More than a million new book titles are published each year. Few people have the time to read even 0.01% of that number each year. Blinkist is a book summary service that has condensed over 3,000 of the most impactful non-fiction books into summaries that take about 15 minutes to read.
I maintain a list of about a thousand books that I want to read. I know I will never read the majority of them. That’s where Blinkist comes in. I use book summary services to “read” the books that I realistically will never find the time to read. These are mostly the longer books that I simply don’t have the enthusiasm to pore through.
Typically when I read a book, I take note of all the helpful and actionable content that I may want to revisit. Here are ten books I’ve read on Blinkist, along with the notes I took from reading the “blinks” (as Blinkist likes to call them). Think of it as a summary of the summary 🙂
Make Time, by Jake Knapp: Many people feel like they don’t have enough time because they join the Busy Bandwagon of neverending tasks and frequently get sucked into Infinity Pools of unending streaming content. For each day, you should choose one important, satisfying, or joyful task that can be accomplished in 60-90 minutes to be the highlight of your day. There are a few ways you can choose your “highlight” task: 1) ask yourself what the most urgent, critical task is for today, 2) ask yourself what will give you the most satisfaction today, not necessarily an important task, or 3) ask yourself what activity will bring you the most joy. Other ways you can choose your “highlight” include: 1) list all of your priorities and rank them, then choose from the list, 2) do yesterday’s highlight again, or continue it if you didn’t finish it, 3) combine a bunch of small nagging tasks into one big task, 4) look at your todo list and do the task that matters most to you, or 5) break up a big project and do one part of it. To make time for your highlights, you should schedule a dedicated time for it in your calendar. If you’re a morning person, you should do your highlight first thing in the morning. Dim your lights and turn off your devices (or switch them to night mode) a couple of hours before you go to bed. Go to bed early enough so you get sufficient sleep, and get plenty of light when you wake up (buying a dawn simulator device may help). If you prefer to work on your highlight at night, do something that recharges you and log off social media before you start so you can stay focused. Delete “Infinity Pool” apps from your phone. Consider deleting your email app as well. Or you can install blocking programs to limit time on certain apps. A more moderate measure you can take is simply logging out of all your social media accounts to make it harder to check them on impulse. Check the news just once a week instead of daily or hourly. Whenever a random question comes to your head, write it down to search later instead of immediately looking for the answer. Each day, do at least 20 minutes of moderate activity or 5-10 minutes of intense activity. Eat whole foods, making sure to add vegetables in the middle of your plate first before adding the rest of the meal around it. Re-caffeinate about 30 minutes before a caffeine crash. Share meals with family and friends, and put your phones away while you enjoy your meals. Keep a journal to reflect on your highlight activity, your focus and energy levels, and what you feel grateful for.
12 Rules for Life, by Jordan Peterson: Hold your head up high and always keep a confident posture. Surround yourself with successful, supportive people. To become a better conversationalist, listen and then recap out loud what the other person just said.
The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson: The 1893 World’s Fair helped boost Chicago’s international status, but also provided unwitting victims for Henry Howard Holmes, the world’s first-known serial killer.
A People’s History of the United States, by Howard Zinn: Despite what the history books say, the United States was actually built on pillage, plunder, racism, and exploitation in order to protect the interests of the wealthy and powerful.
Tools of Titans, by Tim Ferriss: This is a book of tips and tools from dozens of successful people. Take beetroot powder and hydrolyzed gelatin to help heal connective tissue. Roll your feet over a golf ball to stimulate the hamstrings for overall strength and posture. Finish your daily shower with a 30-60-second blast of cold water to increase immunity, promote weight-loss, and boost mood. Get in the sauna 4 times a week to improve endurance. Work hard jobs to appreciate the easy ones. Find a mentor. Regularly go outside of your comfort zone, because discomfort is a sure sign of growth. Write down every idea, even the wild implausible ones or the bad ones.
The Laws of Human Nature, by Robert Greene: We all instinctively follow certain laws of human nature, such as irrationality, narcissism, envy, shortsightedness, aggression, and denial of death.
Benjamin Franklin, by Walter Isaacson: The story of how one person with limitless curiosity and interest in human progress, can alter the course of history.
Console Wars, by Blake J. Harris: In the 1990’s, Sega took on Nintendo and managed to forever shape the gaming industry.
Happy, by Derren Brown: Happiness is a state of mind that you can’t acquire with money or possessions. You can’t change the world around you, but you can change how you react to it. First thing in the morning, pause to think about the day ahead and the pitfalls you may encounter, and meditate on the fact that you won’t be able to control certain things and how other people behave.
A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson: Our universe and the existence of life is something that we’ve learned a lot about over the years, but will never fully understand.
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