--- ## Resources ## Notes/Brainstorming ### ✨ In My Life New projects - AI note taking app - Integrating AI into learning, Obsidian and USV - Revising USV ### **🔗** Links to Thinks #### I push through my laziness because I’ve never regretted doing good work https://www.reddit.com/r/selfimprovement/comments/12ra770/i_push_through_my_laziness_because_ive_never/ It’s a weird feeling—not feeling like doing something I logically want to do very badly With it being so important, I’ve tried different ways of dealing with the urge. And for the past year one simple reminder has been a game-changer for me: I’ve never regretted doing good work. I’ve never prepared for an exam and said, “shit I wish I didn’t study for this.” I’ve never left the gym after a workout and said, “man what a waste of time.” My obsession for the past 5 years has been writing and making cartoons. I’ve never finished a project and regretted spending time on the thing I love the most. So any time I’m staring at a blank page, or I’m scared to crack open my textbook I tell myself, “you’ve never regretted this before.” It’s always hard to start, but it’s always worth finishing. #### Grinding - https://www.reddit.com/r/selfimprovement/comments/134jtti/i_quit_everything_fun_for_2_months_to_see_if_it/ - `This is one of the more depressing things I've read today. Thanks.` - Lots of people saying - Please don't do it long-term - > Seriously, I hate hustle culture and I hate how much it brainwashes us in our youth. I had a similar drive in my 20s - focused on working hard, said no to "frivolous" spending and lived a goal oriented life. I fell into toxic positivity/good vibes only. It's easy while things are good, but as soon as life hits you (and it will, hard - deaths, loss, health issues, financial troubles, whatever it is) you kind of crumble and think to yourself why did I focus on all this, this can't be what life is about. I'm a decent earner, debt free, solid investments and assets, very much ahead of the curve compared to the average 30 yo, and I honestly wanna relive my 20s and focus on connection and experiences and fun. At the end of the day, balance is what matters. Things that bring you joy. Life in moderation - if your habits are somewhere in the middle (regular physical activity, eat a diverse and nutritious diet with occasional splurges, limit screen time, socialize and connect with people, financial literacy, practice hobbies you like), you'll do great. Throw in some therapy and you're golden. A militant lifestyle doesn't make you better than everyone else, nor does a hedonistic/instant gratification lifestyle. - Congratulations, youve managed to train yourself into a lab rat and like it - https://www.reddit.com/r/leanfire/comments/135c64p/post_retirement_life_whats_it_like/ - Interesting how people are still willing to work - Part-time, volunteering - one went back to their own job after 6 years, was difficult with a big gap but I was actually a better employee because I wanted to be there so I got promoted. - You decide ### **🚀** Actionable Tingz - [[Ensure digital security with a Yubikey]] - Integrating AI into learning and Obsidian - Showering the world with love - Have it as a daily with Aidan ### 😤 My Ramblings **Halfway through my internship** ## Publishing Copy Welcome to another edition of _Weekly Wondering_, a sacred time where I share the resonating links, reflections and learnings from my past week to influence your next one ;) This newsletter is my version of learning and thinking in public, giving me time to expand on ideas that may turn into more refined content in the future. ### **✨** In My Life **Integrating AI into learning and note taking** Using AI integrations like ChatGPT and Obsidian's Text Generator Plugin take learning and note taking to a whole new level, and I feel energized by the possibilities associated with the above. Tiago Forte's BASB methodology with PARA and the CODE method already help substansially with information overwhelm, but just imagine how much better it could be if AI was also integrated alongside it. Even if your organization isn't the best, you can let AI do all the hard work and resurface relevant things to you in a chat-like manner. It would greatly reduce the friction of processing notes (but at the same time that is how you learn so it's a double edged sword), making super old information resurfaceable beyond what a manual Zettelkasten could. And so, this week I'll be experimenting with using AI in my learning and note taking, finding the most useful practices and implementing it in my Ultimate Starter Vault. I'm also in the ideation process for an AI-integrated note taking app that will hopefully have the essential features of Obsidian but with a fraction of onboarding complexity and overwhelm. The goal is to create something so mainstream and accessible it could rival Google Docs and Evernote. If you're interested, you can be notified of any updates by signing up for the email list here: https://free.johnmavrick.com/betatest-ai-notes **Continuing new versions for my Ultimate Starter Vault** For the past 5 months I've been complacent and satisfied with my current setup (on top of other priorities), so I haven't had the need to set up anything new. But recently, I was talking to a friend where he mentioned how the biggest pain point of Obsidian is the learning curve and complexity required to set up your own vault. Thanks to the combination of this new fascination with AI-infused personal knowledge management with the personal mission to make the onboarding setup better, I'm going to be working on some new things on the vault, which you can see on the notion roadmap if you have purchased it. Future plans include: - Enhancing existing workflows with AI - More kinds of notes (meeting, people notes) - An updated use case of different plugins (implementing make.md) - Adding actionability to the vault by repurposing kanban boards - Better onboarding and teaching through more content (note explanations) - More USV philosophy on how to use the workflows (more example videos, principles, etc) - Revamping the exclusive discord channel so I can easily share how I use the vault on a day-to-day basis The plan is to make the vault less open ended, to be more opinionated on how to do things. ### **🔗** Links to Thinks #### A powerful way to overcome laziness Lately I've been getting lazy. I've been self-indulging more than I used to, and it's been reinforcing a tendency to favor dopamine over long-term effort. In fact, today's workout was a perfect illustration of it 😭 I workout my upper body 4 times a week (2x push and 2x pull) and am happy to do it each time, but when I have to show up for my weekly leg day, I can't help but complain and feel agony. And one specific workout pains the most the most: bulgarian split squats. I already have normal barbell squats on my workout routine, but on TOP of that, at the end of every workout I also have to do one-leg squats. I feel bad for my cousin that I work out with, as I don't think I went 20 seconds without complaining about the exercise 😅 So, how did I manage to overcome my laziness when both my body and my mental wanted me to do otherwise? I'll let this [Reddit story](https://www.reddit.com/r/selfimprovement/comments/12ra770/i_push_through_my_laziness_because_ive_never/) explain it: > I’ve tried different ways of dealing with the urge. And for the past year one simple reminder has been a game-changer for me: I’ve never regretted doing good work. > > I’ve never prepared for an exam and said, “shit I wish I didn’t study for this.” > I’ve never left the gym after a workout and said, “man what a waste of time.” > > So any time I’m staring at a blank page, or I’m scared to crack open my textbook I tell myself, “you’ve never regretted this before.” > > It’s always hard to start, but it’s always worth finishing. ### **🚀** Actionable Tingz #### **Tightening security on your online life** ### **🤔** Food For Thought Since I took a lot of time obsessing over security, I'll just leave these Reddit discussions and my notes: #### People against the idea of banning fun and an extreme dopamine detox [I quit everything "fun" for 2 months to see if it would make me happy like they say... here's what happened.](https://www.reddit.com/r/selfimprovement/comments/134jtti/i_quit_everything_fun_for_2_months_to_see_if_it/) Just a friendly reminder to not obsess over work, to find a healthy moderation in between. Comments included concerns for burnout based on personal stories, including things liek: > This is one of the more depressing things I've read today. Thanks. > I practice balance and moderation now because I realized that it's not sustainable long-term. I was actually super miserable and it didn't produce any tangible results for it to even be worth it. > Seriously, I hate hustle culture and I hate how much it brainwashes us in our youth. I had a similar drive in my 20s - focused on working hard, said no to "frivolous" spending and lived a goal oriented life. I fell into toxic positivity/good vibes only. It's easy while things are good, but as soon as life hits you (and it will, hard - deaths, loss, health issues, financial troubles, whatever it is) you kind of crumble and think to yourself why did I focus on all this, this can't be what life is about. I'm a decent earner, debt free, solid investments and assets, very much ahead of the curve compared to the average 30 yo, and I honestly wanna relive my 20s and focus on connection and experiences and fun. At the end of the day, balance is what matters. Things that bring you joy. Life in moderation - if your habits are somewhere in the middle (regular physical activity, eat a diverse and nutritious diet with occasional splurges, limit screen time, socialize and connect with people, financial literacy, practice hobbies you like), you'll do great. Throw in some therapy and you're golden. A militant lifestyle doesn't make you better than everyone else, nor does a hedonistic/instant gratification lifestyle. > Congratulations, you've managed to train yourself into a lab rat and like it This made me remember that such extreme levels of hyper-focus should be deeply rooted in intrinsic motivation. Upholding this work ethic as a consistent expectation is unhealthy and inhumane. You could even argue that any form of hyperfixation is unhealthy in the first place. #### What life is like post-FIRE (financial independence, retire early) https://www.reddit.com/r/leanfire/comments/135c64p/post_retirement_life_whats_it_like/ - Interesting how people are still willing to work despite being retired - Part-time, volunteering - one went back to their own job after 6 years, was difficult with a big gap but I was actually a better employee because I wanted to be there so I got promoted. - You now have lots of time to determine how you want to spend your time Makes me realize that the goal is to work on finding long-term passions or missions I am able to pursue once I do retire before I actually do, or else I'll end up wasting my life and overworking my previous self for no reason. ### My Tools for Learning and Growth I write and collect my newsletter content all inside Obsidian, my favorite note-taking and productivity app. If you want to aggregate the valuable gems from your week like this, or need a place to store your ideas and highlights, you can set up your own [second brain](https://johnmavrick.gumroad.com/l/obsidian-starter-vault). If you want the most densely packed and actionable book summaries, try out Shortform for free [here](https://www.shortform.com/). If you want to make reading and highlighting easier, check out [Readwise](https://readwise.io/i/john5833) (affiliate link) and sign up for their Reader app!