On Perfectionism, Evolution, and Using AI for Motivation

This is truly the most exciting time to be alive.

Hey, this is the first release of Jona’s Digest.

Rundown of Today:

• My struggle: Unnecessary perfectionism.

• Hard truth No.1: Stopping unnecessary perfectionism.

• Hard truth No.2: You need less “relaxation” than you think.

• Non-fiction book: Evolution and gossip.

• Fiction book: Facing your fears.

• An AI prompt that makes motivation too easy.

This Week's Struggle

I'm someone who prides himself on having high standards. "Never settle for less than your best." And, in 99% of cases, that serves me more than well.

But this month was my 1%.

I have spent way too much time contemplating what the "absolutely perfect" thing to do would be for;

• My channel.

• This Substack.

• And my plans for surviving the future of work.

This is not only dangerous, but deadly when playing a game that thrives on compound growth.

If you stop. It resets.

Hard Truth No.1

You are not good enough at discerning what tasks deserve your perfectionism. (I’m speaking to myself here).

BAD: Spending 3 hours picking the right hex-code for this site’s accent color?

GOOD: Spending an extra 3 hours to improve the pacing of your script?

This is especially true if you are the only person doing the work. Your resources are limited. That's a given.

Nuance:

The more you're able to delegate tasks to others, the more paramount it becomes for no one to leave something on the table.

Then, you get to specialize and let the OCD perfectionist roar.

Hard Truth No.2

You need much less "relaxation" than you think.

I've found that the more rest I take, the less energized I feel.

Almost always, apathy and slowness on my end is caused by a lack of action and output, not because I am "overworked".

Nuance:

However, you do need recovery when you are forced to do frequent task-switching.

When I run the channel while still making sure to get A's in all my classes, I truly exhaust my mental capabilities.

Even though I work the same number of hours as I do now, during summer break, I am more tired at the end of the day because:

• Switching tasks is costly.

• Your brain thrives on single-focus depth.

Which is why intense focus on one task for a long time is nourishing, not draining.

Jona's Library

Non-Fiction: Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

I am overdue on this one. But, oh wow.

I wish that more colleges taught evolutionary psychology. However, I think I have some ideas why today's institutions would avoid that ;)

Here is something about life that you can understand deeper than anyone else, by grasping its evolutionary underpinnings:

Most of media, culture, and even politics is gossip. And this deeply satisfies a primordial craving in you and me.

The reason? Our unique ability over other animals is that we can talk about each other. Not just to each other.

Who beat whom? Who had sex with whom? Who ate all the bananas?

Communicating this efficiently and effectively is what gave us a massive edge in being able to survive and organize as a species.

Fiction: Dune by Frank Herbert

The fiction book many billionaires refer to as "most impactful."

I've been a complete Potterhead for over a decade now. And, thereby, have avoided stepping into any other fictional universe.

I simply wasn’t able to fathom someone pulling me as strongly into a fantasy world as J.K. Rowling did.

But Dune shattered my expectations.

The world is impressively intricate with its unique set of:

• Vocabulary

• Religion

• Traditions

• Geology

There is even a surprising amount to learn from the characters.

I love attempting to apply the main character's (Paul's) interoceptive ways of thinking in real time.

This passage, for instance, gave me chills:

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

-Frank Herbert

An AI Motivation Prompt for You

This was my YouTube project for this week, and the video will be up on Monday, May 19th.

But I wanted to give you early access as you are a reader :)

Here is the AI Prompt that makes motivation too easy:

This New AI Prompt Makes Motivation Too Easy

Life Snapshot

Where?

I just got home to Berlin after completing my freshman year at Macalester College. I've kept up my 4.0 GPA, so if you guys ever want my study system, let me know!

The U.S. is in many ways different from Europe. But oh boy… the U.S. does rock for always serving massive portions.

Spring finally hitting Minnesota.

Reflections on being on the internet?

I decided to avoid any monetization for the time being. No ads on my videos. No sponsors. No affiliates. No SAAS.

That's because I've been reflecting on what all of this should truly be about. And, scaling for income simply doesn’t feel right at the moment. Nor does my schedule have room for it.

I have a strong intuition that consistently putting myself out there is something my future self will be grateful for.

I'll keep you posted at the bottom of the newsletter every two weeks with new lessons about this.

People highlights?

Max! For making it through the first year of college together as two Germans in the U.S.

Ella! Who was so nice to be the first to review the AI Motivation prompt.

Much love,
Jona