⏱️ One principle for well-behaved kids

I. Being proactive and productive with your time is just as important for the things you don’t want to be doing as for the things you do.

Many people think productivity is solely about spending less time on your tasks so you can get on to other things.

But you should also think about things you do want to be doing. It is worth considering this question: “What do I want to spend time on, even if it goes slowly or takes more time?”

Don’t just focus on reducing the time it takes you to do things you don’t want to do. Think about what you enjoy spending your time and energy on, and make space for that as well.

———————-

II. A simple parenting principle to raise well-behaved kids:

Don’t give warnings.

If you’ve already gone over an expected behavior for your child, and your child proceeds to do that behavior, the initial response from most parents is something like, “Don’t do that again, or you’ll get in trouble.”

Here’s the problem: you’re actually training your child that they can do that thing at least once or twice before they face real consequences.

For example, if you’ve established the rule that little Johnny is not allowed to hit his sibling (or another kid at the playground), the very first time he hits (no matter how softly), little Johnny needs an immediate consequence so he learns the behavior is not acceptable.

He doesn’t need a warning every time he hits for the first time that day. If you warn him first, he’ll learn that he can always get away with it once before he actually gets in trouble.

Kids rarely change their behavior simply by being warned or talked to; they change it when they receive a real consequence.

I. Brent Beshore on how to be a good dad (or mom):

“The best toy for a son is a father who has set down his phone.”

II. Brene Brown on how to be strong:

"You can choose courage, or you can choose comfort, but you cannot choose both. Vulnerability is not weakness; it's the most accurate measure of courage. Showing up when you can’t control the outcome is what real strength looks like."

Because Internet by Gretchen McCulloch

A book about how language changes and develops over time, with an emphasis on how the internet has impacted our speech (and writing).

Overall, the book did deliver on its title, which I always appreciate. It took a little bit (about 25% through the book) to get there, but then covered all the various ways the internet has impacted our language.

Written by a linguist, there were spots that were really interesting and informative, and then times where it was long-winded and uninteresting to me. I do think it could have been about 20% shorter without losing anything, which would have made the book better overall.

If you are interested in language, you would appreciate the book. I picked it up because I like to learn, but unless you fall into one of the two above camps, you would probably have to work to finish the book.

6.5/10

I unpack the principle of cost per use, the biblical wisdom of setting boundaries in unhealthy relationships, cultural reflections on loss, and lessons from the life and teaching of Tim Keller.

You can watch the show on my YouTube channel or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

P.S. It probably was a long car ride, though…