I send a monthly newsletter about the power of reading and journaling, the benefits of finding focus and productivity through intentionality, and offer insights into how I'm building balance into my life. Be sure to confirm your subscription by checking your spam folder and opting in!
The Science of Time ⏱️
Hi Reader,
Happy holidays! December is a month of celebration and a great chance for personal reflection as the new year approaches. I took a few hours on a quiet afternoon last week to review 2022 and I wrote some insights from that reflection to help guide the coming year.
Quarterly Planning in 2023
In 2022, I made some efforts around quarterly planning. Unfortunately, the results were mixed, and I was about 50% successful, meaning I spent much of the year traveling without a map. I am well versed in the quarterly planning process, given my experience in the corporate world, but building a plan and holding myself accountable to, well, myself, was different and more difficult than it was when I was part of a larger organization.
I'm trying again this year and will write more about this process on the blog and share some of the tools I use for planning and reviewing in the coming months.
The Science of Time
I wrote about Dan Pink's book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing on the blog last month. This book has me thinking about how deeply time affects us all. One of the topics he talks about is new beginnings, including the new year. Social scientists refer to these important dates as “temporal landmarks” which we use to navigate through time. The dawning of a new year is a big one, and it offers an opportunity for a fresh start. So if you start something new on January 1st, remember that incremental change and growth are potent ways to get where you want to be.
Media Recommendation
I’m watching season two of Slow Horses from Apple TV+. It’s based on a series of novels by Mick Herron and has an excellent ensemble cast led by Gary Oldman. Oldman plays Jackson Lamb, the head of Slough House, where MI5 agents go when they’ve really screwed up. Clearly, they’re meant to be in purgatory and are expected to quit. Yet, they don’t. Instead, the Slow Horses manage to get themselves into all manner of exciting situations as they try to keep the UK safe from various enemies of the state. Again, compelling motivations drive an engaging cast. Take your time with the intro; the theme music, co-written and performed by Mick Jagger, is worth hearing.
From the Blog
Since launching the site in January, I’ve published roughly 100 blog entries. Here are a handful of my favorites:
​Seneca on Finding Courage Through Hardship​
​Finding Focus: The Daily Review Journal in Day One​
​Tony Fadell on Leaders Taking Ownership During a Crisis​
​PKM Toolkit: Using Readwise to Spark Creativity​
​John Kenneth Gailbraith on Changing Minds​
​On Twitter and Owning Your Stuff​
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Monthly Readwise Quote
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From the Studio
I'll be celebrating the first anniversary of 24 Letters in just a few days. This year, I want to continue focusing on ideas that can best guide you in the areas of your life that matter most. I welcome your feedback on what you'd like to hear more about, and am excited to continue building this community with you in 2023!
Thanks for reading. Until next month, I’ll see you on the blog!
Joe
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P.S: If you enjoyed this newsletter, please forward it to a friend so they can take a look and subscribe if interested. Thank you!
Let's Grow Together! đź’ˇ
I send a monthly newsletter about the power of reading and journaling, the benefits of finding focus and productivity through intentionality, and offer insights into how I'm building balance into my life. Be sure to confirm your subscription by checking your spam folder and opting in!
"The sun is the same in a relative wayBut you're older" Time, by Pink Floyd Hello friends, It's always a little shocking when we arrive at the end of another year, particularly this year, because so much of my life, my reference in time before this period, was my work, and I'm coming out of the second year of being a stay-at-home dad. That's an extraordinary job, but not one where monthly benchmarking, quarterly reporting, or yearly budget meetings keep the calendar in perspective. The fiscal...
24 Letters June 2023 Apple's other announcement... 📓 Apple held its annual Worldwide Developer Conference earlier this month. It’s an opportunity for the company to announce to developers and the world the updates to its operating systems. They typically reveal a few new pieces of hardware too, and the headline for this year’s WWDC was the long-rumored Apple Vision Pro, their entry into the AR/VR headset market. The more exciting story for me (and probably ONLY me) is Journal, a new app...
Hello! This month was a little quieter on the blog. However, I did write several entries on journaling, including one detailing a Shortcut that I use to quickly access my daily gratitude journal on my iPhone, iPad, and Mac. I also wrote about the rumor that Apple might be getting into the world of journaling with a new app coming in iOS 17, expected to be released later this year. More will be revealed in June at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference. While it's just a rumor, I hope it's...