I have been on a binge lately.
I started subscribing to Tim Ferriss’ 5 bullet Friday about a year ago. I didn’t subscribe to any another newsletter, until I came across David Perell’s interview with Austin Rief and Alex Lieberman, the founders of Morning Brew.
The podcast episode had all the feel good factors: the “listen-and-then-feel-accomplished” magic, an entrepreneur I could relate to (a Uof Michigan alum), a “just-do-it-and-it-will-work” story arc, a “from-nothing-to-something” promise, and “million-dollar-idea-that-costs-nothing” … ideas.
So I added “Retail Brew” and was subsequently mesmerised both by its writing and its almost pyramid-scheme like sharing incentive mechanism.
Then the binge started. 🍞🥯🍞🍞🍦🍬 🥯🍦🍦🥯🍬🍬🥯🍦🍦🍦🍦
Tools, art, curated articles, self-help stuff, a newsletter about newsletters, coaching, books. (I am still searching for a few video games related newsletters…) I ended up subscribing to 28 newsletters. 😅
Most of these newsletter are weekly ones. So almost everyday, I would get a dump of new issues into my mailbox. The feeling of awe and excitement from checking my inbox back in the early days of the internet (aka the “You’ve Got Mail” hit) has finally returned, and my “morning routine” has since evolved around the newsletters:
5-6:30am: workout, stretch, and or thinking about thinking
{
6:00am - Make breakfast and coffee
7:00am - 7:45am (if my kids let me): Newsletter time
}
7:45 – 8:20am: breakfast for family, change diapers, attempt to engage with the verbal loops my son would unleash, nagging (with 33.5% of yelling) my daughter to hurry up, comb her hair, put down the book, stop gossiping about your girlfriends, and hurry up
And I thoroughly enjoyed them. I learned more about random tools, how to rebrand confusion into a leadership hack, the history of door handles, and why only “macaroni and cheese” sounds right and not “cheese and macaroni.”
So, here are the ones I most look forward to:
- https://www.getrevue.co/profile/Recomendo – I have found some many random tools, apps, stuff that I actually ended up using. It’s run by Kevin Kelly (founding executive editor of Wired magazine), Mark Frauenfelder (co-owner of Boing Boing) and Claudia Dawson (she runs the Cool Tool website).
- https://thewhippet.substack.com – She writes about stuff that isn’t about current affairs, which is wonderful because it’s a literal break for my eyes and my mind. I learned more about iron eating mices and meaningless personal values.
- https://austinkleon.com/newsletter – Austin Kleon makes me believe I am more a writer than I really am. Even if I don’t end up being one, he gives all subscribers the permission to buy more beautiful notebooks.
Lastly, I considered this a binge, because it has all the characteristics of a binge, and it has all the psychotic color-tones of binges. It’s not all rosy, but this is where I am today 🤷🏼♂️.
Have fun.