Hey all,

I'm leaving for college soon, and that's got me thinking about the role of locations in enhancing happiness, productivity, fulfillment, and motivation. Here are two ideas to remember while analyzing how to use the places you inhabit to your advantage:

1. Section off different areas for different activities.
2. Get up and out of the spaces you know too well (especially when trying to be creative).

Here's what that means:

#1: Different Areas for Different Activities

This idea is pretty simple, and I bet most of you already utilize it to some degree, but basically:

You should try to section off different areas or locations for separate activities so it's easier for your brain to focus.

The reason for this is pretty simple: your brain is a very pattern-driven organ, and it will act like a flowchart in response to certain stimuli. For example, your body reacts differently if you're in an area where you're often focused versus somewhere you like to relax.

This is why you'll find yourself unable to sleep if you like to scroll Instagram in bed or will end up watching youtube videos while trying to work in your room. You've conditioned yourself to do certain activities in certain places. Therefore, it's much harder to do something different without falling back on what you're used to.

It just takes longer for your brain to transition from Instagram mode to sleep mode if you do both while in bed. So please, don't be like me and try to write a blog post in the place where you usually watch YouTube.

Instead, try to section off places where you sleep, relax, work, and scroll through social media. Stop getting into bed before you're ready to sleep, get up, and walk to a different spot if you're working and need a break. Trust me, it helps.

And if you can't find space to separate everything, watch some of Cliff Tan's videos and learn to make different zones in your house. He's part of the reason I was inspired to make this post, and I think his videos are pretty good.

#2: Get outside the box to think outside the box.

This one's pretty similar to the last tip. Again, your brain is pattern-driven, but I bet you wouldn't realize how much seeing the same decor on your wall or picture by your desk conditions you to think about things like you always do.

If you want to think about something in a different light, it might help to be in a different place.

For example, Austin Kleon is a big advocate for getting outside (or even moving somewhere new) to be more uncomfortable. In his words, "Travel makes the world look new, and when the world looks new, our brains work harder."

So get outside, or meet new people, try to make your brain work harder. Children are famously creative, likely because almost every experience they have is new, and they change their perspectives often. So when you break up your normal routine for a new place, new people, or new experiences, you can tap into some of your childlike creativity and put it to good use with the knowledge you've gained as an adult.

So those were my location-based tips. If you haven't already, I recommend you take a little time to really think about how the places you frequent (whether that be in your house or outside it) serve you. And if you find out you've been using one space for wildly different tasks, try to find a way to space things out. Your brain will thank you for it.

Anyways, I hope you've taken something away from this email.

Thank you for reading, and have a great week!

Ethan

Things I'm Enjoying:

📚 Books - Both Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon and The Psychology of Morgan Housel were big influences on me during the last month, and I especially gained a lot from their ideas around risk-taking and trying new things. If that sounds interesting to you, check them out!

👨‍💻 Tech - I've had a Kindle Paperwhite for around 3 months now and I would say it's been one of the best recent investments I've made. For one, it's lightweight, has discounts for books, and streamlines the book-buying process which helps reduce the bar of effort for me to read. Funnily enough, I also think I focus better reading on my Kindle because it kind of looks like my iPhone, just without all the other distractions it comes with. So, if you have the chance, I would pick one up (especially if it ever goes on sale for like $120 when I got mine).

💻 Website - Realtime Colors. Color theory is hard so I've made a lot of use from Realtime Colors in creating potential colors for this website's color scheme. Unfortunately, I don't have Ghost's "Creator" plan yet so I've had to settle for this blue and off-white scheme, but I will probably use Realtime Colors again when I upgrade to add more flair and cohesion.