What added value in January

How to be more productive (the slow way), the perfect notebooks and a gentle winter playlist

Hello you!

Ah January. The month I hold closest to my heart. For one my birthday is buried within it so and honestly I never feel the year has truly begun until it’s over. Other than that I actually enjoy the quiet darkness and the reflective energy the first few weeks have to offer. Anyone else?

Here’s what added value this month including a few extras from December I’ve been saving because I didn’t want to overload you at that time.

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel is a coming of age story I picked up in one of my favourite book shops in Paris because someone who worked there had left a note on the front saying it was the best book they’d ever read. Its style reminds me of where the crawdads sing as it’s quite nature focused and leans towards the poetic.

Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg was my first audible credit of the year after pulling mercury as my oracle card for the year (mercury rules communication) and agreeing I need both need as well as want to improve my communication skills. This book was the perfect guide. It’s simple, research based and so impactful I made a new notes on my phone to refer back to. If you struggle with using your voice in the real world I think you’ll benefit from it.

Slow productivity is a beautifully simple book from Cal Newport with three basic principles - do fewer things, work at a natural pace and obsess over quality. The whole book is still worth reading for the interesting research and examples of how to how to put these values into practice whether you’re self-employed or working in a traditional office style environment.

The more I heal the less ambitious I become is a substack letter that hit home hard. I share so many of these feelings and often wonder if it’s due to me getting older but Nadia put the experience into words perfectly. It felt so good to know others are embracing a lack of ambition too.