Hi, my name is Gianmarco and I have a problem
(I write too much)
Yo boyz and girlz, welcome to a new magical issue of my ProtoNewsletter, where I share not only ideas, ravings, insights, tips of dubious usefulness, grammatical mistakes, and odd phrasing, but also confessions. Like at this very moment.
Yesterday morning I sat down to compose the Italian version of the newsletter I intended to publish today. I had already started it some days ago, and I just had to complete it. In my mind, it should’ve been an easy job. On top of that, I also had other tasks, including translating it to English and completing an article for my blog.
I had chosen the topic of “feedback” because I came across it multiple times during the last few weeks. I thought: “It’s going to be quick. I’ll add some insight from my readings and some thoughts on what I do, and I should be good to go.”
Oh boy, was I wrong.
At the end of the day, after hours in Notion, I had completed absolutely nothing. Once I crossed the 1000-words mark, I realized that what I was doing made no sense. At that point, I was no longer writing a newsletter but an article.
What’s the difference?
The difference is that I’d like for my newsletters not to be too demanding to read but to serve as food for thought. Instead, lately, the dividing line between newsletters and articles has become blurry.
This is also why I publish more rarely than I’d like.
So yes, I have a problem. I don’t know how to hold back when I write.
Am I the only one? No chance. No part of who we are is unique in the world.
Let’s rephrase the question: does it happen to you too, perhaps in other areas?
It’s the same with the blog. I get to work thinking that it’ll result in a cute little article, and then it ends up being as long or longer than usual. It’s not really a problem for articles. It’s probably an advantage (if not for the fact that it means spending more time and energy than expected).
But I have to fix it for newsletters. Immediately. In fact, let’s move on.
Thing I liked
Caparezza’s eighth album is out. It’s in Italian. Sorry, rest of the world. I’ve been listening exclusively to it for almost two weeks.
I ventured into the real world to go to IKEA. I took the opportunity to buy the water bottle that I had to leave behind in Barcelona one year ago. Having it next to me helps me drink more, given that I tend to forget for hours otherwise. €2 well spent
I also found some space in my heart for Psyduck. I feel it represents me lately. I use it as status on Slack too.
During a monthly social with my colleagues, I played a board game called Codenames for the first time. It’s nice, I didn’t know it, and there’s also an online version (which we used, given that we work remotely).
Moving on to (much) more serious matters: I listened to a heavy episode of the Tim Ferriss podcast. It’s about abuse and healing trauma. Luckily I have no direct experience, but it seems they’re more common than I thought.
The latest content from yours truly
Apart from translating articles from my Italian website, I also started doing so with the notes from the books I read. e n j o y
I have no time.
I’m sure you heard this excuse before and you even used it. Sadly (or luckily), it leads nowhere.
Keeping a journal is one of my longest-lasting habits. I started more than 3 years ago and I never stopped.
One lesson, so critical yet so rarely applied. Relevant for the economic sphere, and for life in general too.
That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Not Seen — Frédéric Bastiat
A little book that gives you permission to steal. Well, it’s inevitable.
Steal Like an Artist — Austin Kleon
With the excuse of publishing some notes, I brushed up The Dip that I read long before I started taking notes from books. It worked both as a review and to add some notes to my Zettelkasten. I’m counting on doing the same with other books I read in the past.
Finally, I got to read this book. It’s been waiting on my to-read list for years. It’s about rapid skill acquisition.