Reading

A few ideas to make tomorrow better.

Posted on by Casey Yardley

I’d like to start doing three things each night before bed to improve the following day. 

First – Prep the coffee machine. Until recently, we used a french press for our morning brew and it was simple. Add water, steep the grounds, pour cups of motivation, and rinse. Now we have a machine that could be programmed to have me a cup at 7:30 am each day if I would set it up. I have yet to do that so in the meantime, I’ve started adding water, a new filter, and grounds for the next morning. So when I’m ready to go when I push the brew button. Easy peasy but a life changer. 

Second – Read more before bed. I had a great routine of reading before bed for nearly a year. It was a great way to end the day and begin resting. I would usually read a cookbook, a self-help-style book, or a history/adventure book. Something that was engaging yet easy to read. Anything complex would get my overactive mind moving back toward my phone and the mindless searching and scrolling. Reading at night helps me rest up better than staring at my phone as a fall asleep. 

Currently, I have a list of four books I’m planning to read this month:

  • The Nordic guide to living 10 years longer – Dr Bertil Marklund 
  • A Portrait of British Cheese: A Celebration of Artistry, Regionality, and Recipes –
    Angus D Birditt
  • Winning Without losing – Martin Bjergegaard
  • Open Design Now: Why Design Cannot Remain Exclusive – Bas Van Abel 

I suppose here is my commitment to myself and to you. I’ll read 30 min a night before bed for all of March. I’ll follow up on April 1st. 

Third and lastly, plan my day ahead. I hate task lists with all my being. They annoy my free-spirited nature but make or break the following day’s productivity. I need to use my task list on my phone better as a companion to my calendar to better plan my life out. 

My partner is a master of this but me, a serial procrastinator, I do just that… Procrastinate my planning and have less productive days than I would like to. The value here is knowing what needs to be done and being able to do it one task at a time. Knowing myself I’ll do the easy tasks first then move to the more difficult ones as late in the day as possible. I ought to fix that. 

So here goes nothing, three simple tasks that are going to help me have a better day tomorrow. Here’s to a month of coffee prep, planning, and reading before bed to make my next day better. 

Till next time. 

Casey

Reading.

Posted on by Casey Yardley

I’d never declare myself to be a strong reader. I tend to slowly read things and often find myself rereading sentences and paragraphs to confirm I’ve correctly understood the material or story. Yet, despite my limits, I really enjoy reading as a form of attaining new information.

I try and have a physical book I’m working through nearby with a soft goal of reading a book a month about something I’m interested in or a story I’ve been told I’d enjoy reading from a friend or family member. Getting book ideas from friends and family can be the best thing or the worst thing for me. The people pleaser in me will read the book for the benefit of receiving further recommended titles but the procrastinator in me will very slowly read the book and derail my reading flow.

I never thought I’d be as much of a book person as I am. I try and read for at least 30 min a day. This gets me away from my computer and phone.

I usually switch from a physical copy of the book to an audiobook format and listen to the book while I bike or drive. This lets me follow through with the recommended reading so I can follow up with the recommender and learn something I might not have sought out myself. I thank the inventor of audiobooks all the time as they’ve helped me through some dull reading at 1.5 speed. (Insert laughing track here)

Some of my favorite books to read include cookbooks, Autobiographies, Informational Books, Coffee Table-esue books that highlight a journey, lifestyle, etc and from time to time I enjoy a well-written trilogy. It’s nice to have something I can step outside of my day to day and enjoy for an hour and just be in the moment. Slowly reading the words over and building the story one line at a time as I go. I’ve used reading as a way to decompress after school, work, and sometimes after family events.

As I mentioned last week I’m still studying at university and I do end up reading heaps of information for my classes. Somehow through all that time, I haven’t lost my love for spending a little time with a book for fun just to zone out. It’s a strange thing to spend hours researching, reviewing, and writing for school on subjects I’m neutral about but if given the opportunity to discuss some of the things I’ve learned from my own reading outside school I’m happy to go all in on these topics anytime, anyplace.

I think I’ve rambled plenty for now so I’ll leave you with this, a few good reads from 2022 thus far.

Currently, I’m listening to Yes, Chef: A Memoir by Marcus Samuelsson and currently reading through The Happiest Kids in the World: How Dutch Parents Help Their Kids (and Themselves) by Doing Less by Michele Hutchison and Rina Mae Acosta. I’m also reading Dieter Rams: Ten Principles for Good Design on the side.

Thanks for reading,

Casey.