January 2024: Week 2 - Review & Updates

Insights on Business, Lifestyle, Education, Health & Fitness, and Personal Productivity

Author

Selim Uysal
January 14, 2024

Hey friend,

I hope you are doing well.

I’m starting the 2024 newsletters with this post. I’ll be sending this newsletter weekly for now, but if you want more or less frequent e-mails, you can update your preference on this form. You can also update your name there so that I can personalize these e-mails, if you don’t have your name in the beginning of this message. 🙂 

Here are a few updates from the first weeks of the year!

Table of Contents

Books:

Getting Things Done

I listened to the book 'Getting Things Done' by David Allen once again at the beginning of the year. Yesterday’s post was related to this method and the best way to learn and implement it; you can read the “A 3-Step Beginner's Guide to Implementing Getting Things Done Method for Stress-Free Productivity here.” (I sent the post by e-mail instead of publishing web only, sorry about that 🙂 )

Brief Insight: "Getting Things Done" (GTD) is a productivity method designed by David Allen. It focuses on freeing up mental space and organizing tasks in a systematic manner. The core idea is to capture all tasks and ideas outside the brain and systematically process them into actionable items.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Capture Everything: Write down every task, idea, or project to get them out of your head. This reduces mental clutter and stress.

  2. Clarify the Actions and Outcomes: For each captured item, decide if it's actionable. If so, determine the next physical action required and the desired outcome.

  3. Organize with a System: Categorize and store these actions and reference materials in a trusted system, whether digital or physical, and review it regularly.

If you are interested in GTD, one of the official training partners Deepinsula is starting their newsletter, you can check and access to a free e-mail course and materials here!

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Now, I’m reading the renowned book “How to Win Friends and Influence People“by Dale Carnegie. I wrote a short post on why I like this and other personal development pioneer books here.

Dale Carnegie's classic, "How to Win Friends and Influence People," extends beyond social etiquette, delving into the art of cultivating meaningful connections. The profound impact of Carnegie's principles on interpersonal dynamics has proven invaluable in both professional and personal spheres.

Brief Insight: This book, a staple in personal development literature, teaches the fundamentals of handling people, winning friends, influencing others, and being an effective leader. Carnegie emphasizes the importance of empathy, genuine interest in others, and the power of appreciation.

Key Takeaways:

  1. The Power of Appreciation: Sincere appreciation and understanding of others' perspectives can build strong relationships and influence people positively.

  2. Remember Names and Details: Remembering and using people's names and showing interest in their interests are key to winning friends and creating meaningful connections.

  3. Avoid Criticism and Complaining: Criticizing others often leads to resentment. Carnegie advocates for understanding and encouraging people instead of condemning them.

I’ll try to write a bit more detailed review of the book once I finish reading it!

Writing:

As some of you might have seen, I’ve been publishing atomic essays and short posts on LinkedIn and Twitter every day since the beginning of the year. Today, I’ll be publishing on day 14; you can either follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn or check the previous ones on my newsletter page, newsletter.selimuysal.net.

I’m not sending those to your email to avoid flooding your inbox. However, if you prefer receiving daily emails from me, you can click here and let me know, and I'll send them directly to your e-mail inbox everyday.

Business:

As I mentioned in my previous posts and YouTube videos, I have started my business focusing on writing, especially writing e-mail newsletters and educational e-mail courses.

You can see some updates on my LinkedIn page as well. This year, while focusing on my Master’s Degree in Humanitarian Action and taking a break to work as a full-time Humanitarian Professional, I’ll be writing online and creating myself and my clients and the best e-mail newsletters and educational e-mail courses. Stay tuned for more updates!

If you are interested in newsletters or know anyone who might be interested, reply to this e-mail or comment below, and let’s have a chat!

Youtube & Podcast

As you may know, I launched my YouTube channels (TR, EN) just before the new year. This year, I'm committed to significantly enhancing my presence on various content platforms. While I'm currently managing time constraints due to exams and assignments, I plan to intensify my efforts in the second quarter of the year.

This will include not only YouTube content but also engaging podcast episodes, and I'm considering the addition of LinkedIn Live sessions. Stay tuned for these updates, and feel free to reply to this email or comment with any ideas and suggestions you might have

Running, Fitness&Health:

I have been trying to get back to track on the side of running, health and fitness, it’s going well, except for my sleep schedule. If you want to get inspired or have accountability, add me on Strava, and let’s follow each other. If you don’t use or know what Strava is, here is some short info: It’s a running and fitness tracking app, but I think it’s one of the best ones. Just search in your app store and give it a try. I also try to share some photos and stories before or after runs or workouts; here is one example!

Humanitarian Sector:

As I mentioned above and in my previous posts, I no longer work full-time for humanitarian organizations. This does not mean, I’m completely out of sector, or lost my humanitarian spirit, I frequently share posts especially on LinkedIn for advocacy and do as much activism as possible for human rights, and humanitarian values as it’s the case for Gaza now.

I’m also doing my Master’s Degree in International Humanitarian Action, learning so many great things from academics and experienced humanitarians, and networking with lots of NOHA students and alumni.

I’d be glad to be in contact with humanitarian organizations and professionals and support if there is anything that I can support!

Closing Remarks

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this newsletter. I hope it brought you some value. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, I’d be glad to hear them! Reply to this e-mail or comment below.

I wish you a happy and healthy week and all the best for this new year!

Regards,

Selim Uysal

✍️ I ghostwrite Educational Email Courses for Productivity Content Creators | 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Dad & Husband | ✍️ Ghostwriter | 💻 Digital Nomad | 🎥 Part-Time YouTuber | 🎓 MA Student | 🌍 Humanitarian | 📚 Lifelong Learner

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