Work Less Wednesday: November 23

👋 Hey Reader!

This is issue #56 of Work Less Wednesday, where I share with you 5 things you should know about, in 5 minutes or less. That leaves you with 10,075 other minutes this week.

🏝 I'm sitting on the beach in the Bahamas this week, but that doesn't mean I don't have another great WLW for you! Enjoy.

🎧 1. Audiobook I’m Enjoying - The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu​

In the first session of 🏖️How To Work Less, everyone shares their #1 book as an icebreaker.

This book was recommended by the talented motion designer Bogdan Dumitriu.

Anyways, about this book…

Here’s the summary:

Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.

What sold me:

1. He’s George R.R. Martin’s favorite writer.
2. Hugo Award Winner & NPR Best Book Of The Decade.
3. Netflix series coming soon.

I’ve been trying to avoid reading business books at night (keeps my brain up when I’m supposed to be winding down), so this nonfiction option was perfect.

I’m nearing completion of Book 1 (it is a trilogy) and if you’re into sci-fi, I highly recommend it.

📈 2. 6 Graphs That Will Change How You See Time Forever - Twitter Thread by Sahil Bloom​

If you’re on Twitter, you probably saw this already (it went UBER viral).

But if not, check this out this thread:

Sahil Bloom @SahilBloom I recently came across data on who we spend our time with over the course of our lives. The insights are simultaneously inspiring and depressing. Here are 6 graphs everyone needs to see: November 12th 2022 20,703 Retweets 69,021 Likes

This thread details how much time we spend with different people over the course of our lives.

The data is from The American Time Use Survey.

In summary:

(1) Family time is limited—cherish it.

(2) Friend time is limited—prioritize real ones.

(3) Partner time is significant—never settle.

(4) Children time is precious—be present.

(5) Coworker time is significant—find energy.

(6) Alone time is highest—love yourself.

The lesson: Be present today. Our time is limited.

⭕ 3. Why I’m Not Sold On Ikigai

I’m still thinking through this… Let me know what you think.

You’ve probably seen this chart floating around social media a lot:

It’s a diagram that shows the Japanese concept of Ikigai, which means “a reason for being.”

Ikigai is everywhere.

There are books, journals, posters, heck, my business coach even taught a 45 minute workshop on it.

It’s a beautiful concept.

But I’m not sold.

Here’s my take:

I love the top 3 quadrants (what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs).

It’s the last one (what you can be paid for) that doesn’t add up.

Telling people that what they do for money must be the SAME THING they love most doesn’t sound right.

It’s ends up just being another way to define yourself by your job.

Let me give you an example:

Let's say you LOVE playing music.

Ikigai would say that you should do everything in your power to figure out how to make money as a musician.

Sadly, the things that musicians have to do to make money right now might include:

• Playing at weddings
• Creating stock music
• Becoming a music teacher at a high school

These jobs likely aren't WHY you loved playing music in the first place.

That's my problem with Ikigai.

Often when you commoditize passion, it loses its power.

Many might be better off pursuing other work that:

1. Stimulates you
2. Makes good money
3. Doesn’t take up all your time

Then go live your life.

📭 4. How To (Actually) Get To Inbox Zero On Gmail - Blog Post By Andreas Klinger​

​This short article teaches one of the most beautifully efficient systems I’ve ever seen for email.

In about 30 minutes of setup, you will:

1. Get to inbox zero (even if you have 3,000 unread messages).
2. Implement the GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology in your inbox.
3. Redesign your Gmail for productivity.

This blog post has been around since 2013 and still gets hundreds of thousands of views a month.

​Check it out here.​

😂 5. A Foolproof Way To Handle Your 1,000 Open Tabs

h/t @concoctionary on IG.

🎁 BONUS: This Week's Most Popular Post: 5 Habits To Get More Done In Less Time (❤️2,357)

👋 Want to work together?

When you’re ready, here are 4 ways I can help you:

1. 📺 (FREE) Watch my YouTube training: Work Less Fundamentals.
2. 🏖 Join the Waitlist for January’s Cohort 3 of 🏖How To Work Less here. (83 past students, 5 stars).
3. 🤝 Book a 1:1 session with me here. (Booking into Dec. 2022)
4. 📬 Promote yourself to 12k+ subscribers by sponsoring Work Less Wednesday. (Booking into Dec. 2022)

That's it! I can't wait to hear what you think. What was your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Just reply to this email. Also, if you have anything interesting to share, I want to know about it.

😊 Have a great week -

Rich

P.S. Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe here.

P.P.S. Thank you for trusting me with your time. If these emails ever turn into a burden, I encourage you to unsubscribe from Work Less Wednesday.