Read one book at a time

Table of Contents

Hi 🙂,
this week was great. I felt present, productive and engaged without entertainment in my life (see last weeks intro story.) I went to YouTube and could scroll past the entertainment no problem. I had no desire for it.

Commitments #

My ongoing commitments are:

To become profitable at trading
Eat raw^🇩🇪, at least until Mar01
Publishing this newsletter every Sunday (9x streak😎)
Read one book at a time, until Mar19 (see next challenge below)

What I’m working on #

For context, see /now.

I was meaning to start my next focus challenge on trading this week, but I didn’t. Multiple other topics caught my interest and it didn’t feel right to just brush them aside.

I investigated and started taking activated charcoal.
Alien encounters piqued my interest. An essay about it’s relevance will follow next week.
I was made aware of the negative effect of blue light^🇩🇪. I had blue light filters on my devices already, but got myself these glasses as an add-on:

I do intend to get back to trading next week.

Challenges #

Applying a specific learning or philosophy for a week (see project.)

Last one #

Last weeks challenge was: Amused detachment (laughing at my own thoughts)

This worked amazingly! I get positive indicators (smile, improvement in mood, more relaxed), it very effectively stops me from further thought and really brings out the essence of presence: the joy of the moment. It helps to not take myself so seriously.

Next one #

Read one book at a time.

As someone who read exclusively nonfiction for nearly 15 years, I can tell you […]: It’s not productive to read two fact-based books at the same time¹

I have the tendency to switch to another book, when the book I’m reading requires more of me, than I am willing or able to give at that time (in terms of energy, time, dedication.) The excitement of picking up a new book (plus the fluffy introduction) usually make for the easier option. Staying with a book and pushing through the hurdle usually results in more growth though.

My reasons why

Channel energy into the focused exploration of a chosen resource.
It’s any easy rule that helps me say No to distractions.
This practice of “reading” many books concurrently has increased with the introduction of my focus challenges², as inside and outside of them I would read different books. And usually also multiple books on a given topic. The challenge helps to reverse that.
It’s uncomfortable to fight through the hard sections of a book. I want to push through that discomfort.
I’m more likely to write an article about a topic that I engage with over a longer time. If I’m constantly jumping between topics (or even between books on the same subject), I’m less likely to be able to focus my energy enough to produce an artifact that meets my standards.
I can check the resource off my mental list. No more thoughts like “Oh, I should finish xyz. The beginning was so great.”

Problems I (fore)see

Jumping between books allows to follow my fleeting, but strong instinctual interests. There lies great power behind these short-term motivations. With this challenge I’m putting a damper on those

I will need to stay in tune with what I’m feeling drawn to, as not not force and exhaust myself on a topic, which has overstayed its welcome.

Specifics

§1) This challenge concerns only non-fiction books. As of the last few months I have not read fiction anyway (except for manga.)

§2) This will be an ongoing challenge. I want to see the effect on me, as I go through multiple books and different kinds of books. Three months seems like a fair evaluation period. I will supply a list of books I read at the end. (I might extend it.)

§3) This challenge also applies to audiobooks and online courses. The problem there is much the same. One at a time maximum from any of these categories.

§4) I can make the decision to abandon a book at any time. It’s something I have become comfortable with and have no qualms about.

§5) I am not making a commitment to completeness. I can and do skip sections at will.

§6) Concerning my focus challenges² I will commit to one book per focus challenge topic. If I want to read a book during the focus challenge break, I will have to finish/abandon it within that break.

§7) Exceptions include:

reference books, like: mushroom handbook, books where I look up a reference
episodic books, like: Tools of Titans, How to live, The Market Wizards series
a book to read for 5 mins on the go, when I did not bring anything else (currently Naked Chocolate)
The Power of Now: I use as a tool to get into the present moment

New articles #

I finished my project to create/validate a reliable stock market strategy^🇩🇪and added a conclusion and reflections
Description of a simple indicator I programmed for determining the market condition: SPX Ampel^🇩🇪

All the best,
Jonathan

PS: Please let me know if you have any comments, feedback or criticism.

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Tim Ferris - 4-Hour Work Week p91 ↩︎
What is a focus challenge?
I commit to work on a topic (a subject) for a period of time. The leading principle is: Stay on-topic at all times. That means any task, project, action, media shall pertain pertain to the selected topic. Anything off-topic is to be noted for later without receiving much attention.

Exceptions apply for established habits, outside work, chores, FFF, etc.

Some applications of this principle:
- I hid all my off-topic projects.
- I only listed to on-topic audiobooks and podcasts.
- I only read on-topic books.
- I only listened to instrumental music.
- I did not process any off-topic notes in my note-taking system.
- I did not make any online purchases.
↩︎ ↩︎