m a student, not a guru(ˈɡo͝oro͞o).)

https://sive.rs/ayw1

the snake(snāk) in the garden

hard choices, the tougher(təf) paths

By Henry H. Walker

I am worried about the snake in the garden,

our students are good people
who want to do right,
yet distance(ˈdistəns) learning makes the paths forward
even harder to find and follow,
there in their rooms
Zoom holds their tenuous(ˈtenyo͞oəs) connection
to teacher,
to fellow students,
to their choices:
whether to focus their attention, or not,
to bring up a point in discussion(dəˈskəSH(ə)n), or not,
to resist(rəˈzist) the smart phone’s messages and games, or not,
to have their video on, or retreat(rəˈtrēt) from being seen,

the snake whispers(ˈ(h)wispər) to them,
and it is hard for them to resist the easier paths
that pull at them to give in to temptation(tem(p)ˈtāSH(ə)n),

life is all about choice,
the better way can be hard,

despite what the snake whispers
their future is so much better
when they choose the harder way forward,
despite how taxing(ˈtaksiNG) it can be,
despite what they have to give up,

they and we are being tested,
and I can not succeed unless they do.

https://henryspoetry.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-snake-in-garden.html

Saxapahaw General Store: Your Local Five Star Gas Station

Our Story

The Saxapahaw General Store as it now exists began in June 2008 when Jeff Barney, butcher(ˈbo͝oCHər) and self-taught chef(SHef), and Cameron(ˈkamərən) Ratliff(ə), teacher and self-taught biscuit(ˈbiskit) maker, worked with former owner and mill town visionary(ˈviZHəˌnerē) Mac Jordan(ˈjôrdən) to begin a new life for the convenience store and gas station that had served the community for several years.

They imagined a spot where a village could gather for food, drink and provisions(prəˈviZHən), run by folks whose varied backgrounds have each taught them they can influence their world by collaborating(kəˈlabəˌrāt) with their neighbors. They hoped to serve the residents(ˈrez(ə)dənt) of Saxapahaw with a range of products that could allow everyone to feel welcome. They wanted to be stewards(ˈst(y)o͞oərd) of local foods, good wine and beer(bir), nutritious(n(y)o͞oˈtriSHəs) snacks, and eco-conscious dry goods, and they hoped to participate in a new kind of local economy that would strengthen(ˈstreNG(k)THən) fellow small businesses, promote conscious farming(ˈfärmiNG), and become part of a network of small communities finding a better way to live and to do business together.

Pursuing this mission turned out to be about much more than selling food. The next several years would find them watching—and participating—as the old mill, whose bricks(brik) were crumbling(ˈkrəmbliNG) and whose beams sagged around the edges, was bought by new investors and restored carefully into a Ballroom(ˈbôlˌro͞om), a pub, and a series of high-end residences. The spaces, ever tinged(tinj) with their former selves, have become—once again—a village center. With the burgeoning(ˈbərjəniNG) economy, and some new residents, came change. Other businesses joined the village and seek to make their place in the community.

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https://saxgenstore.com/our-story/https://www.ft.com/content/a583d084-4b61-4527-85dd-ef5324ec0158

Why you should ditch(diCH) ‘follow your passion’ careers(kəˈrir) advice

A new book tackles(ˈtak(ə)l) the myth(miTH) that we should all love our work — it won’t love us back

By Emma Jacobs

“Work is supposed to bring us fulfilment, pleasure, meaning, even joy,” writes Sarah(ˈserə) Jaffe(ˈjafē) in her book, Work Won’t Love You Back. “The admonishment(ədˈmäniSHmənt) of a thousand inspirational(ˌinspəˈrāSH(ə)n(ə)l) social media posts to ‘do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life’ has become folk(fōk) wisdom,” she continues.

Such platitudes(ˈpladəˌt(y)o͞od) suggest an essential(əˈsen(t)SHəl) truth “stretching(streCH) back to our caveperson(kāv) ancestors(ˈanˌsestər)”. But these fallacies(ˈfaləsē) create “stress, anxiety and loneliness(ˈlōnlēnəs)”. In short, the “labour(ˈlābər) of love . . . is a con(kän)”. This is the starting point of Ms Jaffe’s book, which goes on to show how the myth permeates(ˈpərmēˌāt) diverse(dəˈvərs, dīˈvərs) jobs and sectors.

The book serves(sərv) as a timely reminder(rəˈmīndər) of the importance of re-evaluating(ˌrēiˈvalyo͞oˌāt) that relationship. “The global pandemic made the brutality(bro͞oˈtalədē) of the workplace more visible,” the author tells me over the phone from Brooklyn, New York. Ms Jaffe, who is a freelance(ˈfrēˌlans) journalist(ˈjərn(ə)ləst) specialising(ˈspeSHəˌlīz) in work, points out that the past year of job losses(lôs, läs), anxiety about redundancy(rəˈdəndənsē), and excessive(ikˈsesiv) workloads has demonstrated(ˈdemənˌstrāt) to workers the truth: their job does not love them.

Work is under scrutiny(ˈskro͞otnē). The economic fallout of the pandemic has made a great many people desperate(ˈdesp(ə)rət) for paid work, disillusioned(ˌdisəˈlo͞oZHənd) with their jobs or burnt(bərnt) out — and sometimes all three. It has illuminated(iˈlo͞ominādəd) the stark differences between those who can work from the safety of their homes and those who cannot, including shop workers, carers and medical professionals, who have to put themselves in potentially hazardous(ˈhazərdəs) situations, often for meagre(ˈmēɡər) pay. The idea of self-sacrifice(ˈsakrəˌfīs), and that you should put your clients, your patients or your students before yourself, Ms Jaffe says, “gets laid on very thick(THik) [with] teachers or nurses(nərs)”.

https://www.ft.com/content/a583d084-4b61-4527-85dd-ef5324ec0158