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 🙂
Indistractable, by Nir Eyal: Once you understand how distraction works, you can effectively combat it and focus better. Start recording your distractions: each time you get distracted, write down how you were feeling and what triggered the distraction. Find ways to make your tasks more fun so you aren’t easily distracted from them. Use “timeblocking” to set aside time on your calendar first for family and hobbies, then for work tasks. Set up a way for people around you to know when you need to focus, like colored cards on your desk or a special hat you wear. Categorize your urgent emails that need a response today in a “Today” folder and put messages that need a response this week in a second folder. Make a policy that meetings can only go ahead once the organizer has sent an agenda and detailed the steps they have taken to solve the problem. Schedule time each day for catching up on messages from apps like Slack. For articles you want to read, try using the Pocket app and its text-to-speech function to listen to articles while you walk or drive. Todobook replaces your Facebook feed with a todo list, while DF Tube removes Youtube’s suggested videos and ads. For your phone, get rid of nonessential apps, put essential apps on the first page, and time wasters on the last page. For your computer desktop, keep only the folder you’re currently working on on your desktop, and everything else goes into a folder called “everything”. The SelfControl app blocks your access to distracting websites and limits your time on emails. You can arrange a time to meet with a study buddy to create accountable, focused time. The Focusmate app pairs you with a study buddy. Set up a “price pact” with yourself where you will lose money if you miss a target. Next time you get distracted, postpone taking action on the distraction for 10 minutes, because chances are you will have forgotten about the distraction after ten minutes.
Quit Like a Millionaire, by Kristy Shen: If you’re deciding what career to go into, choose the one that will make you the most money instead of your passion, and work on your passion once you’re financially stable. Divide 72 by your investment return rate and you’ll get the number of years it will take for your investment to double. If you have debt, get rid if that first before anything else by cutting expenses, making more money, and repaying loans from highest interest rate to lowest. Buying a house will lose money for most people, even if your home value appreciates. The true cost of your home is your mortgage bill times 1.5. Index investing is the least risky way to invest. Early retirement depends on how much you save, not how much you make. Multiply your annual expenses by 25 to get your safe withdrawal rate—the amount you need in your investment portfolio to retire. You can also aim for partial financial independence by determining how much you need in your investment portfolio to step down to part-time work. Or you can resolve to live somewhere with a cheaper cost of living while continuing to invest in a place with a stronger currency like the United States or Germany. One thing you can do to declutter your wardrobe is put all of your clothes on one side and whenever you use an article of clothing, put it on the other side, so eventually you’ll see how much clothing you actually never wear.
The End of Jobs, by Taylor Pearson: The internet has made our system of going to college and getting a stable 9-to-5 job unsustainable. We are moving toward an entrepreneurial economy and modern technology has made running a business more financially viable than ever before. Now you can pay low monthly rates to access professionals and services for your business online, like Adobe Creative Cloud, Xero, and UpCounsel. You can build your business using the Stair Step Method: First launch a single product for a one-time fee and using one marketing channel. Then keep launching one-time products until you generate enough income to quit your day job. Finally, expand your business by launching bigger products or creating a membership site, etc. When investing, invest long-term in four or five of your favorite investments.
AI Superpowers, by Kai-Fu Lee: As AI begins to affect global economies, we should shift toward rewarding human-to-human jobs like caregiving and community-based work. China’s economy operates on a copy first, then innovate mentality. As a result, companies in China tend toward vertical integration to make copying harder. China has the advantage in “internet AI,” such as recommendation engines. The United States has the advantage in “business AI,” like algorithms that make decisions on financial portfolios. China is leading in “perception AI,” like facial recognition programs. The U.S. is leading the way in the fourth and final wave of “autonomous AI,” such as driverless cars.
Mastering the Market Cycle, by Howard Marks: The stock market has long-term and short-term patterns that are not as predictable as the patterns found in nature. Long-term forecasting is too difficult to predict, so a superior investor should focus on short-term forecasting. Invest when risk seems high and sell when risk seems low. Long-term economic growth is driven by number of hours worked and productivity per working hour. To get better at understanding economic cycles, read as much as you can in a wide variety of genres, especially history.
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and It’s All Small Stuff, by Richard Carlson: If you can master your thoughts, you will master yourself. Live in the moment and relax. One way to relax is to make yourself bored on purpose. Take a break each day and think about people you’re thankful for, and express your gratefulness to your loved ones. Set aside quiet time each day to do meditation, yoga, spending time in nature, etc. Think positively.
Inventology, by Pagan Kennedy: Anyone can come up with a great idea. Ideas for inventions come from problems in need of a solution. Many discoveries today come from data mining. One way to come up with ideas is to imagine what the world would be like decades from now. You can test ideas and get feedback from real people by launching a crowdfunding campaign with your idea.
The Surrender Experiment, by Michael A. Singer: Open yourself up to the opportunities life lays out for you. Quiet your mind with Zen meditation by sitting quietly, focusing on your breath, and repeating the sound “mu” in your head. Surrender to the flow of life by saying “yes” when people ask for help.
Mastery, by Robert Greene: When looking for a job, focus on gaining knowledge and experience, not the money. The best way to master something is to find a mentor to guide you. Practicing something for 10,000 hours is proven to qualitatively change your brain.
Made to Stick, by Chip Heath: To get your message to stick in people’s minds, it has to be Simple, Unexpected, Concrete (specific, not vague), Credible (believable), Emotional, and tell a Story.
Disclosure: Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links. If click these links and buy a book, you will pay the same low price, but Amazon will send a few coins my way. If you enjoy the work I do on this blog, buying from the links is a great way to show your appreciation and motivate me to do more work on it.
Leave a Reply