What are we working on?
Last week we migrated from Bali to Pattaya, Thailand. Our packing and traveling process is already very streamlined, so there is no stress. We don't need to sacrifice too much of our working time to move from one country to another. We travel on Saturdays if possible, so everything is even more relaxed.
Work-wise, we're planning and building up the course platform where our courses will be hosted. We're putting in the effort to make sure that the course is presented the way we envisioned. We're also fine-tuning the course itself and preparing additional materials, such as downloadable templates and exercises, to provide practical tools and resources that can be applied in real life.
Besides that, we are writing new new content around digital nomadism; we'll share the links here with you as soon as they are up on our site. 🖖
Crypto Update
Bitcoin Dominance: 47% (- 0.4%)
Ethereum Dominance: 20.4% (+ 0.9%)
Total Crypto Marketcap: 1,23T USD (+ 0.08T)
ETH prices are soaring, and the developer community is celebrating after the successful upgrade of the Ethereum network to enable staking withdrawals. The recent upgrade called Shapella has completed Ethereum's transition to Proof-Of-Stake (PoS), which allows withdrawals from staking. Before the event, many people speculated about how the upgrade would impact the markets, the staking landscape, and DeFi.
There were two camps: the bulls and the bears. The bulls believed that the upgrade would de-risk ETH and lead to an influx of users who would buy and stake, while the bears thought that mass withdrawals would lead to persistent sell pressure on the asset. However, it seems like the bulls were right, as the upgrade has been treated as a "buy-the-news" event, with ETH surging 13.1% since the upgrade went live.
In addition, Ethereum ecosystem tokens, including staking-related tokens, liquid-staking derivative governance tokens, and layer 2 tokens, have experienced monster rallies since the upgrade. The fear of a post-Shapella dump was overblown, as outflows have overpowered deposits, and the impacts of Shapella seem to be just beginning to be felt. Prophecies of a catastrophe were overblown.
Travel Update
We arrived back in Thailand on Friday, where we will spend the last month and a half of the South-Asian trip. And what a time it is to come here. The whole of Thailand was celebrating Songkran - the traditional New Year festival of Thailand, which is celebrated every year from April 13 to 15; in some parts, they have an open end to this festival and can lasts until the 19th. It is also known as the "Water Festival."
During the festival, people pour water on each other using buckets, water guns , or even elephants. It is considered a way of blessing and showing respect to others, washing away bad luck, and starting the new year with a clean slate. Some people also smear a white powder called "din sor pong" on each other's faces to symbolize good luck.
We joined this craziness on Friday evening, and it was a blast! But on other days, if you wanted to go out after mid-day, you needed to strategically avoid the crowds if you wanted to come dry to your destination. Sometimes this is impossible as they are blocking the streets from both sides.
It's super fun but also quite madness. I appreciate this with Thai people; they know how to have fun.
As a fun fact, the Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, made a surprise appearance at the Songkran festivities on Khao San Road. He wore a colorful shirt, wielded a water gun, and had a serious fight-face expression. It’s just amazing to see how everybody is enjoying this holiday.
I am currently reading
Rereading Atomic Habits - a habit bible from James Clear that explores the science and psychology behind habit formation and offers practical strategies for building good habits and breaking bad ones.
Service of the week
This week’s kudos go to Upwork - an online platform that connects businesses and individuals with freelancers and remote workers worldwide.
It provides a platform for companies and individuals to post job openings and for freelancers to apply. You can find a project from software development, writing, design, marketing, customer service, and more—one-time or long-term possibilities.
If you want to start a freelancing or remote working career, check it out and create your profile there. It offers a flexible and convenient way to find remote work opportunities. It gives you access to a global marketplace of potential clients and projects. Besides that, they have built-in tools and resources to help you build careers and manage your projects, including time tracking, payment protection, and dispute resolution.
Something to think about
”We have to trust ourselves before we can ask others to trust us.”
Simon Sinek
Mike Markkula on
"The Apple Marketing Philosophy:
Empathy. We will truly understand their needs better than any other company.
Focus. In order to do a good job of those things we decide to do we must eliminate all of the unimportant opportunities.
Impute. People DO judge a book by its cover. We may have the best product, the highest quality, the most useful software, etc.; if we present them in a slipshod manner, they will be perceived as slipshod; if we present them in a creative, professional manner, we will impute the desired qualities."
Productivity Tips and Tricks
Reduce friction
Reducing friction in your daily routine can have a significant impact on improving your productivity. As explained in 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear, decreasing the resistance associated with a habit increases the likelihood of turning it into a routine.
What does this mean exactly? For instance, if you plan to start running every day, you can minimize friction by preparing your running gear, including laying out your running shoes, planning a route, and setting aside your running clothes the night before. If you want to start your day with short yoga, pilates, or any other exercise, you can leave a mat on the floor in your apartment.
Reducing friction means leaving subtle environmental cues that make following through with good habits easier. By reducing the resistance in your daily routine, you can improve your productivity and achieve your goals.
