Civilization is 3 Days Deep [Weekend WRAP 62]

Hey Reader,

I want to welcome all the new subscribers to my newsletter this week! In case you missed them, I have free email courses on personal productivity (geared towards creators) and how to become a full stack creator. You can also read my latest writing on the newsletter feed.

The sponsor of this week's newsletter is Recut from my friend Dave Ceddia. If you do anything with long-form video or podcasts, this tool will save you hours of work. Learn more about Recut at the bottom of the email and see how it helps you!

💡 Idea of the Week: 3 Days Deep

Two of my favorite books recently are The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life and The Comfort Crisis. Both books have “call to adventure” for spending time in nature—and more importantly—away from technology. Boyd Varty says that “civilization is three days deep”. After that time period, a person feels much of their anxiety drop away and he or she becomes more attuned to the natural world.¹

This week I did exactly that. I went deep in the backcountry of Great Smokey Mountain National Park with 14 other guys for a camping and fly fishing trip. I went 48 hours without touching my phone, let alone checking any notifications, social media, or work apps. I felt very free and my mind started to clear up, even knowing that I had plenty to do upon leaving (like write this email).

The temptation is to think that all my time should be like that, or I need to get in the woods once a month instead of once a year. But that’s not reality these days, and that’s ok. The lesson is realizing that instead of three days in the woods—phone free—I can spend 3 hours at my local park or 30 minutes on a walk.

Michael Easter presents research in The Comfort Crisis that found something as painless as a 20-minute stroll through a city park, like the one we’re in right now, can cause profound changes in the neurological structure of our brains. This leaves us feeling calmer and with sharper and more productive, creative minds.²

As you enter the weekend and week ahead, protect 20-30 minutes for at least one day of walking outside without an active device. If you need something to capture ideas, carry a small notebook and pen. I believe you’ll see that a busy mind can be turned down faster than you believe.

​1 → Boyd Varty on the Tim Ferriss Show​
​2 → Excerpt from The Comfort Crisis​

👀 Video to Watch: Be MOAR You

Shante Colfield was one of my favorite speakers at Craft + Commerce. I believe what’s holding most people back from success isn’t hard work or the right techniques, it’s a willingness to be him or herself. In the words of the philosopher in The Courage to Be Disliked,

Watch Shante’s talk by clicking the thumbnail or this link.

🧵 Thread I Read: Easy Content Ideas

I've spent time around Amanda this year and she's absolutely fantastic. This thread of content marketing ideas is very helpful, even if you’re not creating content. Any business can be helped by following a few of these methods for customer service, product development, or business strategy.

Sponsor: Edit videos and podcasts way faster with Recut

If you do any video or podcast editing, you know the pain of chopping up raw footage to remove pauses and delete the bad takes. It’s tedious! But it can be automated 😎

Recut automatically finds the pauses, and lets you choose which parts to keep, saving you hours. You can even import the edits into your favorite editor (Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut). Next time you have a video or podcast to edit, try Recut.

Have a great weekend,

Matt Ragland

p.s. if you have a (literal) minute to share feedback, click here.