​

By Colby Kultgen

Hey friends.

If you're new here, this is the newsletter where I share the 5 best things I find each week to help you get a little better each day.

Let's dive in!

---

Today at a Glance:

1. Article: 3 tips for sustainable productivity
2. List: 20 books everyone should read
3. Article: 32 best pieces of advice from 2024
4. Story: This will make you cry
5. Funny: When mom is away

Read time: 3 minutes 23 seconds

---

3 must-read tips for sustainable productivity - Article from The Imperfectionist​

Last week, I asked what you wanted to see more of in this newsletter.

The #1 response I received? (Drum roll, please):

Productivity tips.

Well, you’re in luck.

This article from Oliver Burkeman (Four Thousand Weeks) landed in my inbox, and introduced three strategies for sustainable productivity that were completely new to me.

These ideas focus on staying disciplined without requiring superhuman willpower:

1. "Dailyish" Habits​
Discipline doesn’t mean perfection. Committing to something “dailyish” keeps you consistent without the guilt of missing a day. It’s flexible, sustainable, and removes the all-or-nothing pressure that often leads to burnout.

2. "No-Later-Than" Times​
Instead of rigid deadlines, create a buffer for success. For example, instead of aiming to wake up at exactly 6:00 AM, commit to waking up no later than 7:00 AM. Anything earlier becomes a win—not a failure.

3. MTO Goals (Minimum, Target, Outrageous)​
For any goal, define three levels of success:

• Minimum: The baseline goal you’re confident you can achieve. For a writer, this might mean 100 words a day.
• Target: A realistic yet challenging goal that stretches you without overwhelming. For example, 750 words a day.
• Outrageous: The dream outcome—the kind of goal that makes you say, “Wow, I can’t believe I did that.” Perhaps it’s 2,000 words a day.

This method is powerful because it shifts your mindset from all-or-nothing thinking to celebrating progress at any level. Even hitting the Minimum is a win.

Give these a go, let me know what you think!

---

20 books everyone should read at least once in their life

Ok, let's keep things rolling.

The second most common response I got was that you wanted more book recommendations.

So here it is:

In no particular order, 20 books I think everyone should read at least once in their life:

1. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
2. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson
3. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
4. Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
5. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
6. Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
7. Atomic Habits by James Clear
8. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
9. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
10. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
11. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
12. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
13. The Stranger by Albert Camus
14. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
15. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
16. 1984 by George Orwell
17. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
18. $100M Offers by Alex Hormozi
19. Watchmen by Alan Moore
20. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

There are a lot of “classics” on this list, but hey, they’re classics for a reason.

As Naval Ravikant says:
​"I would rather read the best 100 books over and over again until I absorb them, rather than read all the books."

By the way, I’ve set a personal goal to read 50 books in 2025.

​Add me on Goodreads if you want to follow along!

I'm currently reading:
- Poor Charlie's Almanack by Charlie Munger
- House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
- Invincible by Robert Kirkman

---

32 best pieces of advice from 2024 - Article from The New York Times ​

The THIRD most common request I got from readers was more advice from strangers...

Nah, just kidding.

But I did have a lot of people tell me they love lists.

And since January is somehow over already, I wanted to share this gem while it’s still fresh.

It’s a collection of the best advice from New York Times readers—a nice mix of serious, funny, and unexpectedly deep wisdom.

I’ve bolded a few of my personal favorites:

1. Do something today your tomorrow self will thank you for.
2. The real game doesn’t start until the fourth quarter. It means you are never out of time, and it is never too late to make a comeback.
3. People who avoid their own feelings will neglect yours.
4. If you have a plant with mealy bugs, spray it with rubbing alcohol.
5. Even one step a day gets you 365 steps farther in a year.
6. It could be great?
7. “Shake the tree.” You never know what will fall out. It never hurts to ask.
8. Attend funerals for relatives of people you don’t know really well. It is the kindest thing you can do for an acquaintance.
9. Stop thinking about your problems and make someone else happy.
10. Don’t just put things back. Put them away.
11. If you’re worried about something that really doesn’t matter and you know eventually you’ll say, “Who cares?,” why not just go straight to “Who cares?”
12. Instead of trying harder, try softer.
13. Everything is better after you stretch.
14. If you’re going to procrastinate, do something you enjoy.
15. It’s never too late to have a good day.
16. Go to the doctor!
17. The only time you should look in someone else’s bowl is to see if they have enough.
18. Love shows up.
19. Some seasons you produce fruit, some seasons you prune, and some seasons you let your roots grow deep.
20. When someone is interpreting your behavior or actions without a spirit of openness, de-escalate the conflict by saying, “I would appreciate it if you could be more generous with me.”
21. Use up everything in your freezer.
22. The world is run by those who show up.
23. Retire as soon as you can. Time will always be your most valuable asset.
24. Get off Tinder.
25. If you’re unhappy, do something about it. If you are happy, do something about it.
26. There’s a connection between novelty and joy.
27. Does it need to be said? Does it need to be said by me? Does it need to be said by me, now?
28. Don’t look at your medical test reports before the doctor has a chance to explain them to you.
29. Nothing is ever as good as you think it will be or as bad as you fear.
30. Does your houseplant make you feel happy? If you’re just keeping it alive out of obligation, let it go!
31. Don’t be the one to tell yourself no.
32. Sometimes the greatest act of kindness is to pretend you haven’t already heard that story before.

Let me know which ones stood out to you—or if you have any of your own wisdom to add.

---

This story will make you cry like a baby - The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu​

Sometimes, you just need a good cry.

Admittedly, I'm not a big crier—but this story crushed me.

It's a must-read for everyone, but if you have a complicated relationship with your parents, it will hit especially hard.

I can’t post the whole thing (it’s about 9 pages), but if you read just one thing this week, make it this.

---

On a lighter note, this made me smile

Have a great week friends!

—Colby

---

If someone forwarded this to you, Subscribe here.

113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205
​Unsubscribe · Preferences​