Hello friends. Welcome to the ninth edition of Hump Days! If you’re new to the newsletter, welcome - take a look around and enjoy. For existing readers: let me know how I can improve this newsletter - are there topics you would like to see covered from me? Also, wanted to give a shoutout to Erika Nicole who always hits the like button ;)
Essential Thoughts from a Non-Essential Worker
This is our last Wednesday of August. Next Wednesday we’ll be in September, and just like that - the year is over. Half kidding, of course.
I started 2020 with three New Year’s Resolutions: the first was to not miss more than two days in a row exercising. The second was to read 20 minutes a day. The third was to make one Tik Tok video a day for 30 days.
So far I’ve failed the first two, but the last resolution has become a habit - I haven’t missed a day in 2020, and frankly I would feel weird if I were to miss a day now.
I believe the key difference in why I failed the first two, but accomplished the last goal was the time-horizon. My first two resolutions had longer time horizons: they were goals for the entire year.
The Tik Tok goal started with a shorter term time-frame, “just make a video a day for 30 days” I told myself. But when I hit 30, I decided to extend it to 60, then 90, then 100, etc. Now I can’t stop.
Perhaps the same should be applied for habits that you want to build long term. Instead of saying, “read 20 minutes a day every day for a year”, it would be better to start with “read 20 minutes a day for a week/half-week” and take it from there.
I find that once you’re on a “streak”, it’s much harder to stop. Just like those addicting Snapchat Streaks. You know what I’m talking about.
Mental trickery.
In the News
Palantir to file for a direct listing IPO - despite never having made a profit, ever.
Shares of Apple & Tesla will reflect their split prices on Monday 8/31 - this article sums up why and what it is.
Actress Bella Thorne breaks an OnlyFans record and makes $1 million in 24 hours - so basically, you should start one too.
Widespread expectation that the Fed will adopt a more flexible policy that would allow inflation to overshoot its 2% annual target.
A Worthwhile Tweet
How often do we feel rushed in life to get our laundry list of tasks accomplished? Practice mindfulness and results will come. Stay consistent and when you get traction, keep building upon said traction. Good things will come.
WFH Station of the Week
WFH: Lord of the Rings battle station (literally) edition. Also, is that a HAMMOCK underneath the desk? These are getting intense.
In Case You Missed It (16:03)
I go over exactly how much you can make on YouTube with 22,000 subscribers and about 1000-1500 views per day. I also breakdown how YouTube pays its creators, and the different rates you can expect.
I hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment - I would love to hear from you.
- Humphrey
Thanks for the shoutout! And I liked the tip about timing goals in “streaks.” I’m gonna apply this to my Italian lessons. I started doing so well, practicing every day, and then I just fell off. Been looking for motivation to start again and I think this tip can help. Looking forward to hearing from you again next week:)
Yo Humphrey - have you done a video on robo-advisors yet? Would love to know your thoughts.