6-Second Sunday: On slow productivity, veggie soup, and telling stories with your life

6 Ideas. 6 Second Skim. 6 Minute Read.

Happy Sunday!

Here are 6 ideas I’m applying that you can skim in 6 seconds before deciding if you want to spend less than 6 minutes reading the entire post.

Overview

1. Idea I’m Embracing

2. Exercise I’m Learning

3. Recipe I’m Devouring

4. Habit That’s Keeping Me Sane

5. Book I’m Loving

6. Quote I’m Rereading

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Idea I’m Embracing: Slow Productivity

Slow Productivity is the core idea of Cal Newport’s new book, ​Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment without Burnout​. 

It’s an approach to pursuing meaningful accomplishment without overloading yourself or burning out, centred on three core principles: 

• Do Fewer Things

• Obsess Over Quality

• Work at a Natural Pace

A critical but overlooked aspect of longevity is professional fulfillment: doing meaningful work that gives your life purpose.

Slow Productivity is a way of pursuing that work while fending off the hustle culture that insists more is better and inevitably results in chronic stress.

Listen: Cal Newport — How to Embrace Slow Productivity, Build a Deep Life, Achieve Mastery, and Defend Your Time (#722)

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Exercise I’m Learning: Kettlebell Cleans

Kettlebell Cleans are a fantastic total body movement especially when you add the Jerk — an overhead press from the racked position (see third frame below). 

Cleans are also a prerequisite for the Snatch which I plan to learn next week as per my 8-week exercise program.

I watched this video on technique and practised the motion without weight before picking up a kettlebell.

Three-frame breakdown (these images are me, by the way):

Kettlebell Clean. March 2024.

The frames above were captured from this video of yours truly performing a few reps: