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The Observe and Rapport Newsletter
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A weekly guide of my favorite books, articles, products, and lifestyle habits.
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November 11th, 2022 | by Kyle Brennan
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I anticipated Ray Dalio's @raydalio newest book to be similar to his first one, Principles, Principles was an excellent resource for navigating difficult choices, but it felt more like a textbook than a personal essay or business book.
The Changing World Order, however, is unique. It combines historical instruction with commercial writing and sociological analysis. Although he predicts a dim future for the United States, his method of placing current events in a historical context is somewhat consoling. Empires and nations will inevitably rise and fall throughout human history. History rhymes, but it doesn't repeat itself, as Mark Twain famously observed.
Dalio's numbers and research go back almost 2,000 years to the dynasties of the world before gunpowder, steel, democratic elections, or complicated financial markets, as opposed to only a few hundred years. The same human behavioral tendencies apply regardless of technology. We prosper, invent, overextend ourselves, fall, fight, and rebuild. All of it is cyclical.
Rating: 4.1 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Based on the title, this is probably not the book you think it is. Rather than offering cheap “time hacks” to get more of the same bullshit done, this book is designed to help Type A people recognize the emotional and mental traps laid by other books like Getting Things Done, Eat the Frog, or The Four-Hour Workweek.
There are a ton of philosophical insights here, but the key one is that to be obsessed with efficiency and productivity is to feel existential anxiety. Many productive-obsessed people (of which I include myself) have the belief that if we can just get our lives more optimized, we never have to face the reality that we can’t, in fact, do everything that we care about.
Burkeman, however, suggests that we must admit defeat, as our time is limited.
"Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." Becoming more efficient only brings about more work. Your immediate email responses in the hopes of reaching inbox zero only invite further emails. Your FOMO is forgetting that your entire life consists of things you are choosing to neglect. The real measure of any time management technique, according to Burkeman, is whether or not it helps you neglect the right things.
So embrace the limits of your life. Choose to fail at things. Limit technology in favor of savoring the mundane and get good at doing nothing.
Rating: 4.9 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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I just started watching this great new show on HBO Max called Game of Thrones. Not too many people I know have heard of it, but I definitely think it has potential...
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My lack of popular television watching has infiltrated my ability to stay relevant in conversations around pop culture and the zeitgeist. So while I am watching out of genuine interest, it's also to cross it off my list and be able to actually know what people are talking about when they say "Winter is coming."
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The purpose of life is to experience it. We waste so much time worrying about a future that we legitimately have no control over. Yet, stop and ask yourself how have I made it this far despite not knowing what lies ahead of me. How much time was wasted wishing things were going differently? “This shouldn’t be happening!”
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New Podcast Episode is Out
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Keith and Kyle sit down to discuss Kyle’s recent trips to India and Hawaii, the future of Architecture, and the particular brilliance of Russian authors.
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Books discussed in this episode:
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Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse. But the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.
- Jack Ma
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What's on My Reading List?
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Kyle's Published Work
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33 Life Lessons on My 33rd Birthday
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Thirty-three was a big one. Mostly because I became a dad. Our daughter was born on New Year’s Eve — a fitting arrival for a kid destined to reset everything. It’s been a beautiful, if slightly sleep-deprived blur ever since. I’ve only been “Dad” for less than ten months, but if I’m being honest, I’ve been preparing for the role for over …
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Depth Over Downloads: Why Spending Time with Books Still Matters
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Everyone wants faster information. But no one asks if faster information leads to better understanding — or a better life. In the age of AI and tweet-sized wisdom, we’ve confused information with transformation. But there’s a massive difference between knowing what a book says and being changed by it. The Delusion of Instant Learning In a recent interview, political journalist Ezra Klein admitted he once believed …
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The Jack Reacher Approach to Never Being Caught Off Guard
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There’s no difference between a pessimist who says, ‘Oh, it’s hopeless, so don’t bother doing anything,’ and an optimist who says, ‘Don’t bother doing anything, it’s going to turn out fine anyway.’ Either way, nothing happens.” —Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia I don’t read much fiction, but I’ve always been hooked on Lee Child’s Jack Reacher. He’s not your typical …
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