By Colby Kultgen
The “I Did That” List, a Notebook That Replaces Your Phone, and 24 Questions Worth Asking
Read online / Read time: 4 minutes
Hello friends!
You may have noticed a distinct lack of newsletters the last couple weeks.
To be honest, I've been dealing with some tough personal stuff. And as much as I pride myself on never missing an issue, I had to put the newsletter aside and prioritize my well-being.
But I want to let you know I'm doing good now, and as the kids would say—WE'RE SO BACK.
To make up for my absence, I've put extra care into making sure this week's issue is a banger.
Enjoy.
1. A quote about self-improvement I'm framing above my desk
Your relationship with yourself cannot be built entirely around improvement. At some point, you have to become someone you are allowed to enjoy being. You get to be proud of who you are. Present tense.
— Michell C. Clark
This has been on my mind a lot lately.
Especially as someone who has spent an unreasonable amount of his adult life reading, writing, and thinking about self-improvement (this newsletter is literally called 1% Better lol).
There’s a danger in always having something about yourself you’re trying to fix.
A better routine, a healthier body, a more successful career.
Some future version of you who never procrastinates, has visible abs, and responds to every email within six minutes.
The reality is you'll never run out of things to improve.
And while it's great to have goals, at some point you have to be able to look at the person you are right now and actually like them.
If you struggle with this, here's what I recommend: For every list of things you want to change, achieve, or improve, make an “I did that” list too. A little reminder that you’re already living inside some of your old goals.
This article will probably cost you about $10.
Because by the end of it, I’m 100% convinced you’re going to want to go out and buy a pocket notebook.
(That’s exactly what happened to me.)
As the title suggests, the author shares 10 things you can use a pocket notebook for instead of instinctively reaching for your phone.
I’ve pulled out 4 of my favorites, but the whole list is great:
1. reviews
I love writing short, in-the-moment reviews of the things I read, watch, or experience. Even scribbling a few sentences after seeing a film at the cinema or eating in a new restaurant can allow me to pause for a moment and gather my thoughts. This doesn’t need to be intellectual, insightful, or demonstrate any expertise; it’s more about fully experiencing the things I’m doing day-to-day.
3. favourites lists
If I find myself with nothing to do for a few minutes, perhaps while sitting waiting for a friend to arrive in a café, I sometimes write a short ‘current favourites’ list. This could contain any number of categories, but the point is to take a snapshot of your current taste. It’s satisfying to look back over these and see how this has evolved over the months, or to rediscover old favourites.
7. worry lists
I am a fierce champion of the worry list. This is something I was taught in therapy many years ago as a way to stop anxious overwhelm. In its simplest form, these are lists of all of the things that are currently worrying you. You could also add a single line after each about why you don’t need to be worrying about that right now. I find this a very powerful way to clear my head in moments when I am struggling.
An example worry list:
- Unpaid phone bill (added to my to-do list to sort tonight)
- Haven’t heard back from a job application (already submitted it, so can’t do anything to change the outcome now)
- I won’t submit my PhD on time (I’m working as hard as I can and will deal with applying for an extension if it comes to that in a few months)
- Friend hasn’t replied to my message (they’re likely busy at work right now, I shouldn’t jump to the worst conclusion)
8. distractions list
As a highly distractible person, it is helpful to have somewhere to park these distractions when I’m meant to be focusing on something. I often leave my pocket notebook open by my laptop when I’m writing, so that when a distraction pops into my head, I can write it down to return to later. This is a way of saying to myself, ‘This might be important to come back to, but it’s not what I’m doing right now’.
Few things have been consumed with the voracity that I have consumed this newsletter over the last two days.
And I’m not even a marketer.
Each issue breaks down great real-world examples of marketing, copywriting, advertising, and content.
It’s obvious Harry has spent thousands of hours studying this stuff, and then somehow manages to distill what he’s learned into examples you can understand in a couple of seconds.
There isn’t a traditional archive of the newsletters themselves, but his website has a huge library of the individual examples, neatly organized by topic.
4. A list of 24 questions that make amazing journal prompts
I was reading this short article from Morgan Housel, and all I kept thinking was: these would make AMAZING journal prompts.
If you don’t know who Morgan is, he’s the bestselling author of The Psychology of Money.
And he’s one of my favorite writers/thinkers on the planet.
Fair warning: some of these feel less like journal prompts and more like personal attacks.
Pick one that makes you a little uncomfortable, open a blank page, and see where it takes you:
1. Am I addicted to cheap dopamine?
2. Whose approval am I auditioning for?
3. Whose silence do I mistake for agreement?
4. How many of my principles are cultural fads?
5. Who do I envy that is actually less happy than I am?
6. What strong belief do I hold that’s most likely to change?
7. If I could see myself talk, what would I cringe at the most?
8. If I were on my deathbed tomorrow, what would I regret most?
9. How do I know if I’m being patient (a skill) or stubborn (a flaw)?
10. What crazy genius that I aspire to emulate is actually just crazy?
11. What question am I afraid to ask because I suspect I know the answer?
12. Which future memory am I creating right now, and will I be proud to own it?
13. If I could not compare myself to anyone else, how would I define a good life?
14. How much have things outside of my control contributed to things I take credit for?
15. Whose views do I criticize that I would actually agree with if I lived in their shoes?
16. Which of my principles would I abandon if they stopped earning me praise and recognition?
17. What kind of lifestyle would I live if no one other than my immediate family could see it?
18. Which of my strongest beliefs are formed on second-hand information vs. first-hand experience?
19. Looking back, am I any good at anticipating how I would feel and react to risks that actually occurred?
20. Am I thinking independently or going along with the tribal views of a group I want to be associated with?
21. What events nearly happened that would have fundamentally changed my life, for better or worse, had they occurred?
22. Is my desire for more money based on the false belief that it will solve personal problems that have nothing to do with money?
23. How much of what I do is internal benchmark (makes me happy) vs. external benchmark (I think it changes what other people think of me)?
24. What views do I claim to believe in that I know are wrong but I say them because I don’t want to be criticized by my employer or industry?
5. 😂
A few more things I'm into this week:
🎧 Album for deep work sessions: Endtroducing by DJ Shadow
📰 Article that made me grateful: https://ordinaryabundance.com/
💭 Quote I've been pondering:
“Either the fear will go away or the opportunity will.”
P.S. If you made it this far, reply with a '🫡.' I want to know who in my audience has an elite attention span.
— Colby
