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Leitura de 7 min

Friday Refill: Give Tomorrow-You Advice from Today

Summary

The episode opens by acknowledging a common experience: the day slips away without us realizing it, and we often have little to show for it in terms of accomplishments. The host, Jonathan Patrell, explains that this happens because our everyday routines and habits are far more powerful predictors of our behavior than any to-do list we might create. Habits operate automatically, making them a stronger force in shaping our daily actions.

To combat this, Patrell introduces a specific habit designed to bridge the gap between intention and action. He suggests setting aside time—ideally on Sunday nights or at the end of each day—to write down practical, actionable advice for your future self. This advice should not be vague or idealistic but should focus on concrete next steps, such as who to talk to, what perspective to adopt on a problem, or what specific task to tackle next.

The second part of the habit is to review this journaled advice at the beginning of your work session, especially when entering a deep work mode. This practice serves as a “touchstone” to quickly reload your mental state from the previous session, reducing the cognitive load of trying to remember where you left off. By framing notes as actionable advice rather than passive observations, you create a direct link to productive action.

Patrell emphasizes that this method is essentially a shortcut for managing cognitive resources. Instead of wasting mental energy replaying the previous day’s events or reconstructing your thought process, you have a ready-made guide to pick up where you left off. This simple habit leverages the power of routine to make intentional progress more consistent and less mentally taxing.

Recommendations

Practices

  • Journaling advice for your future self — The core recommendation of the episode: a habit of writing down practical, actionable advice for your tomorrow self (or next-week self) to review at the start of your work session.

Topic Timeline

  • 00:00:00 — Introduction and the problem of days slipping away — Jonathan Patrell welcomes listeners to the Friday episode. He describes the common experience of finding oneself halfway through the day without realizing it, having accomplished little. He questions why this happens and sets the stage for discussing the power of habits over to-do lists.
  • 00:01:06 — Habits are more powerful than to-do lists — Patrell states that our everyday routines are a much stronger predictor of behavior than items on a to-do list. He explains that habits are automatic, making them a dominant force. This leads to the proposal of creating a new, intentional habit to combat unproductive autopilot.
  • 00:01:49 — Introducing the habit: journaling advice for your future self — The host introduces the core habit: taking time weekly (e.g., Sunday night) or daily to write down practical advice for your tomorrow self. He recommends using a journal or notes app, emphasizing writing for better retention. The advice should be actionable, focusing on next steps, perspectives, or seeds for future tasks, not lofty ideals.
  • 00:02:57 — The second part: reviewing advice at the start of work — Patrell explains the second component of the habit: opening and reading this journaled advice when you begin your work mode, especially before deep work. The goal is to have one specific thing to focus on, creating a ritual that reduces the cognitive load of trying to remember or reload your previous mental state.
  • 00:03:26 — How this habit reduces cognitive load — The host clarifies that this practice is a shortcut to avoid the mental effort of replaying the previous day’s events. The journal serves as a touchstone to remind you of your previous state. Framing it as actionable advice, rather than passive notes, is the critical factor that drives productive action.

Episode Info

  • Podcast: Developer Tea
  • Author: Jonathan Cutrell
  • Category: Technology Business Careers Society & Culture
  • Published: 2021-08-06T11:00:00Z
  • Duration: 00:04:46

References

Podcast Info

Transcript

[00:00:00] Happy Friday everybody! Welcome to another Friday Rebuild episode of Developer Tea. My name is Jonathan Patrell.

[00:00:21] Have you ever found yourself?

[00:00:23] Well, I can almost say you have. All of us have found ourselves halfway through the day before we even realize it.

[00:00:32] The ease with which our average day moves past us is amazing.

[00:00:43] We can look at the clock and realize all of a sudden that it’s one o’clock in the afternoon.

[00:00:50] And if we were to try to list out the things that we’ve accomplished, it might be a short list or there may be no list at all.

[00:00:59] Why exactly does this happen? That part is a little less clear.

[00:01:06] But one thing is for sure. Our normal everyday routines are a much stronger predictor of our behaviors than whatever is on our to-do list.

[00:01:18] Think about that for a second. Your list of things that you have to do is much less powerful, much less powerful over you than your habits.

[00:01:32] And your habits are automatic. So one kind of way around this, or a way to combat this at least, is to make a new habit.

[00:01:45] And this is the habit I’m going to share with you today.

[00:01:49] I want you tonight or on Sunday nights. Sunday nights are really good for me because I look at the week ahead and I kind of do this at the weekly interval.

[00:01:59] You can do this at the daily interval. Certainly nothing longer than a week.

[00:02:04] But I want you to take out some kind of journal. Maybe it’s notes on your phone.

[00:02:10] I personally like writing things. It seems to stick better when I attach that kind of behavior of writing to it.

[00:02:18] And write down advice to your tomorrow self.

[00:02:26] And this advice shouldn’t be cerebral lofty advice, ideals. At least the majority of it shouldn’t be.

[00:02:35] Instead, focus on very practical advice. Things that you’ve been working on and what the next step is.

[00:02:44] What should you do next? Who should you talk to? What should your perspective on a particular problem be?

[00:02:51] Or what is the seed for the next thing that you need to take on?

[00:02:57] This advice is part of the habit. The second part of the habit is to actually open that when you go into your work mode.

[00:03:06] Especially if you’re going into some kind of deep work mode.

[00:03:09] If you can find one specific thing to focus on when you’re going into that deep work mode, this is the habit that you need to develop.

[00:03:19] And really all this is is a shortcut to reducing the cognitive load of trying to remember.

[00:03:26] Trying to replay all of the events of the previous day or to reload into your mind the state that you had the previous day.

[00:03:36] So by having this kind of journaled notes or a touchstone that you can remind yourself where you were.

[00:03:44] And specifically in the form of advice rather than viewing it as just notes.

[00:03:50] You’re giving yourself something actionable. That’s the critical kind of missing factor that a lot of people who just take notes, they miss that part.

[00:03:58] Give yourself an actionable piece of advice for the following day, for the following week.

[00:04:04] Thanks so much for listening to this Friday Briefly episode of Developer Tea.

[00:04:08] We have three episodes a week and we have a Discord community to miss out on none of that.

[00:04:14] You can join that Discord community by hanging over to developertea.com slash Discord.

[00:04:19] And of course, if you don’t want to miss out on future episodes of this show, make sure you subscribe and whatever podcasting app you’re currently using.

[00:04:26] Thanks for listening and until next time, enjoy your tea.

[00:04:38] Yeah.

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