Woooo buddy. It’s Friday! I was just double fisting carrots—how has your night been?

Can I add joy toward your impending weekend? I’m going to try. How? With the Roundup, of course. 

We’ve got random life-enhancing purchases, a superwoman, a look into slave breeding, and an excuse for procrastination! 

Even though I mentioned all of those things casually, one is an extremely heavy topic. Can you guess which? Read on to see if you were right . . . This is like games!

Now: The Roundup

1. Motivation is Garbage

Probably one of the bigger reasons I had such a productive week is because I saw Mel Robbins give this talk on motivation . . . and how it’s garbage. Which is just great.

Really!

In short:

Our body wants to to be un-stressed at all times, so it sends a little warning spark to your brain anytime you pause to think about doing something  difficult. Said spark tells brain to avoid the perceived stressor, even if elsewhere in your mind you know that you’ll enjoy the process/outcome once you get started.

In short: don’t wait for motivation. You will only feel naturally motivated to do the easy stuff (eating, sleeping, etc.). 

“Sometimes you just do things”

–Scott Jurek, Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness

It’s simple and directly connects with Robbins’ talk. Jurek attributes the quote to his father’s toughness and part of the reason he is now a living legend as one of the world’s best ultramarathoners.

Check out her book The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage. Bonus! Here’s a transcript.

 

2. Wooden Balance Boards

Hey, speaking of games, we should play them! It will be tough because I’ve decided to almost completely isolate myself in the high desert and I rarely socialize with anybody. But!

I’m going to do something game-like anyway because I bought a balance board!

Sitting at a desk can be very difficult. I don’t mean boring, but it can be that too. Yet being a writer means spending a fair bit of time at a desk and that means the fidgets and distractions must be endured.

I usually get in the flow if I’m purely writing, but research and other stuff can feel overwhelmingly immobile. The balance board is your writing hack for the week. Or just a work hack in general. Fine, fine. A life hack.

It will not only occupy your distraction space, but it will also make your body better. You can use it sitting, but get a standing desk because you probably sit too much. Just ask Harvard evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman.

I bought the Sportneer Wooden Balance Board. Notice it’s wooden—not plastic. Plastic never goes away. Plus, wood looks better.

Also, because fitness is cool, do your wobbling not just at a desk, but while watching TV, cooking, brushing teeth, whatever. Yayyyy bodies!

Here’s a good instructional balance board video, and I apologize for not being able to find an exciting one.

 

3. Procrastination . . . is . . . GOOD!

As an attention different person (I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD but also, who cares?), I’ve thought a lot about the fact that people—even the diagnosed ones—like to view ADHD as a disorder. Ugh.

I just prefer to describe it as a different way of thinking to which the world is less adapted.

But that doesn’t mean it’s unworkable. There’s so much to say there that it’s a topic for another post, so I’ll just say now that Adam Grant’s article “Why I Taught Myself to Procrastinate” nails it. People who are less organized and less type-A (me) should not be considered overall less somehow.

We can be more frustrating to work with, but the good stuff often comes specifically because our minds are more wandery. The distracto thoughts of an attention different person wander to places that can’t be reached if you stay within structure.

And that’s exactly what this article talks about: how procrastination can be a boon to creativity.

I link ADHD to procrastination here despite it not being in the article because, well, they’re related. But if you’re any type of procrastinator, it’s a worthy read.

“You call it procrastination, I call it thinking.”

–Aaronn Sorkin

4. Floss

I realize this is a peculiar thing, but I spend a lot of time trying to avoid plastic and floss has been a real obstacle . . . so this was exciting. Finally, I found Eco-Dent. It comes in a paper box! Maybe the floss itself isn’t biodegradable and the overall pack of six was in plastic, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Please excuse (and absorb) the agenda pushing.

 

5. Wash

It’s vaguely funny that this one follows “Floss,” but it’s actually a book and ooooh baby it’s not related in the slightest. More than the writing (which is beautiful), it’s the subject matter that’s so fascinating:

Slave breeding. Yes, horrific.

No better time than now to address history. You, like me, may not have thought about this before because nobody talks about it.

The author Margaret Wrinkle supposes that’s because slave owners and their descendants weren’t exactly proud of their records of the practice. While most colored historians accept slave breeding as an obvious given (which it is), many (read: whites) are reluctant to confirm it due to the lack of written record.

I got to see the author speak and read from Wash this past week and can’t wait to learn more about her writing process and the book.

That was a heavy note to finish on but I hope it’s seeped into your brain and that you go buy the book.

 

---

But I also want to cheer you up a bit, so…

Here’s your bonus!

I don’t normally care for corporate advertisement, but this is just so great and weird.

At any rate, happy weekend! Did you discover anything cool this week? Leave a comment!

Photocred: photopin.com