What I am reading - September 2022
One of my father’s mantras is as follows:
The decisions you make today dictate the decisions you will be able to make tomorrow.
This is one of the lines that runs on repeat in my head. This idea in particular makes me extremely critical when it comes to examining how I spend my time. I am always looking for more ways to pack in the right high value activities. I’m ambitious, so I have many goals! Probably like you, I also can get distracted and can find myself investing too much time in activities that are not ‘the highest and best use of my time’. Another Dad-ism.
In an effort to better optimize my day, I have turned to two recent books that have managed to inspire new ways of executing my day. I know I am on my way putting the routines in place that allow me to do more with the 24 hours that we are all privileged to have.
The 5AM Club. This is my first book by Robin Sharma and illustrates the value of that first hour of the day through a parable. I am an early riser anyway, but fall victim to technology as soon as I wake up. The story follows the journey to enlightenment of an entrepreneur and an artist as they are taught the secrets of success by a guru and an eccentric billionaire. I immediately pictured Russ Hannemann from the HBO show Silicon Valley. I noticed immediately that neither of the characters were parents of young children, and that was a big miss. However, I was able to glean a few ideas that have seemed to add value to my daily routine. Since reading the book, I have powered up my morning routine to include 20 min of high intensity exercise, 5 min of stretching, 5-15 min of meditation and 20 minutes of learning and writing my to do list. Much of what is mentioned is not new to those that read these kinds of books, but the structured schedule was helpful and the story made it easier to process how the philosophy could impact life change and paint one version of success.
Atomic Habits - I had been following James Clear for years, even before the mega hit, Atomic Habits. I didn’t realize the significance of this book until talking to my sister. It has been on her ‘to read’ list and does not usually read these kinds of books. Since I had been following his writings, I thought that the publication of Atomic Habits was a far smaller accomplishment than what it proved to be. In the book, he describes his framework for behavior change that seems to align with what I learned through my behavioral science curriculum at Johns Hopkins. His structure is simple: make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, make it satisfying. The Kindle version of the book also highlights several supports to help you adopt good habits and break bad ones. This is a must read and has applicability for most people whether they are trying to go to bed an hour earlier or adopting a new project management approach at work.
Audible pro tip
