Heyaa
As I woke up today, it wasnāt the best of me.
I was and am thinking of ditching my to-do today. Yes. Itās not a new thing. I have frequently lost my streaks and it doesnāt bother me (unless losing the streak also means losing a reward).
You probably define consistency as showing up every day. For me, itās not that.
For me, consistency is about putting in effort every day, the best you can. If you canāt, itās fine. Take a break and pick up the next day. But do pick it up.
Reminds me of a post I shared on LinkedIn once.
Suppose you go for a driveā¦ to Alaska.
Will you drive it all the way in one sitting? Nopes. Unless you live an hour (or four) away from Alaska, youāll take multiple breaks.
You'll pause to fill the tank, empty your bladder, or just stretch your legs. You'll stop by an eatery, take some rest, and start moving again.
Youāre allowed to take breaks. Butā¦ but you arenāt allowed to stop. Until you reach Alaska.
If youāre doing something only once a week or month (whatever you decided to), but regularlyā¦ thatās consistency.
Now, you may ask me what Iām consistent at. My answer will be nothing. I give up pretty soon.
Maybe Iām consistent at giving up. Giving up on different initiatives.
Recently, I created a 30-day plan to post on LinkedIn. I created seven posts, actually, and then gave up. LinkedIn doesnāt feel like a place I want to be anymore.
Thereās so much gyaan that itās overwhelming.
For a change, Iām inclined to be active in book groups on Facebook. The content isnāt cringe, and ā5 books that will make you a millionaireā posts are rare.
Actually, itās only one group that I feel I can be a part.
It so far seems like my BookBeezzzā¦ book recommendations, reviews, memes and other bookish things.
No promotion is allowedā¦, except on Fridays, when an admin shares a post. You can put promotional links only in the comments of that post. Yep, itās that strict.
Oh, Friday reminds me of the Schrodinger's laptop. Remember? (this newsletter)
Well, itās no longer a Schrodinger's laptop.
This Friday, it received an update and asked for a restartā¦ and it went on a repair loop again.
But this time, I didnāt waste time troubleshooting. I had my recovery flash/pen/USB drive ready. Used it to reset.
Took an hour, and it came back from the dead.
Having the laptop synced to my Microsoft account was mighty beneficial. I didnāt have to set everything from scratch.
Making it completely normal, though, took me half my Friday. Restored almost everything I had. The important documents, for sure, if not everything.
Apart from Microsoft sync, here are two other tools I use:
Dropbox, for quick-access files.
Koofr, for automatic backup of all necessary files.
It wasnāt as fun as I thought it would be. Didnāt have the energy for anything later in the day.
With my Schrodinger taken care of, another worrisome item popped in my listā¦ Be a Product.
The free copies I gave havenāt brought me reviews. I have been expecting only 4-5 reviews, maybe sixā¦ nothing more than that. Par kambakhto ne ek bhi review nahi diya.
Only Anmol left me a review on Amazon. I can count Priteshās LinkedIn post as a review, too. But thatās all.
It was a mistake, a huge one at that. Giving the book away for free in return for quick reviews.
Maybe they did leave a review. Possibly, I didnāt receive the notification. Possibly, I didnāt receive their reply email. Possibly, they forgot.
They canāt forget. I sent them reminders.
Maybe I am expecting too much of people. Everyoneās lazy.
I didnāt factor in their schedules. They might not have an hour to read the book anytime soon. Itās not the priority, after all.
Maybe Iām just done with people.
Whatever the reason is, it's a mistake I am not making again.
Not giving my resources for free anymore. I don't care if people find my resources worth paying for, I'm not giving free public access to anything now.
Next time onwards, Iām not giving away downloadable ebooksā¦ not for free, at least. Will find some other way.
Yep, there is another book.
I have ideas for two more non-fiction books as a follow-up to Be a Product. Hoping to get them all out next year. Letās see how things work out.
Now that I know the process with Kindle publishing, it should be breezy.
Thereās also a fiction book to write. That I donāt know when I can complete.
While we are at booksā¦ I finished reading a finance book recently.
Find Your Freedom. Those 300+ pages on financial planning were superb for someone who hasnāt got his finance, insurance or retirement planned. Full review here
Hoping to create a summary article and a quote collection, both, by the end of October.
And thatās all for today.
Bidding adieu.
Live long and prosper.
See you next week, with another story.