Hey friend,

We wish you an abundance of love and joy this Diwali! This weekend's issue is fantastic, with today's essay examining Toxic Workplaces. I also wanted to share a recent talk I gave on the magic of $10K Work.

(Here's the YouTube link.)

The $10K Work method has helped nearly 700 students double-down on what really matters (without burning themselves out to a crisp). Supercharge your Productivity is the only course that connects the pursuit of productivity to life’s larger questions so you can design a system that works for you.

Sign up to get Instant Access to the recordings plus a seat in our live cohort starting on January 24th.

Can a toxic workplace ruin your health?

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Meet Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general.

Aka America’s Doctor.

As “the leading spokesperson on matters of public health,” past surgeon generals have opined on safe sex, Zika, COVID-19 and – of course – smoking cigarettes.

So I was shocked to see the Surgeon General wade into the debate about work. Well, toxic work specifically.

Um, of course. We all know that the body keeps score. And when the mind ain’t right, the body ain’t right.

America’s Doctor added additional guidance stating:

The pandemic offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for knowledge workers to redefine archaic relics from the Industrial Revolution. (Um hello, 9-to-5.)

But clearly that isn’t happening. Instead many jobs are pushing people deeper into a health crisis.

What’s the proposed remedy? And how are we avoiding toxicity in our own Rad workplace?

Here are this week's top reads:

// one

What really predicts happiness?

4 minutes | Of Dollars and Data
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What’s the secret to a happy life? There's a special ingredient that can prevent physical ailments like heart disease and dementia: meaningful relationships. Yet, when you look at how we spend our time, as we age, we become way more isolated. One of my favorite writers, Nick Magiulli links this behavior to money — and specifically where we chose to live. If you want to dig deeper, Nick expands on this idea in his book Just Keep Buying: Proven ways to save money and build your wealth.

→ Read the post​

// two

Your work matters. Build your schedule accordingly.

6 minutes | Cal Newport
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Carving out deep work time is hard. An hour here or there just isn’t sufficient. A psychological reality of productivity is that it’s quite easy to prioritize other peoples’ demands over work that’s important to you. The solution? A dash of selfishness. Your work matters - and you should ruthlessly defend your ability to do it as you build out your schedule.

→ Read the post​

// three

Baby steps - parenting as a founder

6 minutes | Meridian
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Having a child and working is hard. Founding a company as a parent is also hard. But being a good parent and a good founder aren’t mutually exclusive. Parenthood helps you ruthlessly prioritize how to spend your time. Many founders say that having kids helps them move away from obligatory thinking and get clearer on what they really want their days to look like.

→ Read the article​

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// four

How getting more awe can improve your life – and even make you a nicer person

6 minutes | The Guardian
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When we see something that overwhelms us, we feel awe. Goosebumps, dropped jaws, caught breath — it’s a deeply profound human emotion. Usually when we think of feeling awe, we think of vast natural beauty, like staring out at the unobstructed ocean or seeing the Grand Canyon. Turns out there are plenty of everyday ways to find more awe (and health benefits too - awe sharpens our brains and expands our perception of time): seek new music, watch nature shows and ask others what makes them feel awe.

→ Read the article​

// five

The psychology of strategy

3 minutes | Every
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When it comes to business strategy, we often start with basic, in-your-face questions: what does the product do? Why is it needed at this moment? These are “object-level” conversations. Eventually, we shift to a “meta-level” conversation, where we focus on principles of business strategy. A third layer, though, is becoming increasingly significant — a psychology-level, where we understand the emotional instincts that influence our decisions to buy in the first place.

→ Read the post​

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Below the Fold
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LAST WEEK'S MOST READ

• ​Why you shouldn’t outsource 100% of your life (RadReads, 1,375 clicks)
• ​How to get things done — eventually (The Economist, 344 clicks)

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And finally, do babies know something we don't know about avoiding grass?

With gratitude,

Khe

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