Hi, I'm Jan König 👋. I'm one of the founders of Jovo, 28 years old, and live in Berlin. < Go back to learn more.

One TED talk a day

This is my 100th newsletter! 🎉  Thanks for reading my stuff and responding to my emails, that really means a lot to me.

How do you stay creative? People say that you can exercise creativity by learning new things that don't have anything to do with your job or daily life. A book I recently read says "bombard yourself with new things" in order to get ideas and think outside the 📦. . This makes sense: New ideas are mostly analogies, or dots that are connected in a new way, nothing completely new.

2013, I started a challenge to watch one TED talk a day for breakfast. I even put down some key takeaways and ranked each talk (here's the list), but after about 30 I somehow stopped doing it (too little structure in my study-abroad-days 🍻).

Here's why I started doing it again:
  • One idea: TED talks usually focus on a single idea that is explored in under 20 minutes, which makes it easier to consume
  • Become a better speaker: Many TED talks are just amazing! By watching them, you can learn from the best presenters in the world
  • Various topics: There is a wide range of talks to leave your bubble. There are talks by neuroscientists, authors, politicians, children, billionaires, ...
  • Set the tone for the day: TED talks are usually positive and moving. By starting with a positive experience and a great idea to think about, you set the tone for the rest of the day
There's actually way more things that are great about a habit like this (currently writing on a blog post). Have you recently watched a TED talk? Here's a funny one to get started: Tim Urban: Inside the mind of a master procrastinator.
 
What do you do to stay creative?
-Jan

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