Your weekly roundup of insights and resources to help you get more done for the glory of God.
In Today’s Issue:
- 4 Months Off Social Media
- The Great Rewiring of Childhood
- The Typewriter Rebellion
- An Author’s Organization System
- A.W. Pink on Habits
Dear steward,
Many of you have written asking for an update on my experience after quitting social media at the end of last year. So, I sat down and recorded a podcast to give an honest analysis of my experience so far.
- Do I regret it?
- Have I run into any unanticipated issues?
- How has it affected running Redeeming Productivity?
Have a listen if that interests you. But I’ll give you the tl;dr right here:
- From a personal perspective, quitting social media entirely has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in the past ten years—and that’s not hyperbole. I am still enjoying better productivity and more focus. And I’ve experienced a great boon in my prayer life that I think is directly related to spending less time on social media.
- On the ministry side, counterintuitively, leaving social media seems to have positively impacted Redeeming Productivity. It’s enabled me to focus better on quality rather than spreading myself thin, serving half a dozen algorithms. And it’s helped me spend more time on things I’ve needed to do for years but never had the time before.
I always want to add this caveat: I don’t think every believer needs to get off social media. This is just me sharing my experience and thought process in case that’s helpful to anyone.
I’d also add that I think “quitting” can look different for different people. I have no shortage of people telling me, for example, that YouTube still counts as social media. My answer is simply, “Not for me; it doesn’t.”
I’d be curious to hear from you. How do you weigh the pros and cons of social media? Just hit reply to this email to drop me a note.
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THE ROUNDUP
The best links I found this week
The Great Rewiring of Childhood (4 mins)
Tim Challies
To stick with the social media theme, here’s Tim Challies’ review of The Anxious Generation.
The Anxious Generation is a sobering and challenging book that advances many of the concerns raised in previous bestsellers like The Coddling of the American Mind, iGen, and The Shallows. It aptly shows how technology and overprotection have combined to both shape and harm an entire generation. Encouragingly, it also provides clear and well-informed instructions for parents and other adults that can help today’s young people escape the system and live healthier lives.
I shared my own brief review of The Anxious Generation in this newsletter issue.
The ‘Typewriter Rebellion’ (3 mins)
NBC 12 News
I sometimes think this newsletter is just me documenting my slow transformation into a Luddite. But I just thought this short news segment was so cool. So I had to share it.
Like the dumb phone movement, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a small contingent of young writers, frustrated by constant distraction, beat their laptops into typewriters.
In fact, I already know of a couple of people in their 20s who write exclusively on a typewriter—which is kind of legendary.
How the Author of The Personal MBA Stays Organized (4 mins)
Dan Shipper and Natasha Frost / Superorganizers
I love to see other people’s methods for staying organized. This interview with author Josh Kaufman was full of interesting takeaways. Here are a few that stood out to me.
- Super simple task management system. He keeps a giant, unorganized list of tasks in a text document, then just picks 2 or 3 things each day and writes them on a 3×5 card.
- Rules for reading. Kaufman only listens to fiction on audiobooks, but he reads nonfiction almost exclusively in physical books. He begins each book by scanning it for 10–15 minutes before diving in.
- Efficiency is overrated. Even though he organizes his notes in Evernote, all his book notes start as handwritten notes. “I often write the first draft of books and essays by hand. That may not seem efficient, but formulating abstract concepts across industries, markets, and life situations, as I do, requires a mental workout with the material that I can only achieve on paper.”
- A second computer just for writing. “My writing computer is as locked down as I can possibly make it.” Limiting distractions is one of the keys to deep work.
WHAT’S NEW
On Redeeming Productivity
Quitting Social Media: 4 Month Update (21 mins)
Here’s an update on what it’s been like being entirely off social media and answering some of your questions.
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A DOSE OF WISDOM
Quote of the Week
If any occupation or association is found to hinder our communion with God or our enjoyment of spiritual things, then it must be abandoned. Anything in my habits or ways which mars happy fellowship with the brethren or robs me of power in service, is to be unsparingly judged and made an end of—’burned.’ Whatever I cannot do for God’s glory must be avoided.
A.W. Pink
FINAL WORD
Thanks for reading!
That’s all for this week.
For His glory,
Reagan Rose
