Hey there! Hope you all had a lovely Easter. Did you know that easter came from a Pagan fertility ritual? Throwback to them Easter orgies. 🐇

Anyway, Juan just applied to get an Irish passport through descent. One year from now he might evolve into an alcoholic, Guiness-drinking, ginger. ☘️

Meanwhile, Michael started a new job. Will this be the end of his traveling life? Probably not. (Michael: Definitely not)

A fellow econometrics student of Michaels, David Chen, is guest posting for us today, and is writing about all things sleep.

This week we’re experimenting with a different way for you all to give feedback, so we’re adding little thumbs-up/thumbs-down links at the end. They go nowhere, but we’re able to see link clicks from our end. Maybe we’ll find a way to share that later.. but for any actual feedback you want to give, you can do that here :).

CREATIVITY

The 5 Steps to a More Creative Brain

🗞️ The story of Eugene

During the 1870s, newspapers were eager to adopt an emerging technology known as photography. Although this innovative approach was gaining popularity, the cost of reproducing images on a large scale was prohibitively expensive. The process involved manually engraving the image onto a steel plate, a method that not only was time-intensive but also prone to causing the plates to break and require frequent replacements, adding to the expense.

Frederic Eugene Ives emerged as the key figure in addressing this challenge. Beginning his career as an apprentice in printing, Ives dedicated ten years to exploring various methodologies in printing and photography.

It was during his investigation into a technique known as half-tones that a breakthrough occurred. On the verge of sleep one night, he had a sudden epiphany. He envisioned a novel system to print photographs using half-tones.

This inspiration led to the development of what would be known as the Ives Process. This innovation dramatically slashed printing costs by 15x and established a new industry standard that would prevail for the next 80 years.

5 Steps for More Creative Ideas

Eugene's approach to innovation can be distilled into five actionable steps that anyone can adopt.

1. ✨ Embrace Continuous Learning

   Commit to expanding your knowledge constantly. Focus on acquiring specialized skills relevant to your immediate goals while also cultivating a broad understanding of subjects that capture your interest.

2. 🧠 Fit new ideas together

   Try combining different ideas together. Look at problems in many ways to help your brain make lots of new connections.

3. 🛀 Step Away to Refresh

   Allow your mind to recharge by stepping back from the task at hand. Engage in different activities to give yourself a mental break.

4. 💡New ideas will pop into existence

   Often, groundbreaking solutions will emerge spontaneously, seemingly out of nowhere

   You will be minding your own business when suddenly… BAM! A whole new way to look at the problem enters your thoughts, as if by divine intervention 👼.

5. 💬 Feedback Testing

   You must test your idea with the world. Get criticism and evolve your ideas over time.

“An idea is a feat of association, and the height of it is a good metaphor.”
- Robert Frost

Source: James Clear Blog

Like or dislike this article? Give a thumbs up 👍 or thumbs down 👎 here.

— Juan

CHANGE

Who Moved My Cheese

From the book "Who Moved My Cheese" by Spencer Johnson, this story starts with an experiment. A researcher places four mice in a maze with cheese hidden inside. Initially, the mice discover the cheese and revisit its location daily. However, one day, the cheese disappears, and the mice react in two different ways. Some mice stubbornly return to the same spot, expecting the cheese to reappear, and are frustrated that their old strategy doesn’t work for them anymore, while the others venture out in search of new cheese, ultimately finding it and enjoying even greater rewards. This simple story highlights the importance of adapting to change rather than clinging to old ways.

The Resistance to Change

Just like the mice, people often resist change when their familiar routines are disrupted. A historical example is the agricultural revolution in the US, which significantly reduced the percentage of farmers in the workforce. Many protested against the technological advancements, fearing job loss, instead of exploring new opportunities these changes could offer. This resistance is not just a tale of the past. Today, rapid technological advancements challenge various professions, from car mechanics affected by the rise of electric vehicles to retail workers facing automation. With the rise of all the different AIs recently, any of our jobs might be at risk.

Embracing Change for Growth

The essence of this narrative is not to fear change but to embrace it and adapt. The ability to pivot and develop new strategies in response to changing circumstances is crucial. The transition to electric cars, automation in retail, and advancements in AI are reminders of the inevitable shifts in job markets and skill sets. Rather than viewing these changes as threats, we can see them as opportunities to learn, grow, and improve our lives.

"Change before you have to" - Jack Welch

Like or dislike this article? Give a thumbs up 👍 or thumbs down 👎 here.

— Michael

SLEEP

The Ultimate Life Enhancer

Although it sounds too good to be true, this advertisement is of course talking about … sleep! Through the wisdom of sleep scientist Matthew Walker's book "Why We Sleep" we uncover that sleep is, in fact, a powerful performance enhancer for both mind and body.

Understanding Sleep: The Nightly Brain Marathon

Our nightly slumber is more than just shutting our eyes and drifting off. Rather, it's a complex, rhythmic cycle of stages that rejuvenate us.

The first type of sleep we will encounter is light NREM sleep (Stages 1-2), where the brain begins to downshift from the day's chaos, the senses dull, and those famous hypnagogic jerks occur...

As we delve deeper, we reach the restorative NREM stages 3 and 4 (deep sleep). During this phase, the body repairs itself and the brain consolidates memories, shifting them from the hippocampus (short-term storage) to the cortex (long-term storage). Next to this, deep sleep has a myriad of other benefits, which include, amongst others, an improved immune and cardiovascular system, improving the ability to learn and memorize, and even reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease!

Before and After Learning: Sleep's Critical Role

Before learning, it's crucial to have had quality sleep. A well-rested brain is primed for absorbing new information, akin to a clean hard drive ready for new data. Post-learning, sleep acts as the ultimate 'save' function for memories, especially during deep NREM sleep early in the night. It's during this time that the new information is consolidated into the architecture of the brain and that previously unobserved associations between memories are made.

QQRT: The Sleep Formula

The acronym QQRT embodies an approach to sleep health that ensures a good impact on health and wellness. Whereas Quantity refers to the hours of sleep we need—typically 7-9 for adults, Quality refers to how uninterrupted one’s sleep is. Regularity means having a consistent sleep schedule (going to bed and waking up at roughly the same times), which has been shown to be as important as the quantity of sleep one obtains. Finally, Timing relates to aligning our sleep with our natural circadian rhythms—whether you're a morning person or a night owl, your sleep schedule should complement your biological inclination, i.e., your chronotype.

It's time to give sleep the attention it deserves in our daily routine, not just for the sake of rest but as a strategic tool for achieving a vibrant, successful life!

Like or dislike this article? Give a thumbs up 👍 or thumbs down 👎 here.

— David

TAKING ACTION

Sign up to our Accountability Clubs

Want a community to keep you accountable? Willing to put your money where your mouth is? 😂

How it works:
💸 Everyone makes the same deposit at the beginning of the month.
✅ Every day you succeed, you get paid back a small amount from your deposit PLUS the money from others who failed that day.
❌ Every day you fail, your money for that day goes to people who succeed.
🗓️ It is 5 times a week. Month-to-month contract. You can join or leave at the beginning of each month.

April Clubs you can join:
🏋️ Exercise 5 times a week.
⏰ Wake up early during weekdays.
📵 Digital minimalism during weekdays.
📝 Signup to join for April

Updates from this week:

Our group keeps getting bigger and bigger. People are now reaching out to us on Reddit 👽. Juan, Nirmay and Michael are working to expand our groups by adding in more randoms, but so far most of them ghost us somewhere in the process. We currently have 11 people in the exercise group, and 4 people in our wakeup group.

Highlights from Exercise Club: