Work Hard, Play Hard
I just returned from a week of traveling along the California Coast. When I go on vacation, I’m usually looking for an opportunity to unwind and recharge. Between the incredible weather and books I brought with me, I succeeded on both counts. Here’s my reading list from the last week:
- Brain Rules
- The Now Habit
- Mastery
- The Talent Code
- Do The Work (free Kindle edition from The Domino Project)
- The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
The books ended up having a surprisingly consistent theme considering it was just the stack of books I had on my “to read” pile. There’s a lot of overlap between them, but they cover the spectrum from overcoming procrastination to the art of mastering skills.
If I had to break it down, the basic lessons are:
- Make time for the important things like exercise, entertainment and socializing
- Spend the rest of your time focusing on work
Or, to be more trite, the secret to success is “work hard, play hard”. When you’re relaxing or recharging, make sure you’re completely committed to it. When you’re watching TV or playing with your niece, do it with total focus. Don’t spend your TV time “working” on your laptop - you’ll do both poorly. Make conscious choices with your time and make it count.
Like all good advice, it sounds like common sense when you hear it. If you want to lose weight, all you need to do is eat less and work out more, right? Similarly, “work hard, play hard” is easier said than done. Fortunately, there are tons of great tools and ideas within each of these books to help guide you. There’s also a healthy dose of inspiration to get you going.
Takeaways
To get the most out of a book, spend the time to write down what you’ve learned or what you’re actually going to do differently. Here are some of the key bits of information and actions I’m going to take from these books.
- The only way to get better at something is by doing
- Get out of your comfort zone regularly (from The Talent Code)
- Make an “unschedule” (from The Now Habit)
- Work for at least one uninterrupted hour every morning in my home office
If you want a quick dose of inspiration, start with Do The Work (it’s free!). If that gets you going, I’d highly recommend picking up The Talent Code to learn the best ways to improve your skills. And remember:
Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.
— Napoleon Dynamite
