not weird lessons from a weirdo

Howdy,

It’s been a while! How are you? Excellent.

Part of the irregularity (can we even call it irregular) of this newsletter is down to me falling out with self-improvement. Call it post-lockdown, call it life got in the way, but every now and again something catches my eye.

I watched a video today by Bryan Johnson. He’s the guy that underwent 6 months of blood plasma transfusions from his son in the pursuit of long life. He gave it up in the end, citing a lack of discernible benefits. It’s also the ‘protocol’ (as he puts it) that properly put him on everyone’s radar. It’s batshit crazy, so not a massive surprise that that’s usually the reason everybody knows who he is.

For what it’s worth, I rate it. His endeavours aren’t completely self serving. Every experiment he carries out is painstakingly documented and shared with his audience. Over time, he’s pulled together a long list of protocols that people should follow to increase their longevity, and it’s why his most recent video caught my attention.

We all like a nicely packaged ‘8 lessons’ video or article and his latest was no different. But - it comes from a guy who’s dedicated the past decade to uncovering what works and doesn’t. And despite the many experiments he’s tried, from the wacky to the downright weird, the ‘lessons’ he shared in his recent video are all pretty down to Earth. In fact, they’re so normal that they really struck me. It’s almost too easy. So, here they are:

⚡️ Do the hard things - We’re all programmed to stay in our comfort zone. Growth comes from doing the hard things. Usually they get easier. Also see: do the thing.

🛌 The ‘perfect’ morning routine starts at night - Sleep should be the priority when possible. Eat 4 hours before bedtime, avoid screens an hour before, have a decent routine e.g. reading before bed.

☀️ Start with purpose - No scrolling. Wake at a consistent time, get some bright sunlight in our eyes, exercise, eat good food. The rest of the day will figure itself out.

👴🏻 Exercise for future you, not today’s version of you - Exercise allows you to be who you want to be at 80+. Resistance training to be strong, cardio for a strong heart, stretching for a strong body. Being fit and healthy now is a side benefit.

🥬 Food is medicine - Eat single ingredient foods. Ultra-processed food is designed to keep you hungry and eat more crap. A bit is fine, life is all about balance.

📴 Avoid distractions - Social media apps are designed to hack into your brain and suck up every bit of attention they can in order to get advertiser £££. Be aware, replace time wasting habits with reading, making, relaxing. It’s good to be bored - it’s where all the good ideas come.

👥 Isolation is as bad as smoking - Social contact. Be kind. Cherish relationships and being with others.

🏃🏻 Stop planning, start doing - Do the thing. Watching and reading motivational content isn’t doing the thing, it’s procrastination.

Cheers! Do share this email if you enjoy it.

It’s been over 6 months since I last wrote to you, here’s just a few things I think are worth sharing.

This week I'm: ⬇️

📹 Watching the 🐐 of YouTube, Casey Neistat - NYC's Worst Blizzard in a Decade, hour by hour. He’s still got it. I miss the daily vlog

💰 Selling my old stuff on Vinted. Everything has a price! Sure this is nothing new but everyone should get to feel the deep satisfaction of clearing out a wardrobe and making some £££ in the process

🎧 Listening to The Rest is Science - the best podcast I’ve listened to in a long time and long may it continue. What a win that Michael Stevens is one of the hosts!

📰 Reading about how the creators of Dishoom started one of the UK’s most successful restaurant chains. Fantastic article documenting their inspirations from Mumbai/Bombay

🪛 Learning how to do DIY - we all start somewhere. Done a bit of plastering, put up a shelf, fixed a door. What else really is there in the world of DIY??

🥘 Cooking with the Mob app - never fails to impress

👕 Making the most of this funny website that tells you how good the weather is for drying clothes outside, and how much £ you save by doing so. Combines sunlight, temperature, humidity and more. DryOutside?

🏃🏻 Deciding whether I need the brand new Asics Superboost 3s for when my leg fracture heals and I return to runnning. Probably not.

💸 Buying a handmade oak desk riser from Etsy - I was going to go for something cheap on Amazon but as the saying goes, buy cheap, buy twice

🎮 Also buying Split Fiction on Switch 2 - perfect couples game. 91 on Metacritic!

📖 Deciding what to read after I finish One Summer: America, 1927 by, you guessed it, Bill Bryson. There’s a lot of baseball chat in this one. Too much? Maybe. Think I’ll read Super Nintendo by Keza McDonald next. What are you reading?

💙 Wondering if Man City can do it this season?

💬 And finally, a quote

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📸 BONUS: Photo of the Week