Here’s an assortment of things I like.

Networked Thought / Second Brain / Zettelkasten

There’s this way of taking notes called “networked thought”, and it has revolutionized how I write, take notes, etc.

No form of taking notes ever really worked for me before, but this one does. No matter where I write notes—on paper, or on my phone, or on my computer—they all end up in Stroll eventually, organized and connected. I can find anything I’m looking for in seconds, and I have built up a large collection of knowledge and writings that I can easily refer to at any time.

The software I use is Stroll, which is built on the open source software Tiddlywiki. I use a local version that runs on Node.js and is backed up in a private GitHub repo. There are also easier-to-use SaaS options like Roam Research.

Resources:

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zettelkasten
  • https://notes.andymatuschak.org/About_these_notes
  • https://fortelabs.co/blog/how-to-take-smart-notes/
  • https://fortelabs.co/blog/basboverview/
  • https://takesmartnotes.com/
  • https://nesslabs.com/networked-thinking

Books I Like

First, here is my Goodreads for you other book lovers out there. Feel free to peruse my collections.

Animal Ethics

  • Animal Liberation
  • The Longest Struggle
  • Ethics Into Action

Fiction

  • Anything and everything by David Mitchell, but Cloud Atlas is one of my all-time favorite novels.
  • Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit

Non-Fiction

  • The Better Angels of Our Nature
  • Guns, Germs, Steel
  • Sapiens

Meditation

Meditation is probably one of the most useful habits I’ve picked up in the last decade. Specifically, mindfulness meditation where the focus is on becoming more aware of your thoughts and experiences.

I’m a big fan of the Waking Up app by Sam Harris, as well as Headspace. Even 10 minutes a day is enough to change your life.