Sunday Saves by Dylan Lau

Hey everyone,
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I hope you all have had a great week. A big welcome to all those who are new here! I really appreciate your support as our community continues to grow and would love to hear from you. Please do write back or DM me on Twitter to let me know of any thoughts or feedback.
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On Friday, I published a piece on Contextual Leverage and the importance of a well-designed environment. It covers why our context is so important in determining our behaviour and output as well as some of the best practices I have implemented in my life to get the most out of the spaces I work in. If you’re looking to make your environment work for you, be sure to check out the piece and let me know what you think.

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Now onto this week’s newsletter…

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Non-Negotiables and Making Time

This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about making time. With obligations restricting our attention, energy and time, many of us struggle to make time for the things we need to do, let alone the things that we want (or want to want) to do. To address this issue of ‘too many things too little time’, I’ve adopted the idea of non-negotiables in my life and wanted to share with all of you how you can do the same. The idea is to simply ask yourself the question:
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​What are the things that are so important to my being that, no matter what happens, I must do? What are my non-negotiables
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​Don’t spend too long thinking on this. It’s okay if you miss out a few things. It will be a running list that you add to or change as you hone in on the handful of things that truly matter to you. The less the better.

Next, ask yourself why each of these things are important to you and your core values. If you can’t come up with a good answer, remove it. You have no time to waste on things which are second priorities.
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Here is the short list I arrived at if you need inspiration:

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Of course, it’s not enough to just acknowledge these non-negotiables. The important actionable step is to find time in your week where you can fit all of these things in. Be realistic about how much time each practice will take up and add them as recurring events in your calendar.

It’s important to remember that this is an ever-improving system so strive for progress and don’t be upset if things aren’t working perfectly. Test the process and after each week, register what is and isn’t working for you. Leverage this feedback loop to re-evaluate and make improvements. As Gall’s Law says: “all complex systems evolved from simple systems that worked.”

Also remember not to take one missed day as a complete failure. As James Clear tells us: “The first mistake is never the one that ruins you. It is the spiral of repeated mistakes that follows.” A good way to avoid this spiral is to adopt the mindset of 'never miss twice'. Allow yourself one slip-up so long as it doesn’t become two. At best you will be sticking to that practice everyday (a great outcome) and at worst, you will be doing it every other day (still not a bad outcome).

Recognising non-negotiables as immovable parts of our week (just like going to work or school) helps to ensure that no matter what happens, we end our week knowing that we didn’t miss out on the most important things.
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Have a great week ahead,
Dylan

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Favourite reading from the week

​Opportunities in Education - Erik Torenberg​
2020 saw the shift towards online schooling that many university students found to be an inadequate substitute. But even before the Covid-19 pandemic, many recognised a bubble where rising tuition fees didn’t correlate with an improvement in education quality. In this piece, Erik Torenberg - VC and founder of On Deck - discusses the problems with universities, the unbundling of education and the space there is for startups and institutions to provide a better alternative.
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​What Networks Whisper - David Perell​
Paul Graham previously described how each city tells a different message. “San Francisco tells you to be powerful, LA tells you to be famous, Boston tells you to be smarter, and New York tells you to be richer.” David Perell extends this metaphor to our social networks and the subliminal message that each one sends us, cautioning us to be mindful of what whispers we choose to hear.

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Great conversations to listen into

​Ikigai and Apprenticeships - The Brandon Zhang Show​
Brandon Zhang, writer and student at Columbia University, interviews Rishi Tripathy about his time at Duke University and his experience working with VC Steve Schlafman. My takeaways include understanding how you can apply Ikigai (the Japanese concept for finding fulfilment in what you do) to your life, the important of apprenticeships and mentors and what the true value of university is.
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​Envy and The Elephant in The brain - Not Overthinking​
A quote often attributed to JP Morgan says “A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason.” Ali and Taimur discuss Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson’s book The Elephant in the Brain which addresses the hidden motives behind our actions. They offer an insight into how these hidden motives play into their own lives and share their take on envy, prestige and status seeking behaviour.

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A tweet I loved

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Quote that I'm thinking about

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“We spend so much time being afraid of failure, afraid of rejection. But regret is the thing we should fear most. Failure is an answer. Rejection is an answer. Regret is an eternal question you will never have the answer to.”
​- Trevor Noah from ‘Born a Crime’

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Here's a bonus: This squid alternative is useful if you like to work with music but are tired of seeing the 'lo-fi hiphop radio' girl.

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As always, if you enjoyed this week's newsletter, please do consider sending it to three friends or family members who you think might also find value in it.