On Analysis Paralysis, The Dip, and Quitting Social Media

Hey, it's the Jona Digest.

Rundown of Today:

• The struggle: Analysis paralysis

• Hard truth: Embrace The Dip

• Non-fiction book: Deep Work by Cal Newport

• Fiction book: Dune by Frank Herbert

The Struggle

If you're someone who reads blogs like this, you probably face analysis paralysis on the regular.

• You are high in conscientiousness.

• You want things to be done right.

• And, probably, you get a lot of calmness and satisfaction from contemplating what the best thing to do would be.

Well, similar to last week, this has been a pain in the arse for me too.

But, I have a new perspective on this predicament...

Your obsessive qualities, if paired with consistency, will be your ticket to success.

It'll take a while to get there because you're more scared of failing than most people.

But if you do combine repeated obsessive analysis of what works best with a relentless ability to simply not stop showing up, I am certain you will succeed.

Hard Truth

This week's hard truth is from Seth Godin's "Dip."

You'll likely go through many dips in your life, and you might even be going through a dip right now.

A dip is the insufferably long period you face after starting to pursue a goal.

You'll see some initial results right away.

However, then comes the true test, which determines whether you're on the level to earn what is on the other side.

The dip.

This is true for any long-term goal you have that is worth striving for:

• Business

• Building an audience

• Getting in shape

• Publishing your first research paper

Any worthwhile outcome requires you to prove your worth in the dip.

I am deep in my own dip right now, and it's absolutely far from fun.

It's this sense of putting in more and more effort, but seeing FEWER results.

So let's stick it out together. <3

Jona's Library

Non-Fiction: Deep Work by Cal Newport

I've been putting off reading this for way too long, thinking I already "got" the concept.

I was completely wrong.

Cal's insight hitting me hardest wasn't about focus or anything like that.

It was about the lies we tell ourselves about our social media use.

Most of us use what he calls the "Any-Benefit Approach": If Instagram might help me network, or if Twitter could boost my reach, then it's justified.

But here's his controversial view: This approach makes you mediocre.

Instead, he suggests the "Craftsman Approach": Identify the core factors that determine your success, then only adopt tools where the benefits strongly outweigh the costs.

Yesterday, I got this comment talking about this very issue:

Mr. Cosmic_astra here faced the perils of the "Any-Benefit Approach."

My solution?

Treat yourself as a mini research experiment.

Open a page in your journal and title it "My final social media test."

Then rate how you feel in these categories:

1. Anxiety

2. Distractedness

3. Outlook on the future of your life (so will things go better or worse in the coming years?)

Next, install all social media you want and binge for 2-3 hours.

Come back, and write down how you honestly feel.

It's incredibly powerful to experience this contrast yourself, and not just hear someone else talk about it.

This will give you more than enough data to understand why Cal Newport wrote an entire book on quitting social media.

Fiction: Dune by Frank Herbert

I'll keep it short.

The last few chapters I read genuinely brought tears to my eyes.

Specifically, how Frank Herbert showed the relationship between the main character's mother and her unborn daughter.

If you can, tell your mother you love her today.

Life Snapshot

Where

I visited my grandma in another part of Germany for a few days and took a short break from working on the next video to spend quality time with her.

That feels like its own category of wealth.

What

I'm spending all day long trying to understand what's best to do with the channel in the future.

I realized that to help our community grow, I should ask myself the following question when creating new videos:

Would at least 80% of the people who watched the last video want to see this next one?

I also hit my 100th workout tracked with this app, which I've been using for about 9 months now!

Simple habits really do compound with time:

This Keeps Me Up At Night, But You Can Help

I'd love any thoughts on the following questions that stop me from falling asleep:

1. Do you prefer short videos (7-12 minutes) or long videos (12+ minutes)?

2. Do you prefer videos with background music and fancy editing? Or simply someone speaking with a few text screens here and there?

3. Bonus: If you could receive only one section of this newsletter, which one would you be happy to see in your inbox every two weeks? The lessons, the books, or the personal stuff?

Much love,
Jona