In Rochester, we’ve been extremely fortunate that our rate of coronavirus transmission has been low knock on wood. One of my favorite coffee shops opened back up last week. It was wild to realize that I hadn’t been there for almost a year.

Where did 2020 go? Sometimes it feels like it will never end and other times I can’t believe it’s already the end of October.

This past week I spent more time writing than I have in the entire rest of this month!

Do you want to know my trick? The trick that will help you get over your writer’s block and help you get back on your grind?

I left all of my technology at home. No phone. No laptop. I brought a bunch of books that I could read but I started my session by opening up a journal. I took a sip of coffee, ate a bite of a tasty cherry danish and put my pen to paper. Once I got started, I quickly got in a groove and ended up writing for over three hours. It felt great to get these ideas out of my mind. The positive feedback was much better than from any social media notification.

It’s simple and it works. The biggest challenge is overcoming any fears or anxieties you have about disconnecting and taking the leap to isolate from your devices. It’s not love that keeps you checking your phone again and again and again. At its root, there is a fear or a neediness. This understanding won’t break your addiction — I’m probably more of a phone junkie than you are — but it’s part of the solution.

Your life might not permit you to unplug for so long during the day. You might need to wake up early or stay up late to get this kind of freedom from those who need you.

I hope some of you will claim a little time to yourself and unplug, even for thirty minutes, and write by hand. If you do, let me know how it goes!

The Best of my Recent Reads:

• “Censorship power, like the tech giants who now wield it, is an instrument of status quo preservation. The promise of the internet from the start was that it would be a tool of liberation, of egalitarianism, by permitting those without money and power to compete on fair terms in the information war with the most powerful governments and corporations.” from Facebook and Twitter Cross a Line Far More Dangerous Than What They Censor by Glenn Greenwald
  
  This piece does a great job of explaining, in detail, the threat created by the policies of overt censorship at Twitter and Facebook.
  
  You can despise the New York Post and the article in reference but do you believe that these corporations should be super-editors-in-chief of every newspaper? And will you then still argue that you support democracy and journalism? (Thanks to Quinn Banford for the recommendation)
  

A Few Cool Things:

• One of my best friends, Luke Metzler, is a pop-star and just released the music video for his hit new song “Babydoll“. I would appreciate it a lot if you would listen, like, and subscribe to show my friend some love.

• In a few earlier newsletters, I included images of quotes from books that I’ve been reading. I was able to create those easily by using this wonderful service Readwise.io. If you use a Kindle and want to review and work with your highlights, this product is an absolute game changer. Use this link and we’ll both get a free month!
  
  Great for reviewing quotes, exporting notes to Notion or Roam Research, and even highlighting physical books and turning them into digital notes.
  

New from Me:

• The Virtue of Pessimism 
  
  “Pessimism is always hugging you, protecting you from unnecessary risks.”- Muhammad Miqdad
  

This post was initially sent on October 25th, 2020 as part of an early prototype of my newsletter Seeking Tribe, subscribe here!