If you're anything like me, you say yes to lots of things, stretch yourself too thin and then get overwhelmed by your exponentially growing to-do list. For me, balancing medical school with YouTube often leaves me spinning plates—trying my best not to drop one.
A few years ago, I began listening to Tim Ferriss' podcast and read his book 'The 4-Hour Work Week'. He's an elderman in the new age of productivity gurus, and has some brilliant insights on balancing the trials and tribulations of modern life. Tim asks himself a question every time he's stressed, and I've now adopted this habit. It's a question that helps me to simplify the task ahead of me.
'What would this look like if it were easy?'
This week, I've been struggling to write and record my video. As the Sunday deadline approached—and the accompanying stress built—I asked myself this question to push myself to deliver on-time. I hope that this question can bring you as much value as it has brought to me.
🗓 This Week
I got bored of my own videos.
Following my newsletter last week, I decided to rethink my filmmaking process. My favourite YouTuber, Johnny Harris, runs a course called 'Visual Storytelling' on BrightTrip. This video outlines what I learned and how I plan to push my videos to be more insightful and entertaining in the future. Hope you enjoy it!
🔊 Resonators
Here are 3 things that resonated with me this week.
The Doctor's Kitchen (Website)
I'm becoming more and more interested in lifestyle medicine as I read research and listen to experts on the subject. Dr. Rupy Aujla was a medical doctor when he suffered from a significant heart condition. Before undergoing heart surgery, he decided to delve into the literature and try to optimise his diet and lifestyle. With the measures that he implemented, he reversed his condition and no longer needed surgery.
This website has an excellent 'Learn' section outlining the associations between nutrition and common diseases.
17 Questions That Changed My Life (PDF)
'What would this look like if it were easy?' is one of the questions that changed Tim Ferriss' life. The other 16 are outlined in this PDF. Two other personal favourites are:
- What if I could only subtract to solve problems?
- What are the worst things that could happen? Could I get back here?
Beer Mode and Coffee Mode (Article)
David Perell thinks that we have two ways of working: beer mode and coffee mode. Coffee mode is a 'state of focus where you work towards a specific outcome'; a mode that I'm very familiar with. Beer mode is one that I neglect. 'A state of unfocused play where you discover new ideas', allowing your mind to wander can lead to unexpected solutions or creative ideas that your focused mind would overlook. Are you neglecting one of these modes like I am?
Quote
“If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is, too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.” — Tim Ferriss