Oversimplified

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Oversimplified: Volume 123

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Oversimplified: Volume 123

The power of defaults, annual reviews, and one file to rule them all

Conor Dewey
Jan 11, 2022
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Oversimplified: Volume 123

conor.substack.com

Hey there 👋

Happy new year! I took the last couple weeks off for the holidays, but now it’s full steam ahead. I couldn’t be more grateful and pumped to share more stuff with all 1800+ of you in 2022. Feel free to reply to this email — I’d love to hear from you.

Oversimplified is a digest of the best links I stumble upon each week, and any new pots from me. If this is your first issue, welcome! You can subscribe with the big blue button below:


✍️ 2021 Year in Review

This is my third annual review in which I grab some coffee and reflect on the things that went well and didn’t go well for me in 2021. As is always the case, lots to think about and improve on.

📚 The Power of Defaults

In case you didn’t notice, I’m a sucker for Julian’s writing. Always excellent: “While network effects can indeed be very powerful, they are also one of the most misunderstood concepts in business strategy. Not all network effects are created equal and the most successful ones are just a means to an end.”

📚 One File to Rule Them All

New year, new productivity habits? This thorough write-up is eerily similar to the workflow I use to manage daily tasks and scheduling.

📚 Random Acts of X

This article from Ribbonfarm resonated in a big way: “The very first example I encountered, sometime in the 90s I think, was “random acts of marketing.” That stuck with me because it seemed like such an apt description of the marketing efforts of most companies.”

🔗 An Annual Review Exercise

If you’re thinking about doing an annual review, check this out. It’s one of the more complete and well-defined annual review processes that I’ve read about. I adopted a few aspects of this for myself.

🔗 Games That Buddha Wouldn’t Play

No big insights from this — Just thought it was cool!


Food for Thought

“Worry, at its core, is the repetitious experience of a mind attempting to generate a feeling of security about the future, failing, then trying again and again and again — as if the very effort of worrying might somehow help forestall disaster. The fuel behind worry, in other words, is the internal demand to know, in advance, that things will turn out fine. But the struggle for control over the future is a stark example of our refusal to acknowledge our built-in limitations when it comes to time, because it’s a fight the worrier obviously won’t win.” — Oliver Burkeman

Until next time

As always, if you're enjoying Oversimplified, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend or two. If anything stood out, whether good or bad, I would love to hear about it. Reply to this email or tweet at me and let’s chat.

Until next time,

Conor

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Oversimplified: Volume 123

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