Issue #96 | Subscribe

Underwater Life. By Rob.

Apologies for missing out on last week's newsletter. I've been going through a hectic patch at my full-time job these days and had to press pause on all-things-Hulry for a while.

Anyway, now that I'm back, this week I want to talk about a phenomenon that has been increasingly prevalent on online platforms such as social media, streaming services, Amazon and more — Filter Bubble.

Here's what it is:

You like a tweet or buy a book on Amazon, and suddenly, you see similar content everywhere.

While this is fantastic for cutting through the noise and getting into your preferred content, it can quickly surround you in an information silo.

Fresh ideas and content rarely pop up, and you only come across more and more of the same thing. Paraphrased in different ways.

This is detrimental in the long run because it stunts your creativity as you're closed off from learning new things.

The easiest way to break out of this bubble is to reduce your reliance on algorithmic feeds and choose chronological feeds like RSS.

While I occasionally find exciting content on Twitter, most of what I read comes from my RSS and newsletter subscriptions.

Here's what I do:

Whenever I encounter a blog where I've enjoyed more than one article, I add it to my RSS reader.

Over time, I've built this giant library of good sources where I come across a variety of ideas and techniques every week:

And this is better than algorithmic feeds because RSS readers don't filter any content.

They deliver all new blog posts straight from the source, arranged chronologically.

Now, while I have to cut through some noise to get to the good parts, the tradeoff is worth it because I get new ideas to work with and recommend here.

Also, if I start losing interest in a blog or a new site, I unsubscribe, reducing the noise in my feed.

Try this out:

Instead of relying on social media to deliver good content, subscribe to your favourite blogs and newsletters directly through RSS readers or any other medium.

Actively explore new Twitter accounts to break the stagnancy. In short, look for diversity in what you read and absorb.

You'll think better, make robust decisions and be more creative in the long run.

Now, onto the rest of this newsletter issue and this week's recommendations:

•••

Your Next Read

Discipline Is Destiny

A collection of guiding principles that can help you create a fulfilling life. Not every piece of advice will resonate, but some will make a striking difference.

Personal Growth

Apps & Services

Gmail Tables

Quickly add tables to your emails

This free Google Chrome extension lets you add well-designed tables to your emails sent via Gmail. Tap on a button, choose the no. of rows and columns, and your table is ready. Available as a Chrome Extension for free.
Asterix

Rewrite text like editing a photo

Asterix is a nice and lightweight AI-based writing tool that connects photo editing terminologies to editing text. Resize a portion of your text, add writing style filters, expand bullet points into crafted sentences and more. Available on the Web for free.
Stickies

Handy sticky notes on macOS

Did you know macOS has an excellent digital sticky notes app built into the system? It's helpful for pinning ideas or reminders to the desktop and is easy to use. Available on macOS for free.

Handy Shortcut

⌘

Shift

D

Quickly navigate to your Desktop folder in the macOS Finder app.
•••

Interesting Reads

Let's Not Be Machines

3 min read

Firesides

Seeing so many "peak productivity" posts from influencers worldwide, I decided to write about my thoughts on this whole "working like machines" culture that's been trending lately.
Expectations Debt

4 min read

An eye-opening piece on how setting unrealistic expectations can blow up on your face eventually. I've been suffering a similar scenario career-wise lately, and this article helped connect the dots.
Mimetic Traps

9 min read

We often set our goals and dreams by mimicking what other successful people are doing. This is the reason why 5 AM routines are so popular. Sometimes, it can be what you need. But, this can also be a trap that stifles our growth rather than encouraging it.
12 Questions That Will Change Your Life

12 min read

A nice little collection of deep questions that'll serve as a guiding light in your life. Here's my favourite from the list: "Will This Be Alive Time or Dead Time?"

Videos

Anthony Gugliotta on quitting his full-time job and going full-time on YouTube. One year's worth of good advice and lessons learned.

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