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# Stuff #97 - you're special!
- URL: https://www.mattrutherford.co.uk/stuff-97/
- Published: 2022-08-01T04:31:00.000Z
- Updated: 2022-08-01T04:30:59.000Z
- Description: It's time to inject a little activity into your work day, as well as starting to banish distractions. We learn that readers live longer, and as always - we reach for the stars.
- Author: Matt
- Tags: Newsletter

👓

Hi from **Dublin**, I'm Matt...  
  
It has been an interesting week, full of milestones and memories that have left me exhausted. However, I'm grateful to be able to charge my batteries up writing Stuff, and I have a great crop of things that will make us all smarter this week!  
  
**Thank you for being a part of Stuff.* If you received this email from an excellent friend, and would like to subscribe, [please go here](https://mattrutherford.co.uk/newsletter?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk). If you'd like an archive of Stuff from the beginning of 2022 - [it's here](https://www.mattrutherford.co.uk/tag/newsletter/).*   
  
Onward with the **Stuff that MattRs**...

1. **Monday Motivation:** Let this week be the one that you inject a little more 'activity' into your daily workload. [You could start by taking a mid-day walk](https://stff.me/97walk?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk) to up your energy, you could even do it as a team. Heck, you could even start by standing for an hour a day, [standing now counts as exercise](https://stff.me/97stand?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk).
2. **Your new superpower:** It's time to conquer digital noise, and make yourself undistractable. [Here are 9 practical tips to banish digital distractions.](https://stff.me/97distractions?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk) Your phone is probably the main cause, [I've switched off most of my phone notifications, and it made a huge difference. ](https://stff.me/97notifications?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk)
3. **The best a person can get:** Learn about razors, not [those ones](https://stff.me/97blades?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk), but the [type that help you make the best decisions](https://stff.me/97razors?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk). Apply razors with care, [they get results.](https://stff.me/97razorwiki?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk)
4. **Arrival Fallacy:** [Why we need to start decoupling our happiness from our goals](https://stff.me/97arrivalfallacy?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk). From the always excellent Ness Labs.
5. **TWIL:** The EU imports about 260 **billion** euros worth of clothes a year, and yet most of the people that make our clothes, earn poverty wages. [How often do you think about the people that make your clothes?](https://stff.me/97clothes?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk)
6. **Grab a book, stick around:** [People who read, tend to live longer than those who don't. ](https://stff.me/97reading?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk) We've covered plenty of tools for finding new books on Stuff - [I like this one.](https://stff.me/94books?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk)
7. **How do you feel?** [The How We Feel project is a free journal to track emotions, created by a nonprofit group of scientists and doctors.](https://stff.me/97howwefeel?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk) You can use it to track & understand your emotions, and then help yourself when you spot trends and patterns in how you are feeling.
8. **I'll need my wide-angle lens:** Star photography is incredible, requiring patience, technique and an eye for the dramatic. [The 2022 Astronomy Photographer of the year awards has some stellar pictures. ](https://stff.me/97astronomy?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk)
9. **La, La, Laaa :** [Rolling Stone have compiled a list of the top 200 dance songs of all time.](https://stff.me/97dance200?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk) I don't agree with every one of them, but there are some absolute bangers in here, and the top 10 is 90% perfect.
10. **Finally:** [Cell Tower is a clever, and infuriating word game](https://stff.me/97cell?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk) that refreshes each day for a new challenge.

📫

[I use Refind ](https://refind.com/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=barter&utm%5Fcampaign=ygxQp54bPqI2IScs4mwGAw)to uncover new insights and links to share each week on Stuff - Refind will send you 7 interesting and relevant links every day.

🎧

My **aural stuff** for you this week is from the mighty Orbital. Electronic music pioneers who's career spans 30 years. Luckily, they've marked the milestone with a terrific package of remixes and originals from across their discography., including classics like Chime, Belfast and a personal favourite Halcyon.   
  
[Listen to 30 Something by Orbital on Spotify here. ](https://open.spotify.com/album/1pq7A65DygpNTNRnwJv77h?si=ONHUxIMGStOA9itldHt8pg&ref=mattrutherford.co.uk)

📫

Do you love independent writing? [I recommend The Sample.](https://thesample.ai/?ref=1153) Every day, they will send you a novel newsletter you might like, no obligation.

**Recommended Stuff to make you Smarter**  
  
📚 [Stop Reading the News](https://amzn.to/3PJaEZE?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk) is subtitled as a 'manifesto for a happier and calmer life'. Inside are 35 reasons to give up following the daily news cycle. During the pandemic and lockdown, I gave up watching endless news as it was driving anxiety and recently, have slipped back into bad habits. This book was a refresher to keep my news intake very short and crisp to keep my mental health in the right place. Great read.

### Stuff that someone said:

> "*You don’t see the world as it is – you see the world as you are*" **The Talmud**